“Vampires vs. the Bronx” is a comedy horror film directed by Osmany Rodriguez, that was released as a Netflix original on Oct. 2. The film follows Miguel Rodriguez, who enlists his friends to help expose a vampire invasion after he is witness to a vampire murdering his neighbor. 

 The film embraces cultural, economic and environmental differences, making an effort to incorporate a diverse cast and showcase the different culture of a small neighborhood. In fact, later in the movie it is revealed that one of the main motives for vampire invasion in the Bronx is that it is “a town where nobody would notice people going missing.” As someone who grew up barely knowing their neighbors, I found it interesting to see how everyone in the Bronx interacted with one another. There is Tony and his Bodega, where Miguel and his friends were “practically raised together,” Gloria, who is always live on Instagram, and a posse of girls who stand outside Miguel’s house- and tease him all the time. The relationships that people have in the Bronx are different than many of mine, and I loved being able to experience it.  

 That said, I believe the horror element in the “Vampire vs. the Bronx” is mild, to say the least. The plot itself has the potential to be horrifying, but that is true of most movies. The use of suspenseful techniques such as underexposure and tight framing are almost non-existent, except for a select few frames in the movie. The music choice does nothing to better this, as over half the songs are cheery pop music. The filming techniques combined with the plot produces a thriller rather than a goosebump inducing, flesh-curling, horror movie.

  I also think that certain parts of the plot were sporadic and could benefit from better transitions. However, it makes up a small percentage of the overall events and can be overlooked when you consider the detail that went into making the vampire invasion “realistic.” Multiple times, we see the Bronx people saying that it does not matter what happens–since where they live is too small of an area to pay attention to anyway. That factor helps rationalize the lack of action that is taken when missing people are reported to police in that town. 

 Overall, “Vampire vs. the Bronx” is a well-thought out movie that is portrayed with a unique perspective, containing both thriller and comedy elements.