Catch Chuck Steel: Night of the Trampires exclusively in the cinemas in the UK from October 29, 2021.
Synopsis
Animortal Studios present Chuck Steel (Mike Mort), the best God damn cop on the force. But even this maverick, renegade, loose-cannon, lone wolf, cop on the edge, who doesn’t play by the rules, has his work cut out when he discovers an evil is about to descend on the city of Los Angeles: the scourge of the TRAMPIRES – mutant hybrids of vampire and tramp!
Review
Wallace & Gromit meets Die Hard… that’s probably all you need me to tell you about the brilliant Chuck Steel: Night of the Trampires. The wholly independent animated feature comes from a mind which clearly grew up on the kind of non-politically correct humour many of us grew up on in the 80’s and 90’s. It brilliantly recalls all of the tropes of 80’s action-adventures, putting the Steven Segal-esqu Chuck (Mike Mort) at the centre.
The stop-motion animation is flawless. At an event promoting the film Mort – who also wrote and directed the film – explain it was shot using 24 frames-per-second rather than the standard 12 FPS. This benefits the visual punch of the film massively, creating more lifelike movements on screen. This is enhanced further by the incredible amount of detail which has been layered in to the background of almost every scene in the film.
Looking back to other stop-motion projects like the aforementioned Wallcae & Gromit and The Nightmare Before Christmas, those projects often feature sparse landscapes or limited moving parts save for the main characters. That is simply not the case with Chuck Steel. Every scene is filled with an infinite amount of information. Scenes in the circus tent during the film’s third act feature an immeasurable amount of moving parts and honestly left me in awe as I watched it.
Of course it isn’t all about the animation. Chuck Steel also has a bombastic story befitting of any action-hero. The character himself looks like a Johnny Bravo type with the leather jacket and the quiff. He has all the macho chauvinism to boot. But what Mort has so cleverly done is parody tropes which we once accepted as gospel. This isn’t a film which sets out to offend, though it may likely be that to some. This is a film which sets out with its tongue firmly planted in its cheek, intelligently poking fun at subjects other films would simply shy away from.
Underneath it is an excellent and hilarious twist on vampire-lore. The addition of Abraham Van Rental (also voiced by Mort) to the cast serves as a connection to the vampire stories we all know and love. The bumbling old fool catches us up-to-date on the enhancements which Mort has made and we’re quickly on our way to a veritable sh*t-storm of a firefight.
The cast features some weird and wonderful supporting players. Most notable amongst them is Jennifer Saunders as Dr. A. Cular, the police psychiatrist who has turned most of L.A’s cops soft. Saunder’s voice adds some serious weight to the project and the role is certainly something different for her. But at the same time the style of humour wouldn’t feel totally out of place in an episode of French & Saunders.
As an action-adventure, Chuck Steel: Night of the Trampires is a huge success. It has all of the scope and pacing to put Lethal Weapon to shame. There’s explosions and gun fire galore. But its most spectacular sequence is perhaps an early car chase scene which took the film’s entire three year shoot to produce. The film does utilise VFX to enhance the scenery, its sparingly and convincingly used throughout.
The film also features an impressive soundtrack mixing traditional score with some huge 80’s metal riffs. Any fans of classic rock will get a huge kick out of the songs included here. Joris de Man provides the orchestral moments which punctuate the moments between songs. The score also echoes the 80s aesthetic which underpins the films foundations. Whilst it may not stand out against the heavy metal on first watch, it certainly feels worthy of revisiting on later watches.
Verdict
Chuck Steel: Night of the Trampires is the perfect antidote to the cookie cutter Hollywood blockbuster. Just like it’s lead character the film is ostentatious, sleazy and gloriously violent. But don’t be fooled, this is a movie with its tongue firmly in its cheek and adept at satire.
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