BLOOD VESSEL

The tensions within the diverse group are a highlight. "I'm not going anywhere with that fascist", one of the Americans complains of the Russian in their midst, to which the Australian replies: "Communist, dickhead". Another standout is Sky Davies' cinematography as they board the ship, which is swathed in red lights against a variety of greys. Shot mostly inside the HMAS Castlemaine (one of sixty Australian minesweepers built during World War II), the film's production design is impressive. The confined spaces create a claustrophobic environment for the ensuing action and help give a low-budget horror movie some larger-than-life atmosphere.

Upon exploring the seemingly deserted ship, the intrepid gang find mangled corpses, charred remains and a ton of gold bullion. They also stumble upon a Nazi soldier, who has barricaded himself in a room, and a young Romanian girl, Mya (Ruby Isobel Hall), anxious to return to her "famigilia".

If it isn't abundantly clear from the title, 'Blood Vessel' is a vampire movie. However, it takes 52 minutes before we see any bloodsucking action, which is far too long to watch people opening doors, finding items, and wandering through the titular vessel. While the bat-like baddies are impressive homunculi of practical effects wizardly, they sit around in a cargo hold for the most part, working some mind control mojo on their hapless victims and flapping their clawed hands around.

I'm guessing that Dix chose to hold off on the action due to budgetary constraints, but he neglected to fill that dead air with anything substantial. Unlike the films that it draws inspiration from (the first two 'Alien' movies and John Carpenter's 'The Thing' are big reference points), 'Blood Vessel' lacks tension and scares. It doesn't even have over-the-top bloodshed to fall back on, like Robert Rodriguez's 'From Dusk till Dawn'. In fact, the film feels like a cross between a long episode of Guillermo del Toro's TV series 'The Strain' (which also featured WWII-era vamps and a hulking Nosferatu with telepathy) and special-effects specialist turned director Steve Beck's wearisome 'Ghost Ship' (minus the undiscriminating nudity and gore).

Subverting a cliché-heavy genre template requires a tricky balancing act: the setup needs to look conventional, but if it's too conventional, the audience may fall asleep before the twist kicks in. Despite some decent (if familiar) work from the makeup, prosthetics, and special effects teams, the lethargic pacing and lack of substantive innovation in 'Blood Vessel' means the end result is disappointingly lifeless.

It does have a cool title, though.