Main Cast: Anne Parillaud, Robert Loggia, Anthony LaPaglia, David Proval, Don Rickels, Don Rickles
Release Year: 1992
Country: US
Run Time: 112 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
An uneven but entertaining blend of graphic horror and black comedy from John Landis, very much in the mode of the director's successful An American Werewolf in London. French actress Anne Parillaud -- star of Luc Besson's acclaimed thriller La Femme Nikita -- plays Marie, a lithe and lovely vampire with a conscience who will not take "innocent blood" and maintains a low profile by dining exclusively on criminals and lowlifes. She finds a virtual smorgasbord in Pittsburgh's criminal underworld, arriving in the thick of a bloody mob war sparked by ruthless kingpin Sal Macelli (Robert Loggia). After preying on one of Macelli's hoods (Chazz Palminteri), Marie fumbles her attack on the boss himself and he manages to escape, eventually transforming into a vampire himself. Macelli soon comes to appreciate his new superhuman condition and hatches a diabolical scheme to control the syndicates by turning his underlings into vampires -- including his beleaguered lawyer, Emmanuel Bergman (Don Rickles). Marie, faced with a new and powerful undead enemy, is forced to take matters into her own claws. To this end she enlists the reluctant aid (and eventual affection) of undercover cop Joe Gennaro (Anthony LaPaglia), whose cover has just been leaked to the press, making him a target for Macelli and his growing army of blood drinkers. Landis has crafted a dark and brooding film, pumped up with bouts of extreme gore and gangland violence -- but where American Werewolf's occasional comic touches helped to ground the story and give the "straight" horror scenes more punch, most attempts at humor here seem jarring and out of place. The film's highlights come from numerous horror in-jokes, including cameos from Sam Raimi, Clive Barker, Dario Argento and Linnea Quigley; Rickles' explosive death scene ranks among the weirdest in cinema history. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
Review
Some directors don't aspire to anything other than to be good showmen. John Landis, his films crammed with references to his idols and powered by an energy that seeks to entertain above all else, is one of Hollywood's most infectious storytellers. Innocent Blood combines two of his greatest strengths, horror and comedy, with a dash of a mob spoof thrown in (the cast contains many future The Sopranos players). Against a Pittsburgh backdrop, it features cameos by Dario Argento and Sam Raimi (George Romero was sick on his cameo-shooting day), Don Rickles melting, and a charming French vampiress (Anne Parillaud) who bites Chazz Palminteri because "he annoyed me." The cast is game, the story is pleasingly modest, and the script is loaded with entertaining one-liners; and the entire production has fun playing with the idea of a mob inundated with the undead. Landis has called this film his "guilty pleasure." It's nowhere near as accomplished as Ghostbusters and Men in Black as far as comedy thrillers go, but with a guiding principal that's more goofy than scary, it's nonetheless a thoroughly enjoyable popcorn movie. ~ Michael Buening, All Movie Guide
Chazz Palminteri - Tony; Rocco Sisto - Gilly; Kim Coates - Ray; Forrest J. Ackerman - Stolen Car Man; Yancey Arias - Coroner's Assistant; Lamont Arnold - Morgue Desk Man; Lisa Ann Baker - Melody Lounge Dancer; Angela Bassett - US Attorney Sinclair; Marshall Bell - Marsh; Christina Bowers - Melody Lounge Dancer; Leo Burmeister - Flinton; Gilbert Cates - Dog Boy; Russ Cochran - Panhandler; Kim Currow - Melody Lounge Dancer; Peter Cushing - Van Helsing; Christina Diaz - Melody Lounge Dancer; Marina Durrell - Nurse; David Earle - Reporter; Harry Gions - Orderly; Charlie Gomorra - Gorilla; Bernard Hocke - Motel Clerk; Ike - German Shepherd; Pitty Jennings - Reporter; Christina Jimenez - Melody Lounge Dancer; Elaine Kagan - Frannie Bergman; Christopher Lee - Count Dracula; Tony Lip - Frank; Bela Lugosi - Count Dracula; Jerry Lyden - Vinnie; Kim Melton - Melody Lounge Dancer; Vic Noto - Tommy; Robin Place - Melody Lounge Dancer; Regina Poole - Melody Lounge Dancer; Dan Quayle - Vice President of the United States; Linnea Quigley - Nurse; Tracy Rolen - Meloday Lounge Dancer; Ron Roth - Gus; Tony Sirico - Jacko; Rohn Thomas - Coroner; Tammy Ulm - Melody Lounge Dancer; Robert Walker, Jr. - Bruno; Teri Weigel - Melody Lounge Dancer; Katrina Witt - Melody Lounge Dancer; Michael Wolk - Surgeon; Maribe Zolli - Melody Lounge Dancer; Dario Argento - Paramedic; Rick Avery - Cab Driver; Luis Guzman - Morales; Bob Minor - Bus Driver; Frank Oz - Pathologist; Sam Raimi - Roma Meats Man; Michael Ritchie - Night Watchman; Tom Savini - News Photographer; Sharon Howard-Field; Steve Johnson - Orderly
Credit
Michael Wolk - Associate Producer, Sharon Howard-Field - Casting, Deborah Nadoolman - Costume Designer, John Landis - Director, Dale Beldin - Editor, Jonathan Sheinberg - Executive Producer, Ira Newborn - Composer (Music Score), Ron Berkeley - Makeup, Steve Johnson - Makeup, Richard Sawyer - Production Designer, Mac Ahlberg - Cinematographer, Leslie Belzberg - Producer, Lee Rich - Producer, Peg Cummings - Set Designer, Syd Dutton - Special Effects, Bill Taylor - Special Effects, Brian Avery - Stunts, Troy Brown - Stunts, Richard Epper - Stunts, Andy Gill - Stunts, Don Pulford - Stunts, Branscombe Richmond - Stunts, Gregg Smrz - Stunts, Merritt Yohnka - Stunts, Monty Cox - Stunts, Charlie Croughwell - Stunts, Tom Elliott - Stunts, Jeannie Epper - Stunts, Buck McDancer - Stunts, Spiro Razatos - Stunts, Glory Fioramonti - Stunts, Steve Hulin - Stunts, Bill McIntosh - Stunts, Brad Orrison - Stunts, Jeff Cadiente - Stunts, Joni Avery - Stunts, Clay Boss - Stunts, Kurt Bryant - Stunts, Michael Wolk - Screenwriter
The film is set and was filmed in and around the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area. The "Little Italy" of Pittsburgh, a portion of the Bloomfield, Pittsburgh neighborhood, clustered around Liberty Avenue, is recognizable in many of the film's outdoor urban scenes. Actors Tony Sirico and David Proval have supporting parts as gangsters, foreshadowing their roles in The Sopranos.
Plot
Anne Parillaud plays Marie, a very appealing modern-day vampire in Pittsburgh, with a moral code that limits her bloodsucking to the criminal elements of society. However, when she feasts on vicious gang boss Salvatore 'The Shark' Macelli (Robert Loggia) and fails to complete the job properly (by not severing his spinal cord), he too becomes one of the undead and begins to pass his new-found powers on to his henchmen. With the help (and eventual love interest) of undercover cop Joseph Gennaro (Anthony LaPaglia), Marie sets out to put things right. This movie balances plenty of slickly directed thrills and gore with some moments of humour. Loggia's bewilderment at waking in the morgue to find a thermometer protruding from his stomach and the reaction of the wife of crooked lawyer Manny Bergman (Don Rickles) to the bizarre mayhem that ensues are good examples.
Cast
Anne Parillaud - Marie, a lonely modern-day vampire who lives for food and sex, but her feeding is only limited to criminals, because she never, ever takes innocent blood. She has not had anything for six nights. She then decides to feed off the Italian mob syndicate, led by Sal "The Shark" Macelli.
Robert Loggia - Salvatore "Sal the Shark" Macelli, the head (or "boss") of his Mafiacrime syndicate and the Pittsburgh underworld, and pariah to the police and feds. Marie, at his place, feeds on him, but by Sal shooting her in the chest, fails to finish him off. Macelli becomes now a bloodsucker hell bent on turning his henchmen into one of his "new children".
Anthony LaPaglia - Detective Joseph Gennaro, an undercover cop who aides Marie; also a love interest for Marie.
Don Rickles - Emmaunel 'Manny' Bergman, a crooked attorney who keeps Macelli out of trouble. He comes to a memorable special effects end after Macelli has bitten him; and not quite dead he "wakes up" in a hospital and they open the curtains and let sunshine in. Lawyer/Vampire, Rickles makes the combination perfect.
