3 out of 5 stars (average)
No matter how many times you’ve heard a premise for a movie, the difference between you going with it or rolling your eyes will always come down to how that movie uses it. Take From Me, an indie horror drama from writer-director West Eldredge, is a prime case of this, using an idea I’ve seen and enjoyed across several films and television series (vampire/human romances) and showing it through a largely more grounded and character-focused lens. Take From Me uses a familiar horror framework to spin a character drama more invested in its human scale than scares or bloodshed.
Contractor John (Ethan McDowell) is a grieving alcoholic who spends his days looking after his old house from afar and his nights in a stupor. When the mysterious Elizabeth (Kyla Diane Kennedy) moves in and catches his eye, he gets his way into fixing the place up for her, only to discover she’s a creature of the night who’s been keeping her victim’s body parts in the basement. Understandably freaked out at first, John is nonetheless attracted to Elizabeth and the two grow closer as he tries to help her take humans off her bimonthly menu. However, things become more complicated when John’s friend and police captain Abe (Dwayne A. Thomas) starts investigating the disappearances around town and threatening the blooming relationship.
Take From Me is one of the most grounded vampire stories I’ve seen. The film has the look and tone of a drama, spends more time on the character’s issues than trying to scare you and never becomes mired in overexplaining vampire mythology. Kyla Diane Kennedy brings a welcome playfulness to some scenes as the 200-year-old vampire and Ethan McDowell is well-suited as the sad average joe in a small town. I enjoyed seeing a vampire tale as a more dramatic story than a horror one, and while the moments of gore and final 20 minutes lean more into its horror element, it never conflicts tonally. It doesn’t reinvent the wheel of cinematic vampires, but spins it in an interesting way. Take From Me is a small-scale, character-focused horror drama that proves familiar ideas still have fresh blood. See it.
Not Rated, but likely would be R for Language Throughout and Brief Bloody Images