Silent Bite – Cleopatra Entertainment (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: USA, 2024
Director: Taylor Martin
Writer: Simon Phillips
Cast: Luke Avoledo, Nick Biskupek, Camille Blott, Louisa Capulet, Sayla de Goede, Dan Molson, Simon Phillips, Chad Ridgely, Kelly Schwartz, Sienna Star, Michael Swatton, Paul Whitney

Release Date: November 12th, 2024
Approximate Running Time: 90 Minutes 8 seconds
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: NR
Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1 English, LPCM Stereo English
Subtitles: English SDH
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: $24.95

"'Twas the heist before Christmas. A team of bank robbers attempt to lay low after robbing the town's bank on Christmas Eve. A down on his luck motel manager agrees to let them spend the night, for a small slice of their ill gotten gains. But the robbers are surprised to find out that they aren't the only people keeping a low profile in the hotel that night; four gorgeous apparent women. The men sense a trap, as anything too good to be true usually is just that. They soon discover the women are all vampires and are very interested in having them for Christmas dinner. Forced not to raise the alarm the men must survive the night, but a difficult choice plagues Blake when he discovers a female hostage who is mid transformation to vampire life." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4.25/5

Silent Bite comes on a 25 GB single layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 21.1 GB

Feature: 17.6 GB

The material used for this transfer is in excellent shape. Flesh tones and colors look correct, image clarity and black levels are strong, and compression is very good.

Audio: 4.5/5 (LPCM Stereo English)

This release comes with two audio options, a Dolby Digital 5.1 mix in English and a LPCM stereo mix in English. For this review I only listened to the LPCM stereo audio track. The audio sounds excellent; dialog comes through clearly, and everything sounds balanced and robust when it should. Included are removable English SDH.

Extras:

Extras for this release include a slideshow with music from the film playing in the background, a trailer for Silent Bite (1 minute 19 seconds, LPCM stereo English, no subtitles), and eight unrelated trailers for films also released by Cleopatra Entertainment.

Summary:

Four bank robbers lay low in a motel after a big heist believed to be empty, only to discover there are vampires waiting to prey upon them.

Silent Bite is yet another in a long tradition of Yuletide horror films. Its narrative pits criminals dressed in Santa suits against vampires. Though there are elements in Silent Bite that have been in countless other horror films, the result is a film that never falls into the by-the-numbers trappings that plagued so many modern horror films.

The opening setup draws you in, and the middle section builds anticipation for a bloodletting finale. There is a cat-and-mouse game going on between the criminals and vampires, where the latter is in no hurry to kill their prey. Another strength of the narrative is its ability to build and maintain tension. That said, most of the carnage takes place in the last 30 minutes.

The fully developed characters aid the performers in delivering compelling performances. The strongest performance is Simon Phillips’ (who also wrote the screenplay) portrayal of Father Christmas, the leader of the criminals. The most memorable performance is Sayla de Goede, who portrays Mother, the leader of a group of female vampires.

From a production standpoint, Silent Bite is a film that fully exploits all of its resources. The premise is superbly realized, and a well-constructed narrative where things move quickly. Another strength is the visuals, which do an excellent job of reinforcing the mood. The soundtrack features rock versions of the Christmas songs. Ultimately, Silent Bite is a highly entertaining film that offers something unique in a genre overflowing with films that lack creativity.

Silent Bite gets a strong audio/video presentation from Cleopatra Entertainment, highly recommended.

Written by Michael Den Boer