Product Details

• Actors: Gary Miller, Michael Gisick, Randall Aviks, Cena Donham, Steve Brown
• Directors: Leif Jonker
• Writers: Leif Jonker
• Producers: Gary Miller, Leif Jonker, David Saville, Dawn DeProspo, Jeff Goodwin
• Format: Color, DVD, Limited Edition, Original recording remastered, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo)
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
• Number of discs: 2
• Rated: Unrated
• Studio: Barrel
• DVD Release Date: May 30, 2006
• Run Time: 90 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000F48D9G
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #108,244 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Darkness: The Vampire Version" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Depicting the takeover of a small town by an army of vampires, Darkness was partially financed by its makers selling their blood at the local plasma bank. Since it was so micro-budgeted, Leif Jonker was uncertain his grassroots horror movie would ever be seen publicly, hoping at the very least to produce the film equivalent of a good garage band’s "demo tape" to display his potential as a director. Instead, the gore-drenched film went on to become one of the premiere titles in the underground horror wave of the early 90s, gaining a worldwide cult fan base through multiple video releases (all of which were culled from inferior source materials created by recording the projected image off a homemade screen) and screenings at the Fantafestival in Italy, Night of the Bloody Tapes in Germany, and as a "Centerpiece Selection" at the Nevermore Film Fest in the United States. Now, Barrel is proud to present this underground classic with its first ever professional film-to-video transfer struck directly from the original camera elements, featuring digitally restored picture and sound in a new, never before seen edit – Darkness: The Vampire Version, the official, definitive, director’s cut!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Got blood?, February 5, 2010

By 

C. Christopher Blackshere "Mackshere" (hampered by what's acceptable) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Darkness: The Vampire Version (DVD)

Welcome to the Splatterparty! This is one nasty little bloodbath, showered down upon us with sick and grueling depravity that only underground horror can provide. Gorelovers, grab a fork! Writer/director Leif Jonker and his friends actually financed much of this cult gem with their own blood, using the money they earned from their donations at the nearby plasma bank.

$5,000 budget? Are you kidding me? I heard Rob Zombie's Halloween remake had a budget of around 15 million.
Now it does have the expected problems that come with a super-low budget horror flick. Horrendous acting, amateurish directing, bad transfer. But really I think this adds to the charm. The narrative jumps around alot, which didn't seem to serve much of a purpose. We're often given indications--23 minutes to daylight, or 9 minutes to night. But it would still look like broad daylight. Kinda silly, but all is forgiven. And when some people have a delayed reaction to the heinous onslaught occurring just in front of them, you can't help but yell "Run dummy!". Oh well...

Luckily there is enough awesome to make you forget about the ridiculous. Darkness is a pretty straight forward vampire story, stuck back in the 80's. We've got mullets, Hard Rock Cafe T-Shirts, & some cheesy metal. The violence jumps right in and never stops. I'm talking about blood, blood, blood. And more blood. It sometimes feels more like a apocalyptic zombie tale. Other times maybe a gory cannibal flick. Trust me, there will be lots of flesh rippage and gooey carnage.

This has an incredibly vicious ending. Badass stuff! It kinda reminded me of the flesh melting scene at the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark. But better! No CGI here though, some phenomenal special effects, regardless of the budget.

Darkness: The Vampire Version is great low budget vampire flick that has achieved international cult status. Way too cool!

Highly recommended to the gore lovers. And even to Twilight fans. You must be converted.

Be afraid of the Darkness

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Worth watching..., January 19, 2007

By 

Don Cheeto (Bakersfield, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Darkness: The Vampire Version (DVD)

...okay first of all it is supposed to be a vampire movie, but the vampires act more like zombies. They bite the hell out of any and all bodyparts, they walk like they're zombies, and act like they are zombies. This movie was not bad, except they over did it with the blood. Too much of it is not always a good thing, and it gets old after a while. I would say this is about a three and a half star movie. It is a good addition to your horror library, but not an integral one. I would say rent it first, then if you feel it justifies a purchase then by all means. I don't regret I got it, but I wish I could tell you it is a must have.

7 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great vampire release (but 5 years late)...., June 12, 2006

By 

xx "xx" (xx) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Darkness: The Vampire Version (DVD)

After purchasing and watching this movie, I can see why there is such a cult following. The movie was obviously made with very little budget, but the quality blew me away. The movie follows a town that gets taken over by vampires. They attack innocent people and drink lots of blood. The similarities to other vampire movies stops there, however. The acting in this movie is non-existent, but the action explods off the screen. The gore and death scenes are great, and I was shocked (Thats real blood, people). Chainsaw weilding maniacs, and ghouls of the night.
This movie took WAY too long in production, but the special features, and movie transfer are WELL worth the wait.
Great (Dare I say "B") vampire genre film.
Keep in mind this IS very low budget-so if you're expecting "Blade", you will be dissapointed.