Finding the right combination of genres in order to pull your audience in is one of the easiest and most effective marketing tactics a filmmaker can accomplish. It’s what can help set your film apart from others released during the same time, and can provide a quick-hitting, straight-forward elevator pitch. In order to successfully pull this off, though, you’ve gotta deliver what you’re promising, and Bloodthirst ultimately doesn’t.

In those terms, a story that can be labeled as “post apocalyptic western vampire thriller” should be a no-brainer to grab people’s attention. Vampire tales have been beloved for over a century, and the Wastelander setting has only increased in popularity over the years. Director Michael Su’s Bloodthirst nails this multi-genre combo as far as overall aesthetic and immersion, but stops short of sinking its teeth fully in by a convoluted plot and stiff performances.

The setting is indeed a post-apocalyptic wasteland, complete with Mad Max-esque vehicles, clothing, and characters. This world, however, has been taken over by bloodthirsty vampires, who do exactly what you’d expect – roam from settlement to settlement feasting on the blood of survivors and turning a few unfortunate souls into bloodsuckers as well. 

Loner John Shepard (Costas Mandylor) is a self-proclaimed Vampire Hunter – wandering the barren landscape attempting to take out every vampire he comes across while in search of the Vampire Master (Robert LaSardo). Not much is explained about the Vampire Master (and more on that later), except that he may or may not be responsible for the events that led to the current apocalypse. 

It’s a lonely, difficult existence for Shepard, until he comes across fellow survivors Charlie (Johnny Huang), biker Rico (Rich R. Rendon) and sisters Brooke (Sarah French) and Elena (Elissa Dowling), who join him on his quest.

Meanwhile, the aforementioned Vampire Master, his Vampire Queen (Tara Reid), and their various followers continue to evade Shepard and company as they conquer the land. To make matters more complicated, there’s also an Ultimate Vampire Master (Wesley Cannon), who isn’t a part of the Vampire Master’s clan and is much more elusive. It’s never explained what the Ultimate Vampire Master’s relationship (if any) is to the Vampire Master and his people, and it’s fuzzy on whether they’re enemies, cohorts, or something in between.

To make it even more convoluted, there’s also a human militia run by Torque (Bishop Stevens), who seem to be foes of both vampires and vampire hunters alike. While this group provides a good dose of typical Wastelander characters and costumes, their inclusion only further muddles the already bloated storyline. All of these sets of characters eventually do come together in climactic fashion, but it takes a while to do so, and the film bounces back and forth between all of them in dizzying ways. 

One of the biggest setbacks of Bloodthirst is its lack of exposition and absence of pertinent information that could be beneficial for the audience to better understand the world. We’re never told exactly how or why the apocalypse started, how long ago it happened, how far-reaching it is, and whether the vampires are global or just in this particular area. No explanation is given on any specific rules for these vampires, including all the ways they can be killed, or why it appears that some humans can be bitten and not turn.

Script-wise, there’s an abundance of wooden dialogue that results in stiff acting from nearly all the cast members. They’re clearly trying to do the best with what they’ve been given, but it ultimately pulls you away from the otherwise impressive set design and effects.

Bloodthirst starts out strong with the potential for an immersive story in a cool setting, but in the end, falls too far off the trail due to plot holes and distractingly rigid acting. It easily gets high marks for production design, but its faults unfortunately fail to bring the stake fully into the heart of this film.