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BLOOD DYNASTY (2017)

Directed by Chris Alexander
Written by Chris Alexander
Starring Shauna Henry, Cheryl Singleton, Holly Riot, Andre Becker, Ashley Desjardine, Jackson Alexander
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The director of BLOOD FOR IRINA and QUEEN OF BLOOD is releasing his latest installment in his art house vampire series following the bloody path of the vampire Irina (played once again by Shauna Henry).

If I remember correctly, BLOOD DYNASTY begins right where QUEEN OF BLOOD ends with Irina giving birth to a baby in a river. The narrative skips to present day where a young lady living in a lonely hotel calls for Irina to rise. And she does, biting the young lady and infecting her with the vampire virus. The film goes on to show how this young lady deals with the vampire virus under the guide of Irina.

BLOOD DYNASTY is a throwback to the artsy vampire films of Jess Franco. While the films are less focused on gratuitous sex and objectification of the female form and lesbianism, it does have painstaking patience with its scenes. Chris Alexander has his characters dreamily moving as a snail’s pace through a serene landscape. Those in need of constant action and quick cuts are going to have a tough time sitting through this. But Alexander’s films are not for that crowd. These are films that allow one to sit and soak in the feelings and actions conveyed. While the story of BLOOD DYNASTY is somewhat repetitive, it is realized so to point out the monotony of loneliness that creeps in even when major life changes occur (in this case, being turned into a lonely woman in a hotel to a lonely vampire in a hotel). Irina acts more like a guiding figure in this film, trying to pass her knowledge on to someone new, yet finding that the power of vampirism holds much peril.

Alexander captures serene scenes of beauty in a trancelike way David Lynch does. With droning music and an art house take on the material, BLOOD DYNASTY, as with the previous films in this Irina trilogy, is a vampire film many will be unfamiliar with. But if you are in the mood for something experimental and don’t mind the slow pace, BLOOD DYNASTY will definitely entertain. As with his previous films, this one ends on a sort of cliffhanger, so it appears this isn’t the last we will see of Irina and for me—as I tend to appreciate all kinds of horror, be they experimental or mainstream—that is a very good thing.