Candy-colored(particular emphasis on blood red)cinematography and a bang up cast highlight this vampire satire on the travails of an ailing Canadian rock band, struggling still after ten years on the road, rejuvenated when one among them is turned into a bloodsucker after a gig one night.
Joey's base guitarist(and ex-girlfriend), Jennifer(Jessica Paré), decides to accompany a "queen vampire" to a party which is essentially a gathering of the undead, decadently attired as if from the Victorian period. When Jennifer returns a vamp, the band's stage show actually attracts a fervent following, word of mouth about them spreading across the internet like a firestorm.
Well, soon members of the band(Paul Anthony and Mike Lobel)coerce Jennifer into turning them into vampires as well hurling Joey(Rob Stefaniuk, the writer, director, and star who also wrote most of the music!)into a crisis as numerous victims start turning up while on their road tour to New York City for the "big show", supposedly to contain "movers and shakers" who might can finally give them some much needed success.
Alice Cooper(as a vampire bartender who attempts to convince Joey that vampirism is the way to go), Iggy Pop(as a tired former rocker, whose studio Joey uses to record Jennifer's new song she has written, warning of the dangers to come for this band), Henry Rollins(as an insulting, loud-mouthed, self-absorbed DJ who speaks of himself in the Third person and belittles bands who enter his radio station paying the price for his rudeness)and Dave Foley(KIDS IN THE HALL; as the band's manager who dumps them, a leech who returns, of course, once they gain a reputation)all have supporting parts which will draw interest to SUCK from horror fans. Moby, of all people, portrays the lead singer of "the biggest road band in Buffalo", the "Confederates of Steak", whose devoted fans pelt their stage at shows with bloody meat(!), an egotistical and foul type of wannabe rock god who doesn't ingratiate himself to the Winners(the name of Joey's band)with much class. His fate is more than a bit ironic considering the persona of his band. Malcolm McDowell, as Eddie Van Helsing(Hell yeah!), is good fun as a vampire hunter(afraid of the dark!)with an eye patch following the Winners so he can question the whereabouts of the one who turned Jennifer, Dimitri Coats(known simply as Queeny), responsible for supposedly killing his gal back in the 70s.
Some funny dialogue derives from munching on body parts(and a groupie!)and blood sucking, not to mention the unfortunate trials of life on the road with a band who have become weary after a long time of disappointment. Some interesting art direction and stop motion animation; a superb neck slashing and the use of a guitar to impale a vampire(!)are included. To tell you the truth, SUCK is mostly a series of music videos, shot in slow motion and bright colors, intercut with dialogue scenes. My favorite scene, which doesn't involve Cooper or Pop, is the hallucinatory music number where Joey falls under the spell of "magic pills". The names in the cast aren't just throwaway cameos which is nice, and they actually contribute even more on the interview documentary of the film on it's DVD. Paré is striking even in pale skin and strange eye contacts, often shot in slo-mo up close to capture her allure and Gothic beauty. Coats, albeit in a smaller part, is quite a creepy presence when he does appear on screen.
Joey's base guitarist(and ex-girlfriend), Jennifer(Jessica Paré), decides to accompany a "queen vampire" to a party which is essentially a gathering of the undead, decadently attired as if from the Victorian period. When Jennifer returns a vamp, the band's stage show actually attracts a fervent following, word of mouth about them spreading across the internet like a firestorm.
Well, soon members of the band(Paul Anthony and Mike Lobel)coerce Jennifer into turning them into vampires as well hurling Joey(Rob Stefaniuk, the writer, director, and star who also wrote most of the music!)into a crisis as numerous victims start turning up while on their road tour to New York City for the "big show", supposedly to contain "movers and shakers" who might can finally give them some much needed success.
Alice Cooper(as a vampire bartender who attempts to convince Joey that vampirism is the way to go), Iggy Pop(as a tired former rocker, whose studio Joey uses to record Jennifer's new song she has written, warning of the dangers to come for this band), Henry Rollins(as an insulting, loud-mouthed, self-absorbed DJ who speaks of himself in the Third person and belittles bands who enter his radio station paying the price for his rudeness)and Dave Foley(KIDS IN THE HALL; as the band's manager who dumps them, a leech who returns, of course, once they gain a reputation)all have supporting parts which will draw interest to SUCK from horror fans. Moby, of all people, portrays the lead singer of "the biggest road band in Buffalo", the "Confederates of Steak", whose devoted fans pelt their stage at shows with bloody meat(!), an egotistical and foul type of wannabe rock god who doesn't ingratiate himself to the Winners(the name of Joey's band)with much class. His fate is more than a bit ironic considering the persona of his band. Malcolm McDowell, as Eddie Van Helsing(Hell yeah!), is good fun as a vampire hunter(afraid of the dark!)with an eye patch following the Winners so he can question the whereabouts of the one who turned Jennifer, Dimitri Coats(known simply as Queeny), responsible for supposedly killing his gal back in the 70s.
Some funny dialogue derives from munching on body parts(and a groupie!)and blood sucking, not to mention the unfortunate trials of life on the road with a band who have become weary after a long time of disappointment. Some interesting art direction and stop motion animation; a superb neck slashing and the use of a guitar to impale a vampire(!)are included. To tell you the truth, SUCK is mostly a series of music videos, shot in slow motion and bright colors, intercut with dialogue scenes. My favorite scene, which doesn't involve Cooper or Pop, is the hallucinatory music number where Joey falls under the spell of "magic pills". The names in the cast aren't just throwaway cameos which is nice, and they actually contribute even more on the interview documentary of the film on it's DVD. Paré is striking even in pale skin and strange eye contacts, often shot in slo-mo up close to capture her allure and Gothic beauty. Coats, albeit in a smaller part, is quite a creepy presence when he does appear on screen.