Fans of vampire movies should keep an eye out for Daydreamers, a stylish Vietnamese film by writer/director Timothy Linh Bui. The movie is like The Lost Boy meets Blade, while merging elements of fantasy, horror, and action.

Set in present-day Saigon, the movie opens by establishing its rather simple, if not slightly clunky lure. Vampires have essentially agreed to stay in the shadows and avoid eating humans. This “law” has been maintained for centuries, but it’s disrupted thanks to the film’s everyman protagonist, Nhat (Tran Ngoc Vang). Raised in a secret river community, Nhat breaks the code by protecting the rebellious Ha (Trinh Thao). Because of this, Ha becomes a witness to the vampires, thus endangering her life. This pits Nhat against other vampires, including his brother, the uber stylish Marco (Thuan Nguyen), and Marco’s girlfriend, the gorgeous but vicious vampire queen Trieu, played by global star and singer Chi Pu.

This film really dazzles with its sweeping cityscapes, moody night scenes, and eye-popping colors. It looks great and really deserves to be seen on a big screen. This film is also visually rich in its use of gore. This is vampire movie after all and the vampires indeed feast. Yet, even the splashes of blood look beautiful and never feel gratuitous. Rather, the horror elements and kills enhance the aesthetics and have a sort of elegance.

In terms of storyline, the brother dynamic grounds this otherwise fantastical film. The complicated relationship between Nhat and Marco drives the film. Marco wants Nhat to join him, which would entail sacrificing Ha. Will Nhat give into his primal and base instincts? Marco believes so, and it creates an engaging dynamic and conflict that works. It also helps that Nguyen and Vang offer solid performances.

This film is also bolstered by Thao and Pu’s performances. Thao is really good at playing a feisty and scrappy underdog, caught up in something much, much bigger than herself. When we first meet Ha, she’s pummeled by her fellow female classmates, until she encounters Nhat. Yet, Ha grows into a resourceful and tough character, a contrast to her introduction when she’s roughed up by her classmates. Meanwhile, Pu steals every scene that she’s in. She’s all kinds of devious and alluring on screen. In some ways, she’s a more imposing and scarier villain than Marco. Both, however, remind us that yes, vampires can indeed be sexy and deadly.

The film’s only real flaw is that it’s a bit long in the fang. Some of the action scenes, as great as they look, go on a little too long, especially in the third act. I also would have liked greater character development between Nhat and Ha to justify his protection and defense of her, which puts him at odds with Marco.

Daydreamers is one eye-fetching vampire film that warrants the big screen. The genre-bending feature is loads of fun and a bloody good time, filled with arresting visuals and callbacks to genre classics like Blade, The Lost Boys, and maybe even a dash of Twilight.