Living Among Us (2018)

 

Releasing: February 2nd, 2018

By: Amanda Blake from Horror Movie Freaks

Director: Brian A. Metcalf

Vampires have played a huge role in millions of fans lives over the years. We all wanted to be either vampires or werewolves, right? Always thinking, “How awesome would it be if we could live forever, suck out the life force of our enemies, and never die?”, or “What if we had fur, could transform, and just live in the wild?”. Living Among Us may have brought us exactly that. They bring us into the home of a sect of vampires, invited by the sect leader, that have just stepped into the light (not really, that would kill them?). A crew from a local news team are going to find out exactly what it’s like to live with vampires. What could possibly go wrong?

This modern day take on vampires is new and refreshing. It’s not your regular run of the mill fangs. They say they have become civilized and only want to co-exist with humans. The sect leader, Samuel (William Sadler), even goes to the media to talk about it. He is a very convincing character and really makes you believe that’s all he wants.

The vampire family consists of an interesting mix of characters, even bordering dysfunctional: The father, Andrew (John Heard); The mother, Elleanor (Esmé Bianco); and their two sons, Blake (Andrew Keegan) and Selvin (Chad Todhunter). They each carry their own quirks. Andrew always feels like he’s hiding more than he’s telling, and that one wrong move would literally kill you. Elleanor is beautiful, eloquent, and charming. I often found myself thinking that she is the perfect host. A little secretive and the wrong questions made her seem more menacing. Blake was such an energetic character. I very much enjoyed this character. He made me feel like all he wanted to do is show the world how they live. He also always had this slightly sadistic feel to him. Then you have Selvin. Selvin was awkward. He made me feel like he was a ticking bomb that was going to go off at any time.

The news crew consisted of: Mike (Thomas Ian Nicholas), Carrie (Jordan Hinson), and Benny (Hunter Gomez). This group made things so relatable. Mike and Carrie being an on again, off again couple, arguing throughout their whole journey with Benny off to the side, who decided to document absolutely everything. The pressure of not getting along with someone, constantly being watched, and staying with vampires would create the perfect tension for everything to go wrong.

Overall, this movie kept me interested. I loved the fact that the movements with the different cameras were very well done, not so shaky, and they were in focus perfectly. This is by far one of the best documentary films I have ever seen. It kept me on the edge of my seat, the suspense was amazing and perfectly matched with the music, and the special effects were incredible.

They did a great job with the pace. It started out slower, you got to know each character, and you had time to take in the story. It even felt more realistic and explanations within the movie actually made sense. I really felt at times, like I was even a part of the movie. It also fascinated me the way they even captured what the world is like today with technology, politics, and how media is all about ratings.

I really do not have anything bad to say about this movie. It was one hell of a horror flick that I suggest everyone sees, even if only once in your life.

I give this movie a solid 10/10!

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