Besides being one of the most essential musicians in punk and metal of the last 2 centuries, having been the frontman of the bands The Misfits, Samhain, and Danzig, it was a matter of time that Glenn Danzig was doing the jump as a feature film director. Always very attracted to the visual arts, he already directed many of the music videos for his band and other musicians’ projects, like his pal Doyle Wolfgang von Frankenstein‘s Gorgeous Frankenstein, besides being the founder of mature-themed comic book company Verotik. So, when his debut movie Verotika (2019) [read our review here] came out, we all took it as a natural step for a restless mind like Danzig‘s to make. An unnecessary step maybe, but far from being a surprise.
So, now the next step is done, and his second feature film is soon to see the light. If Verotika (2019) was a horror anthology formed by 4 gory episodes, all of them written and directed by Danzig, his new movie Death Rider in the House of Vampires (2020) tells the story of Death Rider, who travels to the desert Vampire Sanctuary, ruled by Count Holliday. The price of admission is one untouched virgin. Yes, it is a vampire western, how about that? And, in the words of the writer and director, “everybody in the movie is a vampire […] So, you won’t have to wait around to see the vampire. They’re all fucking vampires!“.
But, wait, things get better. The star of the show, Death Rider, is played by Devon Sawa, who became a big name in teen horror after being the protagonist of Final Destination (2000) but then fell into oblivion getting roles in Creature of Darkness (2009), A Resurrection (2013), The Exorcism of Molly Hartley (2015), or Hunter Hunter (2020). And the bad guy, Count Holliday, is played by Julian Sands, an always interesting and obscure underrated actor who for decades has been seen in uncountable horror movies including After Darkness (1985), Gothic (1986), Warlock (1989), Arachnophobia (1990), Boxing Helena (1993), The Phantom of the Opera (1998), Romasanta: The Werewolf Hunt (2004), and many others.
But that’s not all, because Danny Trejo is also there playing a character called Bela Latigo, as well as the director Glenn Danzig as Bad Bathory. The main cast is completed with Kim Director, Ashley Wisdom, Victor DiMattia, Yulia Klass, and the director of Cabin Fever (2002) and Hostel (2005), and occasional actor in Quentin Tarantino‘s Death Proof (2007) and Inglourious Basterds (2009) Eli Roth playing the role of Drac Cassidy.
Death Rider in the House of Vampires (2020) still doesn’t have an official release date, although as it happened with Verotika (2019) it is expected to have a genre film festivals run along this year 2021 and a limited theatrical release before it comes out on DVD and digital. Here you can watch its first trailer, the perfect appetizer for what the movie is ready to bring.
