Against The Dark (2009)

Steven Seagal is back to doing what he does best. Scowling through a face that resembles a half-melted rubber mask based on the features of the Dalai Lama. And also fighting. But this time he's fighting vampires. And he's onscreen for a very short amount of time. Perhaps that's why Against The Dark defies the odds to be a reasonably enjoyable Seagal movie. Oh, it's still not anything great but it's at least watchable, has some decent bloodshed here and there and throws in just enough action to remind you that it's an action movie as well as just a vampire film.

Starting off how it means to go on, Against The Dark feels very much like a mix between I Am Legend and Resident Evil. With the bonus of the added Seagal factor. There's a nondescript cast of folk going about a vampire-infested area. And Seagal leads a bunch of hard-ass vampire hunters. Keith David also gets a few scenes, which doubles the watchability factor. The presence of Linden Ashby is also acceptable. As for Tanoai Reed, Jenna Harrison, Danny Midwinter, Emma Catherwood and all of the others - they turn up and do a decent job.

The script by Matthew Klickstein is pretty weak but nobody chooses to view a Seagal movie to discover the next greatest movie quote of the century. Things meander from start to finish, a few action beats are there (with plenty of unnecessary editing tricks) and there are some vampire moments that are surprisingly impressive.

Director Richard Crudo may not have made any kind of masterpiece, but he's easily made one of the more enjoyable Seagal outings in recent years. Which is enough reason, in itself, for me to be most thankful to the man.

Action fans will most probably be disappointed but undemanding fans of the horror genre may, like me, find enough here to at least merit a viewing. It's still not good enough for me to ever seriously consider watching again in the future but it was mercifully painless while playing in DVD player.

5/10.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Against-Dark-DVD-Skye-Bennett/dp/B001L4I2LI/ref=sr_1_1?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1329432783&sr=1-1