Night Junkies (2007) - a Movie Review

Night Junkies is a horror/thriller movie set in London England. Katia Winter stars as Ruby Stone, an orphaned stripper whose boss is forcing her to become a prostitute. Giles Anderson plays Vincent Monroe, a modern day vampire who compares his blood addiction to a drug addict. He is constantly looking for his next "fix." Ruby and Vincent cross paths in love story gone bad. Warning: my review contains plot spoilers.

The movie is one of the better vampire movies I have seen in a long time. The plot itself is interesting on how Vincent and Ruby deal with the unfair cards life has dealt them. Vincent survived a vampire attack and is now cursed with the addiction to blood. He roams London streets every night looking for his next victim. He does not enjoy being a vampire and laments about how it definitely not like the movies. Ruby's father committed suicide after being strung out on heroin, forcing Ruby into her present situation: having to depend on a strip-club owner/pimp to protect her from the streets. She is resisting her boss's attempts into turning her into a prostitute.

Ruby and Vincent meet in a diner and form an instant connection. One thing leads to another and Vincent bites her in a fit of blood lust. She escapes but starts to get sick as she slowly turns into a vampire. Ruby returns to Vincent's apartment for some answers. Vincent promises to protect her and they make plans to leave London for a fresh start somewhere else. Ruby slowly realizes vampirism is very similar to a drug addiction. She refuses to be addicted to anything and therefore refuses to drink blood from a victim. Ruby thinks it is possible to survive without drinking blood so she is going "cold turkey."

Unfortunately the bouncer from the club is obsessed with Ruby and also happens to be a serial killer who has been leaving mutilated victims all over the place. He tracks her down to Vincent's apartment and an extremely violent fight ensues. Ruby succumbs to her blood lust in a fit of anger and kills the bouncer. She also sacrifices herself to Vincent as he lies bleeding to death from a bullet. As he drinks from her, she begs him not to stop. That is my favorite scene. Ruby is not willing to be addicted to anything and wants Vincent to end her misery. Very moving and very sad.

Overall the movie is dark, different, and very entertaining. I like the comparison of vampirism to any addiction, whether it is drugs, money, or sex. I rate the movie 4 out of 5 stars.