Review

The Hamiltons, who have changed their name to Thompson, are on the run and in Europe. The Twins are causing mayhem in Paris while the rest of the clan are in London. Seems things got out of control in an isolated Diner in the U.S. An attempted robbery resulted in Lenny Hamilton being shot, which caused the Twins and Francis to go on a rampage resulting in thirteen deaths and worldwide coverage. Seems Francis needs to drive a couple of hours north of London in order to meet up with the mysterious "Manderson" in the small hamlet of Ludlow.

Having reached Ludlow Francis discovers the Hamiltons aren't alone with the vampire family Stuart apparently offering sanctuary. Ma and Pa Stuart seem to have their act together, brothers Cole and Ian are cold blooded killers, and daughter Riley seems to take a shine to Francis. Convinced to call the rest of the family in, Francis discovers too late that the Stuarts have an agenda of their own. One that threatens the survival of the Hamiltons, help is however at hand from an unlikely source. Let's get our teeth into a sequel that nails the themes of the original movie.

The Thompsons is a sequel to 2006's The Hamiltons which rocked the fringe horror crowd who are always on the lookout for something out of the Indies in the U.S. In both movies the narrator, and focal character, is the confused Francis who is still in The Thompsons coming to terms with his existence and place in the world. Family is everything, but neither Francis nor his siblings have been trained in what their existence means and where they fit in. Hey and that's the central theme covering both movies, let's break the latest down.

I should point out that I'll refer to our clan of blood suckers as "The Hamiltons" through the course of this review, cause that's how we roll down here. For those trying to pop an essay on modern culture the central theme of "how do vampires operate in the modern world" was also present in Stephen King's Salem's Lot, you can thank me once that "A" rolls in m'kay.

I'm always impressed when a sequel matches the power and zest of the origin movie.

Pretty much the entire cast return for the second movie which adds some nice continuity to proceedings. Naturally Lenny is about the only member of the bloodthirsty clan who has changed, he's older, so if versed in the first movie then be prepared for more of the same from the Thompsons as they meet a family that matches their own in ferocity and blood splashing. The Butchers Bros, (Directors Mitchell Altieri and Phil Flores), keep the same independent flavour the original movie exposed but clearly have a much larger budget to play with.

The Bros kick off The Thompsons with Francis trapped in a box Ryan Reynolds style, and then travel back in a couple of exploratory sequences to show how Francis came to find himself underground. It's a good approach as I was hooked wondering how exactly a vampire could find himself in this situation, and let's face facts here Francis might be slightly on the emo side of thing but can certainly handle himself when the chips go down.

As one might expect when it comes to the Hamilton clan the gore meter is switched to the high position, with the audience lucky not to be splashed with claret as things go to hell. Surprisingly this time around it's not the twins supplying the mayhem, but Cole and Ian Stuart who are for mine the most sadistic duo ever committed to film. You'll know what I mean when you hit the picnic scene early in The Thompsons. So gorehounds prepare to break off the lead and go for a romp through the blood soaked acres of the fillum. If gore and blood ain't your thing then you are in the wrong movie, go pick up a Disney flick instead.

And in case you think it might be missing, T&A is let loose in amongst the family rivalry. By my count the first boob shot arrived at 5:08 into the movie. The gals get the blunt end of the stake, guess the Bros figured they would be all off digging Twilight or something.

Before I forget, yes the Hamiltons are vampers but they don't sparkle in the day time and aren't interested in teenage drama queens. You can forget all the vampire lore you learnt from Hammer and Universal, none of it applies, the Hamiltons simply need to feed on human blood. So yeah we're talking 30 Days of Night predators that bite, tear, and drain. Got to love vampires being returned to the top of the food chain, right where they belong.

Rocking on through this one and throwing some confusing lines down. Central to the plot of The Thompsons is Francis and Riley, two American kids doing the best they can. Well actually Riley is a Brit and you can't refer to either of them as "kids". We're talking star crossed lovers in the Romeo and Juliet mode, but since this is a horror outing the tragedy isn't likely to hit our central couple who wade through the bodies in something like bliss. So hey something for the girls after all, just don't let your tween sister go into this one all misted eyed, she is likely to be needing therapy for a few years after watching this flick.

Where The Thompsons really takes us, besides throwing a good plot our way, is with further exploration of the origins of the family and vampires in general. Not all vampires are equal and not all vampires are as vicious as each other. It's an interesting excursion into origins and builds the family mythology, which should provide a decent platform for a third movie in the series. So don't expect a rehash of the same ground covered in The Hamiltons, the Bros are moving things along.

Sorry a bit of "man flu" hitting this review which seems to be all over the shop.

Behind the camera Mitchell Altieri and Phil Flores for the most part present us with a very Brit looking movie rather than an American one. Not sure if that was the intent or things just headed in that direction to the heavy number of British characters. The Bros film in a very realistic fashion and don't bother with quick cuts, kinetic action, or any other bollocks that tends to take you out of a movie. I appreciated getting a serious vampire flick sent my way and would give the Directors two thumbs up for the effort put in here.

Kevin Kerrigan hit score duties and landed a knockout punch with a serious soundscape. We're talking more of a thriller style approach which is hell of intense in parts and once again sounds more Brit than Yank. Kerrigan has clearly been listening to some of the classic soundtracks out there, follows the lead, but doesn't deliver on an easily recognisable theme unfortunately.

Acting is outstanding across the board from all cast members, not going to single anyone out here as everyone should be proud to cash their cheque for efforts in the movie.

I had been anticipating The Thompsons for quite some time having really dug The Hamiltons and I was not disappointed with the movie when I finally sat down for a screening. Actually the disc arrived a lot quicker than expected. A worthy sequel that if anything goes one step beyond the original, huge recommendation to lovers of the dark genre. This is horror movie making as it should be, crisp with no apologises for content. Can't wait for a third movie, assuming one is going to be made. A movie that was a welcome inclusion in this year's Halloween line up.

The Thompsons should be available from all half decent DVD stockists and the usual suspects online. Think we paid around the $23 mark at JB for the review copy, so use that as your price guide.