2010.07.31
Web Show of the Week: Vampire Mob - Visit www.vampiremob.com to watch the first two episodes. Episode 2 features Kirsten Vangsness (Penelope from Criminal Minds).
Quick Review: The show features a clever premise by Joe Wilson that blends caricatures of The Sopranos (or any mob-themed movie/show) with the verite style of The Office to create a darkly comic approach to vampires in the real world. It tells the story of a mob hitman who chooses to become a vampire who then turns his wife into a vampire, who, in turn, turns her mother into a vampire. The central conflict arises when the wife wants the mother to live with them.
The leads, played by Joe Colella and Reamy Hall, have great chemistry together. By just the second episode, the dynamic between this vampire hitman and his wife seems natural and genuine. The second episode features Kirsten Vangsness and Jim Roof as the wife’s sister and her husband and the comic timing is much sharper during this dinner sequence.
The documentary style, which is becoming something of a staple in comedy thanks to The Office and Modern Family, is used well here. Credit Joe Wilson with deliberate use of this mode to create humor. In one scene, our vampire’s wife refuses to recreate an argument they just had for the sake of the camera.
With a great cast, strong production bang for its buck, and a well-used quirky premise, Vampire Mob is another example of how viable web television is becoming and how entertaining short form television can be when freed from corporate interference.
