It was actually a good thing that I checked which films would be screened the day before this were to kick off. The convention started at 5 pm, but the first screening was listed to start at 4 pm. I was able to plan my trip so I could check into my hotel and then grab something to eat before heading to the first screening. The first movie offered up was one called The Caretakers (2014). Even though I knew which films were going to be screened, I didn't look any of them up, so I was into each one cold, not knowing anything about them really.
The Caretakers is a vampire film that is more about the people who help the vampires more than the vampires themselves. There is the older caretaker Jack (Nick Faust) who takes care of an original vampire Catherine (April Jennings). Getting older, he knows his time is getting short, so he is training Scott (Kennith R. Root) and his daughter Jodi (Lucy Turner), who were both saved by Catherine. There is also a story about the newly made vampire Rachel (Brittney Saylor) and her boyfriend who is trying to help her Jimmy (Michael Coon). She is considered missing, so her father (Bill Johnson) has hired Parker (Joe Estevez) and Mason (Steve Hudgins) to find out what happened to her.
The Caretakers is certainly a different kind of vampire film, being more about their caretakers. We learn a lot of things about vampires mostly through Jack, while he is explaining things to Scott and Jodi. Jodi, by the way, hasn't spoken since her mom died. I won't get into that since I don't want to spoil everything. The Caretakers messes with vampire lore a little bit, saying that vampires are, more or less, an offshoot of the human race. The caretakers job is to find humans for their vampire master to feed on, and then to take care of those humans so they don't turn. Those that do turn become vampires, but a more monstrous version. The slight change in lore and the fact we are watching the caretakers more than the vampires make The Caretakers an interesting film. Still, this is a low budget film, so it may not appeal to everyone. Another strike against it, so to speak, is that there is a lot of talking and not a lot of action or horror going on. The conversations can be interesting, as they often tell us a lot about the characters we are watching, but it would have been nice if this had been broken up into smaller chunks. There really doesn't seem like much of a plot either. It turns out that all the stories come together, which I figured they would, and it centers mostly around trying to rid the world of the new monstrous vampire.
There wasn't a lot of effects to be found in The Caretakers. Some bite wounds of course from the vampires. Once in a while we see Rachel really tear into someone, as she does a bit more than just bite someone. This effect was well done at least. We also see people get killer by stabbing mostly, which is done off camera. The acting was a bit hit and miss. While everyone did a good job for the most part, there were scenes where you couldn't help but think they could have been slightly better. Even though she never said much, April Jennings was the stand out to me. She manages to give her character a lot of class I thought.
I have to give director Steve Hudgins some credit for taking on this film. I liked the change mostly because it wasn't so much about the vampires, but they still played a big part in the plot. The Caretakers was a good film, but a little too much talking at times. I'm not sure if it was the best film to kick things off with though. Given that it started an hour earlier than when the doors officially opened, unless you paid for an early in, I'm sure they didn't expect a big crowd for the first film of the day. Anyway, The Caretakers is good, but not a great film. If you are looking for something a little different for you vampire films, give this one a watch.
3 out of 5 I wonder what the pay is like?
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