The lore of vampires has expanded quite a bit in the past few decades, with the fanged foes evolving from dangerous ghouls to lovelorn sadsacks. One of fiction's most popular creatures goes through another transformation in Shudder's So Vam, this time into angsty queer young adults. So Vam is a timely horror comedy, but while 17-year-old filmmaker Alice Maio Mackay may have some interesting ideas up her sleeve, the film's amateurish nature keeps it from fully actualizing those ideas.

So Vam stars Australian drag queen Xai as Kurt, a bullied teenager who dreams of moving to the big city to pursue a career as a famous drag queen. When Kurt's plans are derailed after he is attacked by a cruel older vampire, queer bloodsuckers April (Grace Hyland) and Harley (Iris Mcerlean) take him under their wing. April and Harley show Kurt how to be a decent modern vampire who preys off the blood of bigots and bullies. However, Kurt soon finds himself embroiled in a vampire-on-vampire war that will threaten the lives of everyone he loves.

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so vam

The central idea of So Vam is very inventive and fun. Queer people have existed in horror for as long as the genre has existed, but they are hardly ever depicted as the main characters like they are here. However, the filmmaking of So Vam is consistently half-baked. Performance scenes are so dark that the audience can't even see the performer's face, and much of the editing is extremely choppy. The color choices and the cinematography are, for the most part, unsurprising standard fare. Mackay obviously has an interesting creative vision, but the ambitious young director's limited filmmaking skills don't really give her ideas justice.

So Vam also feels a bit immature, with its ideas being hammered into the viewer's head so hard that they start to feel ham-fisted. The ideas that Mackay has come up with are powerful enough to affect the audience without everything being so carefully spelled out. The lack of subtlety actually diminishes the impact of her ideas. The acting is also a bit distracting since most of the delivery falls flat. Xai and Hyland both have a great screen presence, but neither of their characters feels truly lived in.

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So Vam does offer some memorable ideas, even if the execution doesn't always work. Scenes of victims melting are so entertainingly schlocky that they hold a certain power to them, and the fight sequences can also sometimes be a cheesy good time. Another highlight is the inclusion of cameos from Drag Race icons Etcetera Etcetera and BenDeLaCreme, although the latter feels underused in her small voice-over role. In the end, So Vam presents itself as a sweet vampiric tale about friendship and self-acceptance. It can feel heartwarming when viewed from the right lens, but unfortunately, the film struggles to live up to its own potential.

Directed by Alice Maio Mackay, So Vam will be available to stream exclusively on Shudder on August 23.