Genre: Vampire porn

Director: James Justice

Running time: 1 hour, 31 minutes

Cast: Daniella Rush, Lea de Mae, Max Cortes, Ramon Guevara, Carmen Vera, Andrea, Rita

Extras: Dolby digital sound, no regional coding, chapter index, fetish menus, gallery, cumshots, dual languages, trailers, "About Damaged"

Body:

Yep, I'll admit it; like most gals, I have a vampire fetish.

As a kid, I drooled excessively upon a poster of Frank Langella as he appeared in "Dracula;" much to the chagrin of my older sister, who actually owned the poster. As a teen, I wondered why the character of Star was so whiny and tortured in "The Lost Boys;" I figured that being stuck in a dark cave with four hot vampires would be a pretty sweet deal, if not an outright gift from above.

And when I became an adult, I watched every sexy vampire movie, softcore or hardcore, I could get my (ahem!) hands on.

My favorite, predictably, is "Haunting Desires;" a softcore Fred Olen Ray flick that starred Evan Stone as the vampire Adrian.

Up until recently, I couldn't really name a least favorite; then, very helpfully, "From Dusk Till Down" came along.

I'm sure male viewers will appreciate the lovely ladies in the cast, as well as the nonstop sex and the hardriving music.

Yet I review films from a woman's perspective. And from that perspective, this vampire film -- forgive me, readers, you know I have to say it -- all but sucks.

I didn't go into the film expecting Francis Ford Coppola's "Dracula" or even "Bloodsucking Pharaohs in Pittsburgh" (yep, it's a real movie -- look it up). The fact remains, though, that quality porn films will at least contain some semblance of a plot -- or at least enough gorgeous naked men that I stop giving a flip about the plot.

"From Dusk Till Down" does feature two stories; one about secret agents in search of a vampire (at least I think so -- it was difficult to hear or understand the dialogue); the other concerned a vampire granting an interview (Whoa! Original!) to a female reporter.

All three men are very attractive -- particularly the long-haired vampire character pictured on the cover, who resembles a delicious cross between Nick Manning and Alex Sanders.

Yet before we see these guys in action with their female co-stars, we sit through two one-guy, two-girl scenes featuring males who possess the collective sex appeal of cole slaw.

We also see a two-guy, two-girl scene in which both males are wearing bondage masks (probably a blessing literally in disguise).

And in one of only two couples scenes on the disc, a male asylum patient (no, he's not a vampire -- I have no idea how his character relates to the film) has rough sex with a nurse, lightly slapping (kind of like hintingly hitting or subtly slamming)her and calling her a bitch several times.

If I hadn't been reviewing the disc, it would have found a new home nestled comfortably in my commode at this point. I have nothing against a little consensual 'rough stuff,' but there was nothing remotely sensual or erotic about this scene. And it was just plain disrespectful to women.

The next scene, by contrast, nearly saves the film. After a long tease that lasts throughout the film, the hottie vampire (who has the vamp look and mannerisms down perfectly) strips down and seduces the journalist. Their scene is sizzling and passionate, and should have served as the climax of the film.

Yet instead, the film culminates with a sequence involving the two secret agent men, who look almost hilariously bored as they are pleasured orally by a pretty blonde. One of them even admonishes her to "hurry up."

I 'hurried up' and ejected this disc as soon as the scene closed, and was tempted to disinfect my defenseless DVD player afterward.

Concluding Words: Ladies with a vampire fetish should check out "Haunting Desires" with Evan Stone, "Intercourse With the Vampire" with Rocco, Gerry Pike, and countless others, and "From Lust Till Dawn" with Nick Manning. If you see this one on the shelf, have the ever-handy garlic and crosses at the ready.