A commendable effort to update the vampire film by eschewing Gothic settings in favor of a gritty urban milieu, Night Junkies is an adequate exercise in contemporary horror, lacking only in marquee value. Exotic dancer Ruby (Katia Winter) is “turned” by her handsome vampire lover Vincent (Giles Alderson), and together they prey on unsuspecting victims in London’s seedy waterfront district. Director Lawrence Pearce employs neat lighting effects and suggestive set design to create the proper atmosphere, and his players take their roles seriously. If anything, the film may be a tad too tame for its target demographic, the splatter-punk generation, but overall, it’s pretty well done.

Shelf Talk: Night Junkies already has a fan base of sorts, thanks to Internet ballyhoo on such popular, well-attended sites as MySpace. It doesn’t have the spectacular action sequences or major-studio production values of other modern-day urban vampire tales such as the Underworld and Blade movies, but thematically, it’s comparable. The lack of star names might hinder its performance, but you can count on the evocative packaging with a woman in a blood red dress to lure potential renters.