Razor Blade Smile

Razor Blade Smile is a 1998 British vampire film written and directed by Jake West. It stars Eileen Daly, Christopher Adamson, and Heidi James.

Razor Blade Smile
Official Teaser Poster
Directed byJake West
Produced by
  • Jake West
  • Robert Mercer[1]
Screenplay byJake West[1]
StarringEileen Daly
Christopher Adamson
Heidi James
Music byRichard Wells[1]
CinematographyJames Solan[1]
Edited byJake West[1]
Production
company
  • Manga Live
  • Eye Deal Image[1]
Distributed byManga Entertainment[1]
Release date
  • 19 September 1998 (1998-09-19)
Running time
102 minutes[1]
CountryUnited Kingdom[1]
LanguageEnglish

Plot

150 years ago, Lilith Silver is mortally wounded as she attempts to avenge the dueling death of her lover by Sir Sethane Blake. Enamored by her spirit, Sir Sethane reveals himself to be a vampire and grants Lilith the gift (and curse) of eternal life as a vampire. Today, Lilith moves through the city as a contract killer hired to eliminate all members of the mysterious and evil Masonic "Illuminati" sect, the leader of which, not coincidentally, is Sir Sethane. Clad in black latex and armed with a coffin full of weaponry, the vampiric hitwoman hunts down her targets while the police close in on her trail, desperate to end the carnage.

Cast
  • Eileen Daly as Lilith Silver
  • Christopher Adamson as Sethane Blake
  • Jonathan Coote as Detective Inspector Price
  • Kevin Howarth as Platinum
  • David Warbeck as The Horror Movie Man
  • Heidi James as Ariauna
  • Isabel Brook as Silk
  • Louisa Moore as Celeste
  • Jennifer Guy as Cindy Arnold
  • Bradley Lavelle as The Chill Pilgrim
  • Peter Godwin as Illuminati Conspirator

Release

The film premiered on 19 September 1998 at Fantastisk Film Festival Lund and was released in the UK as part of the Raindance Film Festival on 22 October 1998. It was released on DVD on 14 September 1999.[2]

Reception

Rotten Tomatoes, a review aggregator, reports that 0% of six surveyed critics gave the film a positive review; the average rating was 3.91/10.[3] Ken Eisner of Variety called it a cheesy, over-the-top vampire film with enough style to make up for its acting and plotting.[4] Time Out London wrote that despite the film's faults, "there's a no-nonsense, unapologetic mood that makes the film hard to dislike."[5] Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times called it "a silly, gory, overly self-congratulatory vampire comedy".[6] Christopher Varney of Film Threat rated it 2/5 stars and called it "loud, atmospheric nonsense" that "rates high on the novelty factor".[7] David Johnson of DVD Verdict called it forgettable and generic vampire film that has a distracting visual style.[8] Kim Newman (Sight & Sound) described the film as "essentially the work of enthusiastic fans rather than pros" noting that "performances are extremely amateurish, which hamstrings the expositions scenes and makes for a succession of annoying walk-on victims."[1]

Awards

The film won most of the top awards in the first B-Movie Film Festival (1999), including Best B-Movie, Director (Jake West), Actress (Eileen Daly), Cinematography, and Special Effects.[9]

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References
  1. Newman, Kim (1998). "Razor Blade Smile". Sight & Sound. Vol. 8 no. 12. London: British Film Institute. p. 12.
  2. Gross, G. Noel (16 March 2000). "Razor Blade Smile". DVD Talk. Retrieved 8 June 2014.
  3. "Razor Blade Smile (1998)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 29 June 2019.
  4. Eisner, Ken (25 October 1998). "Review: 'Razor Blade Smile'". Variety. Retrieved 8 June 2014.
  5. "Razor Blade Smile". Time Out London. Retrieved 8 June 2014.
  6. Thomas, Kevin (15 July 1999). "A Poetic Outpouring". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 8 June 2014.
  7. Varney, Christopher (15 November 2000). "Razor Blade Smile". Film Threat. Retrieved 8 June 2014.
  8. Johnson, David (7 October 2005). "Razor Blade Smile". DVD Verdict. Retrieved 8 June 2014.
  9. "British Vampire Flick 'Razor Blade Smile' Wins Top Honors at B-Movie Film Festival", b-movie.com, 31 August 1999. Retrieved 12 April 2007.
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