A Fanged Filled Time
More than a week ago the audiences saw a DVD release of the Blade TV series pilot titled “The House of Chthon.”
The name of it sounds something from H.P. Lovecraft. There are no mountainous creatures terrorizing the human mind here or shadows lurking, stalking from some Lovecraftian abyss.
But there are vampires.
Lots of them.
The film sets itself after the third Blade film as certain events were mentioned in the pilot’s dialogue. Where he is tracking down an outpost of fanged fiends in the wintry landscape of Russia. The beginning marks a cold, choking climate that makes an interesting background to the heart of the story. The House of Chthon. A cold place. It inhabits a powerful, gangster like vampire with blonde hair and a smug attitude who remains a threat.
Krista Starr comes back from her military duty in Iraq to find her family is still broken apart by her brother’s negligent lifestyle. She then later learns that her brother is killed in a middle of a cross-fire, supposedly a victim of gang warfare. As she digs deeper into the fabric of the mystery, she finds her late twin brother had been in a sting operation, working closely at Blade’s side, in efforts of taking down the House of Chthon. The House is hiding some kind of powerful virus that targets certain vampires, leaving them in the midsts of power.
Like kings struggling to regain their thrones.
However, Starr becomes a vampire through the doings of the House of Chthon. No longer able to live the life of a normal person, she is now the resident of night. A shadow stirring in the late hours. She forms an aggravated relationship with Blade and becomes his inside source. There are hopes that they will bring down the ring of power starting from the inside.
The series isn’t a bad one created by David Goyer, who wrote all of the original Blade films starring Wesley Snipes and also did the screenplay for Batman Begins. The series itself is filled with interesting ideas. Unfortunately the series runs far too short to give it a more fleshed-out story. It lasted for 12 episodes.
The series formed its niche on Spike TV where they’re more at liberty in tackling violence. Some of the scenes are gruesome, a bit melodramatic. The bloody scenes can be over-the-top. Which is fine for horror fans. The DVD release is an extended cut with nothing cut out. More gory bits.
The writing is decent and the woman actress Jill Wagner does a good job playing the disbelieving Krista Starr before she is dragged into a world she never knew existed. There are some true emotional scenes with her dealing with the fact that the supernatural forces are out there and it has already taken the life of her brother. That leaves her thirsting for revenge in no small way.
Sadly, there is no real star power in the TV series. The original intent was to bring Wesley Snipes back to reprise the role as the tough cracker, sword-wielding Blade. And he wears his sunglasses even at night. But none of it fell through. And neither did efforts to hire Jessica Beil come through either. So it left the series standing pretty much on its own.
Kirk Jones does a fine job in taking up the sword and playing the character of Blade with his sharp humor and formidable stature as the night-haunted warrior. But one does sorely miss Snipes in the part. And therefore the comparisons are going to be made.
It’s nice to see the series has a long-term villain Marcus Van Schiver who is a presence throughout the entire thing. Not before did Blade have a foe who often returns to spite him. His charmingly sly looks and piercing eyes set him apart from the groggy appearance that makes up Blade. They become opposites of the same coin here. And it makes for a very good conflict to keep the series going.
Despite a very good following and some extraordinary stories, the series did not get picked up for the following season. And it left everything open-ended. But it was a modest attempt in a different kind of storytelling on the TV landscape.
The clear evidence of the DVD release of the pilot episode bodes well for the rest of the series that is sure to follow. Perhaps the Blade series will finally hit the shelves in its own box set.
Blade is based on a Marvel comic book character which was created during the 1970s. He is one of the more interesting black characters who has a major role in the comic books history apart from other well-known favorites such as the Black Panther and Luke Cage. The black characters are far and between. But Blade has a spotlight all to himself when it comes to kicking some vampire ass.
Sweet. Bring on the rest of the series.
The name of it sounds something from H.P. Lovecraft. There are no mountainous creatures terrorizing the human mind here or shadows lurking, stalking from some Lovecraftian abyss.
But there are vampires.
Lots of them.
The film sets itself after the third Blade film as certain events were mentioned in the pilot’s dialogue. Where he is tracking down an outpost of fanged fiends in the wintry landscape of Russia. The beginning marks a cold, choking climate that makes an interesting background to the heart of the story. The House of Chthon. A cold place. It inhabits a powerful, gangster like vampire with blonde hair and a smug attitude who remains a threat.
Krista Starr comes back from her military duty in Iraq to find her family is still broken apart by her brother’s negligent lifestyle. She then later learns that her brother is killed in a middle of a cross-fire, supposedly a victim of gang warfare. As she digs deeper into the fabric of the mystery, she finds her late twin brother had been in a sting operation, working closely at Blade’s side, in efforts of taking down the House of Chthon. The House is hiding some kind of powerful virus that targets certain vampires, leaving them in the midsts of power.
Like kings struggling to regain their thrones.
However, Starr becomes a vampire through the doings of the House of Chthon. No longer able to live the life of a normal person, she is now the resident of night. A shadow stirring in the late hours. She forms an aggravated relationship with Blade and becomes his inside source. There are hopes that they will bring down the ring of power starting from the inside.
The series isn’t a bad one created by David Goyer, who wrote all of the original Blade films starring Wesley Snipes and also did the screenplay for Batman Begins. The series itself is filled with interesting ideas. Unfortunately the series runs far too short to give it a more fleshed-out story. It lasted for 12 episodes.
The series formed its niche on Spike TV where they’re more at liberty in tackling violence. Some of the scenes are gruesome, a bit melodramatic. The bloody scenes can be over-the-top. Which is fine for horror fans. The DVD release is an extended cut with nothing cut out. More gory bits.
The writing is decent and the woman actress Jill Wagner does a good job playing the disbelieving Krista Starr before she is dragged into a world she never knew existed. There are some true emotional scenes with her dealing with the fact that the supernatural forces are out there and it has already taken the life of her brother. That leaves her thirsting for revenge in no small way.
Sadly, there is no real star power in the TV series. The original intent was to bring Wesley Snipes back to reprise the role as the tough cracker, sword-wielding Blade. And he wears his sunglasses even at night. But none of it fell through. And neither did efforts to hire Jessica Beil come through either. So it left the series standing pretty much on its own.
Kirk Jones does a fine job in taking up the sword and playing the character of Blade with his sharp humor and formidable stature as the night-haunted warrior. But one does sorely miss Snipes in the part. And therefore the comparisons are going to be made.
It’s nice to see the series has a long-term villain Marcus Van Schiver who is a presence throughout the entire thing. Not before did Blade have a foe who often returns to spite him. His charmingly sly looks and piercing eyes set him apart from the groggy appearance that makes up Blade. They become opposites of the same coin here. And it makes for a very good conflict to keep the series going.
Despite a very good following and some extraordinary stories, the series did not get picked up for the following season. And it left everything open-ended. But it was a modest attempt in a different kind of storytelling on the TV landscape.
The clear evidence of the DVD release of the pilot episode bodes well for the rest of the series that is sure to follow. Perhaps the Blade series will finally hit the shelves in its own box set.
Blade is based on a Marvel comic book character which was created during the 1970s. He is one of the more interesting black characters who has a major role in the comic books history apart from other well-known favorites such as the Black Panther and Luke Cage. The black characters are far and between. But Blade has a spotlight all to himself when it comes to kicking some vampire ass.
Sweet. Bring on the rest of the series.
posted by K.M. Paters at 11:45 AM
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