Well, it's not very easy these days to come up with an original idea in a genre that's as tired and worn out as the vampire genre, but director Kevin J. Lindenmuth's ADDICTED TO MURDER is a quirky little opus that stylishly blends vampires and serial killers to create an interesting and entertaining flick.

Joel Winter (Mick McCleery) is a quiet and seemingly normal guy who has an uncontrollable desire for murder. His world gets turned upside down when two vampires, Rachel and Angie, get thrown into the mix. With Rachel (Laura McLauchlin), he finds a relationship that satisfies both his murderous desires and, in turn, helps to remind her of what it's like to be human. When Rachel leaves him, Joel vainly tries to recapture that "special" relationship that he found with her. He soon meets Angie (Sasha Graham), whose evil intentions lead him to question the nature of his life.

First of all, I was impressed with the above-average production values of the movie. Even though it was shot on video, a lot of effort was obviously put into this by everyone involved. It's intelligently written and directed, it boosts good lighting and editing, it features a great score from Steve Maruzzelli and Hector Milia, and has some well-executed gore and makeup effects from Derek Becker and Ron Chamberlain.

The movie also featured some good performances. Laura McLauchlin and Sasha Graham were definite standouts in the cast. The only real problem was the lead, Mick McCleery. His lack of screen presence really started to tax my nerves after awhile. He's not completely awful, but he sticks out when compared to the rest of the cast.

Despite a few other minor problems (the "interview" device used in the movie slowed the pace down a little and some of the dialogue was hard to understand), this has got to be one of the best shot-on-video movies out on the market today, next to SAVAGE HARVEST and SHATTER DEAD! Check it out!