Les Vampyres 2: The Resurrection Review

Distributor: Metro Edition Details: Standard DVD Movie Specs: Genres: Feature Film, Horror Run Time: 103 minutes Rated: XXX Release Year: 2002 Director: James Avalon Written by: James Avalon Cast: Misty Rain, Syren, Nikita Denise, Ava Vincent, Holly Hollywood, Wendi Knight, Gina Ryder, Katja Kean, Joel Lawrence, Mark Davis, Nick East, Ian Daniels, John Decker, Evan Stone, Nick Orleans, Suitcase Jones, Kelli Sparks, Brandon Iron, Brick Majors, Jack Hammer, Kate Frost Release Specs: Audio: English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Subtitles: none Video: Full Frame, 1.33:1 Video Format: NTSC Format: DVD Regional Code (for DVD/Blu-ray): 0 (All) Number of discs: 2 Disc: DVD 9 (SS, DL) Special Features: Audio Commentary, Alternate Angles, Bloopers, Behind the Scenes, Photo Gallery, Star Interviews, How to Detect and Kill Vampires, History of Vampires by Nikita Denise, Two Never Before Released Scenes, Wallpaper, Screen Savers, Metro Studios Facility Tour, Previews DVD-ROM Special Features: none

Synopsis:
In the 1600s, Ava Vincent and Syren, who are both vampires, kill Joel Lawrence and Misty, his girlfriend, threatens to expose the vampires for what they are if they don't give her immortality by turning her into a vampire. She, in turn, saves Joel by turning him into a vampire and the film cut to the present when Misty and Joel are attempting to seek revenge against the vampire clan.

Audio/Video:
Les Vampyres 2 is presented with an English 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround track which sounds excellent. The background sounds are presented in surround and create an excellent mood for the film. The dialog is clear and easy to hear at all times. There is one problem with the audio track though, every once and a while the sound cuts out for a second for no obvious reason. It doesn't ruin the viewing experience but does distract the viewer when it happens. There is also an English 2.0 Commentary track included on the disc. Metro hasn't included any foreign language tracks or any subtitle options for the feature film.

Les Vampyres 2 is presented in the full screen aspect ratio of 1.33:1, which is unfortunate since the film cries out to be presented in a widescreen scope. Especially since this was shot on film so it has the look of a traditional film. As with many adult films that are shot on film, this print contains grain throughout the film, especially in night sequences when it has excessive grain. This is a very dark film, but the colors look good and there are no artifacts or other problems with the print.

Special Features:
Metro has loaded this set with extras, putting a few onto the first disc and then devoting a second disc entirely to extras. We'll cover the few on the first disc before getting into the second disc. There is a feature length audio commentary track featuring director James Avalon and Nikita Denise which makes a great listen after you watch the film. There are multiple angles in the sex scenes, which don't work quite right. Each sex scene has a second angle, unfortunately, they aren't right so you see a different part of the sex scene that doesn't line up at all with where the action is in the first angle. For instance in the first angle, they might be giving a blow job and in the second angle they might be having sex. There are also previews for Good Girl Bad Girl, Karma, and America the Beautiful.

Now we get to the second disc. The best feature by far on this disc is the behind the scenes piece which covers the making of the film. There is around six minutes of bloopers, which features flubs, mess ups and cellphones going off. There is a photo gallery, which contains 15 stills that you flip through. There are star interviews done by what sounds like Quasarman for Ava Vincent (as Jewel Valmont), Wendi Knight, Nikita Denise, Misty Rain, and Syren. Each one runs for around 4 minutes. There is a piece entitled How to Detect and Kill Vampires which features Nikita Denise talking about the signs of being a vampire and how to knock them off. There is a deceptive piece titled Two Never Before Released Scenes, which is really the extended cuts of two of the sex scenes in the film. There is a piece titled History of Vampires by Nikita Denise, which dives the description of a vampire and leads into a girl/girl sex scene. And last there is the Metro Studios Facility Tour, which is a short video look at the Metro offices, with no audio.

DVD-ROM Special Features:
Metro has included two DVD-ROM extras on disc two. There are two different Les Vampyres 2 theme screen savers for your personal computer and the 40 pictures for the screen savers can also be used as wallpaper for your personal computer as well.

Navigation:
There are 16 chapters available from the main menu for Les Vampyres 2. Each one is identified by a video clip from where the chapter goes to. The chapters provide a good means of navigation through the disc, which is good since for some reason Metro decided not to encode a time code on the disc. Seeing the nice job that Metro did with the rest of this set, I'm surprised at the lack of a time code since it makes the disc look cheaper and less professional, not to mention harder to navigate.

General Review:
Les Vampyres 2 is a dark film, in more aspect than one, which will not appeal to many viewers especially raincoaters. The mood of the film itself is very dark, with bloodsucking often following the sex scenes, which may turn some viewers off. The sets also add to the dark feel of the film. The sets are excellent, especially those from the 1600s period, but they are constructed and picked with a darker look to them. The film is also dark in the lighting and filming. With many low lit scenes and in some places colored filters. There is a great gothic feel to the whole film. I think the dark mood that the film creates works for it, but it will end up turning off some viewers. There are also some excellent costumes used in the film that help in allowing yourself becoming immersed in the film.

This film may be too arty and too much of a film for some viewers as well. Unlike some of James Avalon's films that I have seen, the art doesn't get in the way of the film, but works with the film to create and adult film that is both sensual and erotic. This is a perfectly acceptable film for couples viewing as far as the sex acts go and with the decent plot, set and costume work this could make a great film for viewing with your significant other.

The sexual acts are rather tame and don't go into the nastier side, but manage to create some excellent heat making this a very erotic film to watch. One of the scenes is shot in dark blue tones, allowing the focus of the scene to come off of the body parts and instead focus on the act itself. A nice touch that helps the film in my opinion.

The sexual themes in the film are vaginal sex with blow jobs, pussy eating, anilingus, pussy fingering, titty fucking, female masturbation, vampires and lesbianism. For viewers that care about condom use, some scenes utilize condoms and others don't. An unfortunate aspect is that the scenes in the 1600s do utilize condoms and they do stick out a bit in the scenes throwing a bit of unreality into the scenes which hampers the mood of the scenes. I wish that James Avalon had utilized condoms with more of a flesh tone color with the rims cut off so they weren't as obvious in these scenes.

Another aspect of the film that I liked is the comic book transitions between the scenes. When shifting from one scene to another, the live picture fades into a comic picture before going into the next scene for the transitions, reminiscent of the mainstream film Tank Girl. The way it is used here works in the favor of the film helping to create a fantasy story that works on multiple levels for the viewer.

The Scenes:
The first scene brings us Joel Lawrence, Ava Vincent and Syren and starts out with a blow job before going into the vaginal sex. The second scene features Mark Davis and Misty Rain and starts out with a blow job before going into the vaginal sex conclusion.

The third scene features Joel Lawrence, Nick East, Katja Kean, and Misty Rain. The scene consists of two sets of pairs and starts out with some pussy eating before going into the blow job. The scene concludes with the vaginal sex. The fourth scene features Joel Lawrence with Nikita Denise and starts out with a blow job before going into the vaginal sex.

The fifth scene features John Decker, Ian Daniels, Ava Vincent, Syren and Wendi Knight. For this scene there are two pairings of two pairs with Wendi Knight who masturbates solo for the scene. The scene starts out with a blow job and titty fucking combo before going into the vaginal sex. The sixth scene gives us Nikita Denise, Ava Vincent, Syren and Holly Hollywood and is a hot lesbian scene which involves pussy eating and pussy fingering with lots of foreplay.

The seventh and final scene features Evan Stone with Gina Ryder and Ava Vincent and starts out with some lesbian pussy eating before going into the blow job. The scene and the film conclude with some vaginal sex.

Parting Thoughts:
Les Vampyres 2 is an easier film to not recommend to people than to recommend to people due to the limited audience that will enjoy it. Viewers that don't like arty adult films, don't like porn with a plot or require nasty sex will not find this film to their liking. In the same line, viewers that don't like an adult film with darker overtones will probably find this film not to their liking. If this film sounds good to you, I recommend that you rent before purchasing so that you ensure this is the right film for you.

Screenshots:

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