HAWK AND REV: VAMPIRE SLAYERS SAVING THEIR TOWN MAYBE?
Horror movies have this overly dramatized acting to them which can be quite comical. That’s where things like parodies can be the funniest things to watch, and I’ve seen some outstanding parody’s. My all-time favorite is Haunted House starring Marlon Wayans which makes fun of the Paranormal Activity series and always makes me laugh super hard.
Ryan Barton-Grimley, writer-director and also starring in Hawk and Rev: Vampire Slayers offers us a parody of the typical Vampire hunting duo. Two unlikely heroes caught in the mad world of Vampire hunting. The movie is set in Santa Muerte, California implying not much happens there which is a perfect choice for this kind of movie.
Philip aka “Hawk”(Ryan Barton-Grimley) has a burning desire to capture and kill vampires setting the stage for the movie. He gets kicked out of the army for assaulting a fellow soldier(claiming he was a bonafide vampire) with a blunt two by four and now his only excitement is working as a security guard. A job he utterly hates which only heightens his obsession with the ungodly creatures. When his parents leave a voice mail telling him it’s time to leave the nest Hawk’s just about had enough of everyone.
His single-minded focus with the supernatural becomes a reality when he observes a group of vampires while on one of his night shifts Of course, no one believes him because everyone thinks that he’s crazy. With the aid of his quirky oddball vegan-pacifist friend “Rev” McCabe(Ari Schneider) they band together to save their town and maybe the world. The chemistry between the guys works since they both are seen as being out of sync with the rest of society.
I understand that the movie was supposed to be just light-hearted and funny admittedly the excess of blood in a lot of the vampire killing scenes made me a little nauseous but it’s expected since this is a movie of more is always better. The jokes seemed a bit forced and the acting a bit over the top. But that could have been a directing choice for a film that pokes fun at everything. It’s corny and silly and there is an audience that will delight in Hawk and Rev for being exactly what it is “an over the top gory journey of vampire hunting and slaying.”
- Starring | Ryan Barton Grimley, Ari Schneider
- Directed by | Ryan Barton Grimley
- Written by | Ryan Barton Grimley
Produced by Ryan Barton-Grimley, Ari Schneider, A.J Gordon, and Jeremy Wanek, Music by Robby Elfman and Ari Schneider (Composer), and editing by Ryan Barton-Grimley and Jeremy Wanek.
Director’s Statement: Says writer/director Ryan Barton Grimley, “So why the heck did I make my film Hawk and Rev: Vampire Slayers? Honestly… The world is just so serious. It’s exhausting being tapped into media and technology 24 hours a day. It’s really intense how many issues are happening around the world. There are so many problems everywhere and I was looking for an escape… I was looking for a laugh and something heartfelt. I was looking for some much-needed levity and humor. I was looking for a break. Hawk and Rev: Vampire Slayers is quite simply a love letter to my childhood and a more innocent and clueless time when everything seemed possible and like it would turn out okay. It’s a love letter to goofy weirdos with big dreams and ridiculous ideas. It’s just plain old fashioned escapism. Sure, there are themes and morals and critiques of the ’80s, specifically toxic masculinity and homophobia in there too, but at the end of the day, I really just hope you enjoy the ride and leave with a nice heartfelt feeling and the knowledge that maybe… just maybe… we’ll all be okay. “
