John Turley (18 May 2013)

A non-standard vampire story

I got this video in a collection of horror DVDs. I did not knowanything about it, other than the title, "Mrs. Amworth", was the nameof a British movie made in 1975 about a vampire.This movie was apparently shot in 2007, in video. The picture qualityis actually very good, much better than expected.So, the story centers around a charming small town that could beanywhere in the USA. (A license plate does reveal that the actual stateis Virginia, in case you're curious.) An attractive widow, ClaireAmworth, moves into the neighborhood. Claire is elegant, sophisticated,and has traveled extensively. Her neighbors are charmed by her. Aroundthe same time, young people start getting ill and unexpectedly die,only to come back to life shortly afterward. One would think that suchhorrible events would cause enormous panic in this town? Well, it doesgenerate some interest with the local newspaper, which decides toinvestigate. But what about the police? The newspaperman learns thatMrs. Amworth, from all her experience, may be much older than sheappears. There may be other dark secrets to uncover. Of course, it isnot easy to get people to believe what the newspaperman says.I found the story to be slow, and the characters doing things that Iwould not generally believe. I mean, I agree that the whole point ofhorror is watching people do things they should not do (going insidehaunted houses or digging in graveyards, always at night) but thisseemed worse.The camera-work was great, and the characters seemed well-chosen fortheir roles. I think something much better could have been made.