“This night’s gonna get good, babydoll.” [No, no it’s not.]

Story: Vampire hunter Cora finds herself in Savannah, GA in order to kill one of the “highest count” serial killers ever known, Elizabeth Bathory. But things take a turn when Cora becomes entranced by the vampire beauty. Oh noes – the solar eclipse!

Genre I’d put it in: Good Ideas Bad Executions
Release Date: 2026
Remake, Sequel, Based-On, or Original: Original

Gotta say: This film had me in it’s grip the moment I saw that gorgeously retro poster. The vibes are Hammer Horror and Robert Rodriguez meets Killing Eve, and I had to check it out. But while there are moments of bloody fun? If you’re down for lower budget horror, Lounge isn’t particularly bad, it’s just disappointing.

I like that the cast isn’t a bunch of “teenager” twenty-somethings. In fact, the cast is stacked with names you’ll know, and character actors you’ll recognize. It’s tough to get names of the characters, as IMDb doesn’t list very many. Tough to get names, IMDb doesn’t list many. If they’re not listing ’em? I’m not putting in the work to re-watch just to jot down character names. I tried that already, so here’s what I’ve got:

Mina Suvari as Elizabeth Bathory
Tom Berenger as Cora’s handler
Stephen Dorff as Randall/Ramsay
Tyrese Gibson as Luke
Lochlyn Munro as Randall and Luke’s friend, No-Name
Mark Boone Junior – Bathory’s vampire simp What’s-His-Name

Headliner Suvari looks like she’s having an absolute blast as Bathory, and Berenger elevates every scene he’s in. Which aren’t many, but he makes enough of an impression to make me realize exactly how blandly phoned-in some of the performances feel. Dichen Lachman is Cora, our Van Helsing. Her voice is way too intentionally gravely during her narration, and pulls me out of the fun every time I hear it. Lachman delivers every line of dialogue like she’s bored out of her mind. As she was amazing in Severance, this is obviously poor decision making by director Adam Sherman. He’s going for film noir, with this character, and ends up with bad depression-core. That doesn’t do the “comedy” part of this horror comedy any favors; how are we supposed to feel anything at all, when the characters so obviously don’t?

This lower-budget flick does give sumptuous sets and costumes that make me wanna raid their wardrobe closet. This Savannah is dark and mysterious, with corners that hark back to 18th Century London and Jack the Ripper. Big kudos to everyone behind the scenes, doing a whole lot of heavy lifting. They made this film look and feel better than it has any right to. The anime levels of blood are fun and generally done well, but about an hour and a half in there’s a CGI blood moment that’s so hilariously bad I got Blade‘s Decon Frost blood monster vibes. I guess if you cast Dorff in a vampire movie, that’s obligatory now?

I don’t think Lounge knows what story it wants to tell. The plot wanders aimlessly, the characters are underdeveloped, and the story goes nowhere. There’s never a feeling of who we’re supposed to root for, or why. As the story begins and ends with Cora, I’m guessing her vanquishing Bathory is it? But I don’t care about Cora. She’s so dull she’s almost narcoleptic, and there’s no back-story that would help with connecting to her. I care about Bathory’s companion Joan, and how she’s sick of her un-life and wants more. India Eisley does an incredible job as the only vampire – hell, only character – that yearns for life and meaning in this world. She’s the best part of this movie, and I genuinely felt for her.

Lounge tries so hard to echo other films that it forgets to be it’s own thing. At least Suvari is enjoying herself. I love that for her.

#Protip: A whole lot of characters drink absinthe straight. I wouldn’t do that if I were you; it’s got a wallop of a flavor profile that’ll have your throat wondering what it ever did to you to deserve such treatment. Plus, unless you’re a complete weirdo like I am, the licorice-forward taste can be off-putting. Best to do it up nicely, or as part of a cocktail.