When down-on-his-luck cubicle drone Evan starts to suspect his new boss is a vampire, even his best friend Tim doesn’t believe him. But as their colleagues get paler and keener to work the night shift, it’s clear the company is no longer demanding blood, sweat and tears. The first one will do just fine.
This breezy horror-comedy transparently wants to be “The Office” with vampires and arguably it would have been much better had it mimicked the faux-documentary shooting style of the celebrated sitcom. Instead, its early scenes are shot with all the élan and visual panache of a nineties Australian soap opera.
There’s a distinct low-budget feel to the early scenes, with self-conscious performances and dialogue the cast – including Pedro Pascal – can’t quite humanise. It often feels underrehearsed and overly stiff and while there are a few game performances and some sharp gags, it never really leans into the vampirism as a metaphor for corporate life.
However, once it stops trying to play with the are they or aren’t they actual vampires and the blood starts to splatter the walls, the film shows it’s got more than enough energy and wit to pull off a pretty fangtastic premise.
Admittedly easy to switch off before the half-hour mark, it ends up rewarding you if you don’t with a goofy and gory office-based romp.
6/10