AllMovie

Darkness: The Vampire Version is a movie for horror fans who can appreciate the genre at its rawest extremes. The film's got plenty of rough edges on display: it's 8 mm visuals give it a grainy, homespun look, the cast consists of excited amateurs, and the gore effects are more plentiful than they are polished. As a result, Darkness: The Vampire Version isn't the kind of horror film for fans accustomed to more polished fare. That said, anyone who enjoys underground-style horror will be impressed by the intensity of Darkness: The Vampire Version. Director Leif Jonker keeps the viewer from focusing on the film's shortcomings by giving it a lean, speedy pace and delivering plenty of outrageous, bloody set pieces (the highway-set finale in particular is a grue-soaked stunner). The end result isn't perfect, but it's hard not to admire the film's enthusiasm for what it is doing. In short, Darkness: The Vampire Version is for a select portion of the horror audience, but those select few rowdy fans who can get into its "shoot from the hip" style will love its joyously bloody excesses.