Ganja & Hess | 100 Movies Bucket List

 

I'd never heard of this film before it was on the bucket list, but after seeing that it was a black vampire movie I was looking forward to seeing it.

I ended up having mixed feelings about the film.

It took a little while to really get going, and in that time I didn't feel like we got to know the characters as well as we could have.

It's shot in a really interesting way. It feels like a product of its time, and very 70s, but the grainy footage also gives everything a sense of authenticity and realism.

One of the things about this film that really works is the dialogue. The characters feel extremely authentic and that's down to the way they speak and the conversations they have with each other. At times, when the plot isn't focused on the fantastical, it feels like watching a documentary.

I can't say this is the most entertaining movie. While the characters are great, not much happens, and there's often a while between events. So when something of note does happen, it takes a little while before another thing of note happens.

It didn't bring out any excitement or tension. You're not anticipating what will happen next, or itching to get to the end to see how the characters turn out, you're just along for the ride.

There's a lot of dialogue in the film that's really interesting, but doesn't always feel relevant to the overall plot. It's still enjoyable to watch, but it feels like it's halting the events of the film rather than progressing them.

It kind of gives a more real look at becoming a vampire, which is a fascinating angle to take, but again, it's probably not the more entertaining one.

So while I really appreciate this film from a wider lens, looking at horror movies in general, black horror movies, and even more specifically black vampire movies, the film itself didn't grab me as much as I wanted it to.