The Witches Hammer - (2009)

Vampire hunts vampires. There seems to be very little left in this genre that hasn't already been done, so most of the time you just end up with inspired attempts to re-create 'Blade' on a smaller budget.

The Witches Hammer, named after the Malleus Maleficarum - basically a 15th century guidebook to witchery - tells the story of a Rebecca, a housewife who's jumped on the street and nearly killed by a vampire.  For some unknown reason, this attracts the attention of some top-secret government-like agency that decides she'd be the perfect specimen for a new project to create a genetically engineered vampire assassin.  So she's trained to fight, and starts getting sent out on various missions killing off other high-profile vampire targets.

So she kills some vampires, runs into a few spell casting kung-fu witches, and then gets wrapped up in a plot to retrieve the Maleficarum, because they need it to defeat some uber-vamp who wants to destroy the world or something.  Ok.  A few continuity nitpicks aside (like Rebecca being protected enough from the sun to stand in a graveyard in the middle of the afternoon, but unable to ride a train during the day without being transported in a box...) the plot is forced forward through a series of 'flashback' scenes explaining the origins of each of the characters, though it often seems to give too much time to supporting characters while straying from the main plotline.   Attempts at humor - though worthy of a few laughs at times - often comes across a bit flat.   Though I do give my respect to any filmmaker including a murderous vampire circus-midget with a thing for throwing axes - his time on screen was definitely the highlight of the movie.  Unfortunately, the little guy never got the chance to get involved in some real fight scenes, despite his back-story as a frightening, acrobatic killer - instead being left to corny comic relief, or stalking a guy with a fork.

There really isn't much to say. It's an independent film, so it can't compare with what's already been pumped out by Hollywood - so it's not really fair to do so.  For what it is, the filmmaking is good. It has a costume budget with a great mix of characters and sets throughout the different time periods. The fight choreography, while a bit stiff at times, is above average. A mix of CG and practical effects (like vampires burning up in a spray of sparks as they are killed) show their limited budget but get the point across well- it's just nothing new. 

If you've got a love for independent films, this one does stand out above a number of really crappy 'lets kill some vampires!' home movie attempts.  Just don't expect anything near Hollywood quality in a genre that has already been nailed, else you'll be leaving disappointed.

1 ½ out of 4

reviewed by Jeremy Gaggins

© Copyright 2009 John Shatzer