Black Water Vampire (also known as The Black Water Vampire) is a 2014 found footage horror film written and directed by Evan Tramel. The film was released direct to DVD on January 24, 2014 through Image Entertainment. It stars Bill Oberst Jr. (The Devil Within; Abraham Lincoln vs. Zombies; Dracula’s War) Danielle Lozeau (Werewolf Rising; Tales of the Wicked Unseen; Twinge), Andrea Monier (Are You Scared 2), Anthony Fanelli, Robin Steffen (Naked Zombie Girl).
Plot teaser:
Every ten years for the last forty years, a woman’s body is discovered in the woods outside of Black Water, drained of blood and bearing mysterious bite marks. Raymond Banks (Oberst Jr.) has been convicted of the crime, but Black Water resident Danielle (Danielle Lozeau) doesn’t believe that he’s the murderer. Hoping to prove his innocence and thus get Raymond off of death row, Danielle convinces her friends Andrea (Andrea Monier) and Rob (Robin Steffen) to venture out into the woods to search for evidence. They hire Anthony (Anthony Fanelli) to film their search, which quickly turns bizarre when they begin to hear stories about supernatural creatures. Despite Rob’s misgivings, the group begins a three day hike to see where one of the bodies was discovered, only to get lost in the process. As they try to make their way through the woods, the group finds that someone – or something – is following them…
Reviews:
“Towards the end of the movie things start to get a little weird (including some poor CGI), but still pretty original as far as found footage vampire movies go. Is there a real vampire? Is Banks the actual killer? Will the group make it out alive? These questions and more will be answered by the end of the film, which was actually pretty good. Overall it’s nothing outstanding or unlike things you’ve seen before, but definitely worth at least a rental.” Chris Egan, Horror-Movies.ca
” … the camera work here is certainly better than Blair Witch. Things are steadier and that helps tremendously. Secondly, there’s a whole subplot involving the would-be potential killer Raymond Banks (played by veteran Bill Oberst, Jr). Though the timing of it makes zero sense based on his age (according to the story), this guy adds a great sense of schizophrenic dread. His performance here is far and away the best and most interesting part of the whole film.” Andre Manseau, Arrow in the Head
“It’s a shame that Black Water Vampire didn’t step up to the plate a little more. It’s one of the few movies that tried to bring back the vampire as something vicious and lamprey-esque instead of the romanticized toothless version running amuck. It was also one of the first films to introduce the vampire to a feature length found-footage film. For a film with such honorable intentions, it unfortunately falls short.” David Calbert, Diabolique Magazine
“If you enjoy found footage movies and you can forgive the lack of originality in the first hour the pay-off is worthy, creepy and, on a couple of distinct occasions actually makes solid use of the found footage conceit. If you can’t then the characters’ trudge through very little on the hunt for a story may feel all too close for comfort.” Phil Lunt, The British Fantasy Society
“I have said before that I am not a huge fan of found footage films and this remains true. However I found myself caught up in the Black Water Vampire and I put this entirely down to the trail of breadcrumbs left by the scriptwriter (Jesse Baget) and the natural feel of the main actors. As a con, the use of camera at times seemed a little forced, but that is always going to be the case with this style of film (even the more magnificent examples such as the Rec series had their clunky moments in this regard). But if a film keeps you truly interested then that is certainly a big plus.” Taliesin Meets the Vampires
The fact of the matter here is that this film was really, really similar to the Blair Witch project that way. However, there are a few differences worth noting, mostly on the positive side. First of all, the camera work here is certainly better than Blair Witch. Things are steadier and that helps tremendously. Secondly, there’s a whole subplot involving the would-be potential killer Raymond Banks (played by veteran Bill Oberst, Jr). Though the timing of it makes zero sense based on his age (according to the story), this guy adds a great sense of schizophrenic dread. His performance here is far and away the best and most interesting part of the whole film.
