Review: THERESA AND ALLISON (2019)
It’s always good to see another film from Jeremiah Kipp (Perfect, The Sadist). Whether working on his own projects or as he is here, a director for hire, he brings considerable talent to any project he’s attached to. In the case of Theresa And Allison, he’s working from a script by writer/producer/actor Charles D. Lincoln (21st Century Demon Hunter). Random trivia, Charles is the son of Fred J. Lincoln who played Weasel in the original Last House On The Left as well as appearing in hundreds of porn films. So films full of sex and violence may have been in his genes.
Theresa (Arielle Hope) has a very bad night. She gets drunk at a party and a friend pours her into an Uber to get home. She wakes up alone in the car and wanders off only to meet a woman (Pooya Mohseni, Terrifier) who seduces her and takes her home. The bad news is, she’s a vampire and by the next morning so is Theresa.
Taken in by what appears at first to be the NYPD but is actually The Hierarchy, the vampire’s governing body. She’s given an introduction to vampirism, (and we get to learn the rules for this film as well). While there she also catches the eye of Allison (Sarah Schoofs, Infernum, Meme). She and her ex Tony (Charles D. Lincoln) were there because of a minor infraction of vampire law.
Now Theresa finds herself caught between the decadent world of Allison and her undead friends and the values she held as a human. Will she choose her values or her attraction to Allison? A gathering of the undead will put her to the test.
Shot in 2016 but only recently turning up in release, Theresa And Allison is an odd beast. It has some of the feel of an older, 70s era vampire film. Not in the style of Hammer’s Dracula films though. It’s more of a cross between Vampyers or a European vampire tale and a gritty 42nd Street exploitation film. It has the feel at times of Romero’s Martin, but there’s no doubt the vampires are real here.
At two hours Theresa And Allison runs a bit longer than it needs to. It’s nice to get the background the flashbacks to Theresa’s early days as a vampire give us. But half as many would have done the job just as well. The constant flashbacks also tended to pull me out of the narrative. Much like flashy camera tricks, they’re a tool that needs to be used sparingly.
For those who can deal with the slower pace and long-running time, Theresa And Allison certainly has a lot to offer. The three leads give solid performances. There’s also a fair amount of skin, maybe more than there is blood. The attacks we do get however are brutal and not romanticized like in many vampire films.
There’s a post-credit scene that hints at some sort of sequel further exploring vampire politics and rivalries. Whether or not that happens remains to be seen, however.
Theresa And Allison is available via streaming outlets. You can check the film’s website and Facebook page for more information.