''Thralls'' (also known as ''Blood Angels'' in Canada) is a 2005

direct-to-video Direct-to-video or straight-to-video refers to the release of a film, TV series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere. This distribution strategy was p ...

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit fear or disgust in its audience for entertainment purposes. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements include monsters, apoca ...

directed by

Ron Oliver Ron Oliver is a Canadian writer, director, producer, and actor who started with the cult hit '' Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night II''. He was also a host on Canada's YTV for the shows YTV Hits, The Ron Oliver Show, Oliver's Twist & Rock 'n Talk. He ha ...

and starring

Lorenzo Lamas Lorenzo Fernando Lamas (born January 20, 1958) is an American actor. He is widely known for his role of Lance Cumson, the irresponsible grandson of Angela Channing—played by Jane Wyman—in the soap opera ''Falcon Crest'' (1981–1990), for ...

Leah Cairns Leah Cairns (born June 2, 1974) is a Canadian actress. She is best known for her roles as Lieutenant Margaret "Racetrack" Edmondson in ''Battlestar Galactica'' and as Kathryn McLaren in the TV series " Travelers." Early life Cairns was born in ...

, Siri Baruc,

Crystal Lowe Yan-Kay Crystal Lowe (born Yan-Kay Lo; January 20, 1981) is a Canadian actress, director, and model best known for her scream queen roles in horror films such as '' Children of the Corn: Revelation'' (2001), ''Final Destination 3'' (2006), '' B ...

, Lisa Marie Caruk,

Sonya Salomaa Sonya Salomaa (born 1974) is a Canadian actress, known for her performances in ''The Collector'' and '' Durham County''. Early life She was born in Sudbury, Ontario. Salomaa grew up in Prince George, British Columbia and attended the University ...

, and Moneca Delain. It was written by

Lisa Morton Lisa Morton (born December 11, 1958) is an American horror author and screenwriter. Biography Morton was born in Pasadena, California, and entered the film industry in 1979 as a modelmaker on Star Trek: The Motion Picture. In 1988 she co-wro ...

and Brett Thompson.

Plot

The plot focuses on six women known as ''thralls'', half-

vampire A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the Vitalism, vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead, undead creatures that often visited loved ones and caused mi ...

s who lack the ability to fly or turn their victims. The thralls are joined by Ashley (Baruc), the sister of one of the thralls, and together they attempt to escape from the control of Mr. Jones (Lamas), a centuries-old vampire with a henchman named Rennie. Leslie opens a dance club in

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

, while waiting the arrival of her sister Ashley, who grew up in an abusive household. Her father dies of a heart attack, causing Ashley to live with her sister. Leslie saves Ashley from a group of muggers, and drains one of them of his blood. At the club, a

Transvestite Transvestism is the practice of dressing in a manner traditionally associated with the opposite sex. In some cultures, transvestism is practiced for religious, traditional, or ceremonial reasons. The term is considered outdated in Western c ...

threatens to expose the girls for what they really are. Ashley learns that Leslie and her friends are half-vampire. She thanks them for saving her life when she almost fell over a rail. They stole the Necronomicon to defeat Jones, who plans on taking over the world by unleashing

Belial Belial ( he, , ''Bəlīyyaʿal'') is a term occurring in the Hebrew Bible/ Old Testament which later became personified as the devilSee the reference to "Beliar" in ''The Ascension of Isaiah'', at EarlyChristianWritings.com', specifically at ...

, a demon. It is said the Belial tried to make vampires in his own image, but it resulted in making them look human. It is also said that the ritual will begin on the

winter solstice The winter solstice, also called the hibernal solstice, occurs when either of Earth's poles reaches its maximum tilt away from the Sun. This happens twice yearly, once in each hemisphere ( Northern and Southern). For that hemisphere, the winte ...

, which is the longest night of the year. Ashley falls for Jim, a local who didn't believe her at first, while his cousin, Jeff, gets involved with Roxie, a

D.J. A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include Radio personality, radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music f ...

Earlier, Jim saved Ashley from a thug that tried to have his way with her. Roxie drains Jeff of his blood, but doesn't kill him. Unknown to Leslie, Lean, her friend, is involved with Jones. Jones kills the cross dresser when he starts calling him Elvis, causing a panic in the club. After hearing of the plan, Ashley gets stabbed in the back by Rennie while trying to stop the both of them. Lean reveals to Leslie that Jones gave her money to open the dance club, so that the ritual will be complete. Earlier, Jones tried to offer Ashley a chance at happiness, but she refused to become a full vampire. Roxie is killed by Lean, due to her interference with the ritual that will resurrect Belial. Lean also kills Buzz, her friend, by shooting her in the back with a silver bullet. With the ritual ruined, Lean begs for Jones to turn her into a full vampire, but tells her he lied, and that she is of no use to him. Rennie, Jones' henchman, reveals his love to Lean, but both of them get staked through their hearts: Rennie has a stake pulled from his chest after Lean fell on him, causing her to die as a normal human. Ashley returns as a full vampire and with her sister's and Brigitte's help, they defeat him. They cut up Jones with a sword as a warning to any vampire that crosses their path. Jim decides to go with Ashley and the others to another city, while Jeff is offered a deal by Jones, now cut to pieces, to help him find the girls.

Cast

Production

During production, the film was originally titled ''Thralls'' but changed to ''Blood Angels''. The screenplay was written by Lisa Morton and Brett Thompson and was revised by director Ron Oliver. According to Vince Yim in ''

Fangoria ''Fangoria'' is an internationally distributed American horror film fan magazine, in publication since 1979. It is published four times a year by Fangoria Publishing, LLC and is edited by Phil Nobile Jr. The magazine was originally released i ...

'', was Oliver changed much of their work with the basic concept remaining.

Release

''Blood Angeles'' was released direct-to-video on March 22, 2005.

Reception

From contemporary reviews, an anonymous reviewer in ''

'' declared the film a "reasonably well-made production-wise and moves at a good clip, and I didn't have to watch it in three "shoot me now!" half-hour installments." The reviewer concluded that "after the end credits roll, if you were to ask yourself why anything in this ..movie happened the way it did, you'd probably be stuck for answers."

References

Sources

External links

* {{IMDb title, 0404496, Thralls 2005 films 2005 horror films Canadian independent films Canadian comedy horror films Canadian direct-to-video films Direct-to-video horror films English-language Canadian films Films directed by Ron Oliver 2000s Canadian films