''Razor Blade Smile'' is a 1998 British
vampire film written and directed by
Jake West. It stars
Eileen Daly,
Christopher Adamson, and Heidi James.
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
Kevin Howarth is a British film actor, known for his roles as Max in ''The Last Horror Movie'', Peter in '' Summer Scars'' and Viktor in ''The Seasoning House''.
Career
Howarth attended the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art in London, fro ...
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
Bradley Lavelle (31 March 1958 – 22 March 2007) was a British-based Canadian actor.
Born in Toronto, Ontario, Lavelle appeared in such films as '' Hellbound: Hellraiser II'', ''Nightbreed'' and '' Memphis Belle''.
He played a young Ameri ...
as The Chill Pilgrim
*
Peter Godwin
Peter Godwin (born 4 December 1957) is a Zimbabwean author, journalist, screenwriter, documentary filmmaker, and former human rights lawyer. Best known for his writings concerning the breakdown of his native Zimbabwe, he has reported from mor ...
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.
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. Ken Eisner of ''
Variety'' called it a cheesy, over-the-top vampire film with enough style to make up for its acting and plotting. ''
Time Out London'' wrote that despite the film's faults, "there's a no-nonsense, unapologetic mood that makes the film hard to dislike." Kevin Thomas of the ''
Los Angeles Times'' called it "a silly, gory, overly self-congratulatory vampire comedy". Christopher Varney of ''
Film Threat
''Film Threat'' is an online film review publication, and earlier, a national magazine that focused primarily on independent film, although it also reviewed videos and DVDs of mainstream films, as well as Hollywood movies in theaters. It first ...
'' rated it 2/5 stars and called it "loud, atmospheric nonsense" that "rates high on the novelty factor". David Johnson of
DVD Verdict
DVD Verdict was a judicial-themed website for DVD reviews. The site was founded in 1999. The editor-in-chief was Michael Stailey, who owned the website between 2004 and 2016, and the site employed a large editorial staff of critics, whose reviews ...
called it forgettable and generic vampire film that has a distracting visual style.
(''
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."
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.
["British Vampire Flick 'Razor Blade Smile' Wins Top Honors at B-Movie Film Festival"]
b-movie.com, 31 August 1999. Retrieved 12 April 2007.
References
External links
*
* {{webarchive , url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140105122046/http://razorbladesmile.com/ , date=January 5, 2014 , title=Official Website
1998 films
1998 horror films
British independent films
British vampire films
Films directed by Jake West
Films shot in England
1990s English-language films
1990s British films