here’s always a thin line between a scream and a laugh. Both serve to release pent-up emotion and tend to be amplified within the right setting, be it a group event at a theatre or a solo experience at home in the dark.  The horror-comedy “Vampires vs. the Bronx” is definitely not groundbreaking but still has a great sense of humor and identity. 

The new Netflix original flips the script and uses the undead as symbols to exploreclass tension in small communities. Vampires decide to take the gentrification route by buying  properties in the Bronx. The only people to notice is a group of teens as their neighbors start disappearing at an alarming rate. The story isn’t here to rewrite vampire lore but to use decades of existing tropes in order to give a voice to a new generation, which is expressed through the young actors. The film doesn’t necessarily bring anything new to the table and the special effects may look cheap, but it breathes new life into a simple idea that makes the audience think.  

“Vampires vs. the Bronx” is more concerned about characters than character development. Unlike some more popular movies, the film loses its fear factor as soon as you know the plot. It is clear that this film is more focused on quick, comedic relief moments than large-scale action scenes as it’s meant for a younger audience. At roughly an hour and 30 minutes long, director Osmany (Oz) Rodriguez barely allows his film to slow down and breathe. A lot of information is dumped on you so quickly that it’s easy to lose focus.  

A key element to the story is pinning the kids against the adults. It’s a classic trope in horror films to have the grownups not believe in the supernatural, which gives the teens freedom in the film to sneak around. While having the adults be the bad guys and the kids be the heroes may not have been done on purpose, it gives this film an interesting outlook on society.  

Despite the important messages, “Vampires vs. the Bronx” is another run-of-the-mill horror-comedy. The ending is not overwhelming enough to make the audience be amazed or good enough to watch twice but overall, it’s a fun start to spooky season this October.