A group of young friends from the Bronx fight to save their neighborhood from gentrification…and vampires. – IMDB

Just in time for Halloween, and on the heals of a global Covid-19 pandemic, the Boogie Down is about to get some horror relief with the forthcoming horror/comedy ‘VAMPIRES VS. THE BRONX,’ that is scheduled to hit October 2, 2020 on Netflix as part of its Halloween season “Netflix and Chills” genre-tinged lineup! And just to show it means business, the streaming behemoth dumped a large cache of publicity stills into the fanboy/fangirl blogosphere.

Before you ask: No trailer has been released as of this writing but we anticipate something coming soon.

The premise/metaphor is simple: gentrification is coming to the South Bronx (my favorite place) and the blood-sucking creatures of the night are landlords looking to feed off the community that is now attractive to real estate speculation, who face neighborhood resistance in the form of three gutsy kids—aka Bronx strong—when they stumble upon the sinister plot. There’s no escaping comparing it to Joe Cornish‘s British action-comedy romp, Attack The Block (2011). South Bronx…South London…Pesky meddling kids. You get it.

Sounds more like a biopic about tone-deaf developer and South Bronx nemesis Keith Rubenstein (Somerset Partners) than the horror/comedy it’s billed as! Can you say #whatpianodistrict (life IS stranger than fiction)

The film is the brainchild of Dominican-born Bronx-raised director/editor Osmany “OZ” Rodríguez, who co-wrote the script with Blaise Hemingway and directed the film. In addition to an Emmy-win, Rodríguez’ production credits include 47 segments on Saturday Night Live (2012 – 2020), a two year directorial stint on the TV series A.P. Bio (2018-2020), The Last Man on Earth (2015), as well as a volley of short films. Vampires Vs. The Bronx represents his second feature film as helmer, his first being the comedy Brother Nature (2016).

In addition to the catchy story synopsis, the ensemble cast is an eclectic and diverse mix: Jaden Michael, Gerald W. Jones III, Gregory Díaz IV, Sarah Gadon, Cliff “Method Man” Smith, Shea Whigham, Coco Jones, Joel “The Kid Mero” Martínez, Chris Redd, Vladimir Caamaño, Jeremie Harris, Adam David Thompson, Judy Marte, Richard Bekins, and Zoe Saldaña.

We’re looking forward to this one. We are also looking to score an interview with Osmany ‘OZ’ Rodríguez and trailer in short order. 😉 More details at: netflix.com/VampiresvsTheBronx

TRIVIA: The South Bronx has been the backdrop for numerous horror films in the past, including The Exorcist (1973), Wolfen (1981), and more recently Deliver Us From Evil (2014), with Eric Bana.