If you have seen any of the marketing posters for Bogieville, one could be forgiven for expecting an action-packed, fun-filled, zany vampire film. The reality however, is a much more sombre affair. Written by Henry P. Gravelle and directed by Sean Cronin, Bogieville sees a young couple stumble upon a vampire community and inadvertently become their keepers.
Ham (Arifin Putra) and Jody (Eloise Lovell Anderson) are a couple in love. After Ham loses his job, the pair end up on the run and seek sanctuary in a derelict trailer park, ‘Bogieville’, and are offered shelter there under the strict rule that they don’t leave the property, especially at night. The basement is also out of bounds. Oblivious to the rules, the two find a family of vampires dwelling down below and hear tales of unrest within the vampire community, which Ham and Jody are now in the crossfire of. At the same time, a police detective is following a trail of bodies left by one of the dissenting vampires. As the characters all find themselves on the same trajectory, a deadly last stand begins.
That Bogieville looks like it should be a silly trashy vamp film but isn’t, is oddly jarring. The saying is to never judge a book by its cover, but when Bogieville is so heavily coded as camp and kitsch it is hard not to. Seeing a bunch of English actors putting on heavy Southern accents feels odd. Add to that an almost The Lost Boys level amusing opening kill involving vampires drawn to the scent of a menstruating woman, and the camp factor is instantly far higher than the story requires. Shifting to community politics thereafter generates a strong whiplash sensation. The overall vibes of Bogieville nestle someplace between Stakeland and Near Dark, but it sadly never manages to match either due to too many detractors.
Another downside is that it does not need to be 110 minutes long. At this length Bogieville becomes stuffed with unnecessary moments and leaves the viewer yearning for the story to arrive at its final battle. The subplot involving the police adds some welcome new angles on the vampire film, but also serves to drag down the pace. Were Bogieville to focus on either Ham and Jody, or the investigating officers, the focus would be far more streamlined and the pace punchier. As it stands, both halves end up in competition with each other and their eventual union isn’t as cohesive as it could be,
Something that everyone looks for when it comes to vampire films is how much do their vampires adhere to, or subvert, vampire lore. People are so fascinated in fact that there is a whole podcast – Vampire Videos – dedicated to analysing different interpretations of the creatures. In Bogieville the vampires have the expected aversion to the sun and possess a shark-like sense of smell to sniff out blood. Their appearance is predominantly veiny in nature; it’s a variation that has been seen before, but is realised well here.
A mixed bag of a movie, Bogieville has some great moments scattered within, but is sadly just a little too chaotic for them to shine as brightly as they could.
Bogieville
Summary
An interesting take on the vampire film, Bogieville is very much not the film it would lead you to believe, the result being a mixed bag of peaks and troughs.
Bogieville was reviewed at Pigeon Shrine FrightFest 2024.
