User Reviews

Right, well given the title of the movie and the movie's cover, then I hadn't any much of any particular hopes or expectations for the movie. But still, I believe in giving all movies a fair chance, so I sat down to watch the 2002 movie "Cryptz" (aka "Vampz in the Hood") as I hadn't seen it before. Actually, I didn't even know about its existence before now, late in 2019.

Well, with "Cryptz" you might want to think "From Dusk to Dawn", except change the cast with an all African-American cast, remove the budget, cut away the big names from the cast list, and throw in B-movie production, then you have "Cryptz". Yup, as simple as that.

The storyline was very much a copy-paste job off of "From Dusk to Dawn", just with less entertainment value and laughable acting performances. Now, personally I can't take people serious when they act and talk all 'ghetto' or whatever the term is. And that was, unfortunately, the way most people portrayed the characters in this movie.

The vampires in the movie were actually quite good, and that alone made it durable to sit through this ordeal of a vampire movie. Sexy ladies? Check. Pointy fangs? Check. Scantily dressed? Check. So what is not to like about that, and it is no secret that writer Scott Phillips and director Danny Draven knew this as well, and were playing on that to make the movie more interesting.

As for the characters in the movie. Well, that can be summarized with one single word: nah. The character gallery in "Vampz" was just laughable and ridiculous. I couldn't take any of the main cast seriously, with the way they talked, acted and dressed. The vampires, now that was another matter, and they made the movie watchable at least.

"Vampz" is a low budget and poor-man's rendering of "From Dusk to Dawn", pure and simple. Was it worth sitting through to the end? Hardly so, but still I managed to endure.

I am rating "Vampz" a mere three out of ten stars. There are far better vampire movies readily available out there.

Tymez lives with his mother and hopes to perhaps become a rapper with his buddies. His mother wants him to get a job, but when he goes out he gets together with his friends and they spot a busty woman and flirt with her. They then try to find the club she works at, "Cryptz," by calling a spooky friend of theirs named Truck who they think know all about underground clubs and things like that. He's a meditating muscleman.

Truck warns them against trying to find the woman or the club, and when he learns Tymez was touched by her, he instructs them to duct tape him to his bed. Instead, they fall asleep in front of a TV, and Tymez wakes up with his face burning and he runs to the club with his friends in tow. At the club, they're pretty happy watching women dancing, but when the call Truck again they're warned again, and indeed most of the people at the club are vampires!

This was a fairly silly low-budget horror movie, so it's hard to be too harsh on it. However, some of the scenes really drag. The scene where the three guys are trying to decide how to find the woman goes on for a long time, for example, with little camera movement. I guess they felt obligated to shoot all the dialog that was scripted, and then were happy with it, but it could have been cut down.

The ending is fairly lame. The day ends, but there are some loose ends almost like a set-up for a sequel, and weirdest of all is something involving Tymez' tattoo.

Not recommended, but as I said, it's not terrible.

I've seen a lot of bad vampire movies and a lot of Full Moon movies and I have to say that this is one of the worst in either category. I can't believe there are people defending this movie. It has absolutely no redeeming qualities. Even using the lower standards one applies to low budget horror this is a substandard movie. The acting is horrible. The script is almost non-existent. Even the cheap thrills of gore and nudity are badly done.

Skip this movie.

I've been on somewhat of a horror kick lately. It all started last year when I rented Draven's "Hell Asylum." Easily the worst film I'd ever seen. But I saw a trailer for "Dead & Rotting" and I found myself interested, if only to have a good laugh. D&R was slightly better but not good at all. I gave Hell Asylum a 1/10 and D&R a 2/10. So flash forward now to this year where I rented "Draniac!" Horrible piece of garbage. 1/10. Then "Bleed," 2/10, perhaps only better for the sake of lots of nudity, although I don't see the appeal of Debbie Rochon? She's pale as all hell and is not attractive at all. I'm getting to "Cryptz", ok? Either for Hell Asylum or D&R I saw the trailer for "Cryptz", which also interested me but I didn't get around to renting it for an entire year. I'm glad I finally saw it. This is the best of the Schlock Horror movies I've ever seen. While the production value is still not there, the story and actors were thoroughly enjoyable. I didn't dig on the hooded druids all that much, but Draven himself ripped on them as well in the documentary. That's right! The DVD of Cryptz has a documentary on the making of this film. I urge you to check it out. The cast & crew seemed to really enjoy themselves here, and I found it interesting for the fact that I'm looking for a career in film as well. Not bad at all. 5/10

Cryptz (2002) is a movie I recently watched on Tubi. The storyline follows some aspiring rappers who have a curse put on them by a stripper. They follow the stripper to the strip club to be released of the curse and discover the strip club is full of vampires. The rappers will need to hack their way out if they hope to survive.

This movie is directed by Danny Draven (Patient Seven) and stars Choice Skinner (Black Lightening), Rick Irvin (Heavenly Deposit), Lunden De'Leon (We're the Millers) and Olimpia Fernandez (Killjoy 2).

The acting, dialogue and storyline in this are all as awful as it sounds. There was a Chris Tucker wannabe that was a bit corny. The girls in this are even inconsistent, which is sad based on the setting. There should have been more nudity based on the storyline. The kills are uneven with a couple good ones with solid gore and blood splatter.

Overall this movie is a disaster that I'd recommend skipping. I'd score this a 1/10.

the only reason i watched this movie is because of the rate it was given. In the end this was a dumb movie, actors trying to be funny, a very poor plot etc.

after seeing The Forsaken, this is the worst vampire movie so far

Attempting to launch their career, an aspiring rap group decides to follow a tip from a friend and visit a stripclub to meet a mysterious woman, but when it transpires that the performers in the club are vampires luring targets to their death must rely on a skilled hunter to save them.

This was a rather fun and better-than-expected effort. Among the more enjoyable features here is the intriguing starting point that offers up some fun points. The idea of the group going through the trials and tribulations of attempting to get their group off the ground to start their career which inadvertently brings them into contact with the dancer out doing promotion is a solid starting point. Their drive to figure out what's going on with her and their quest to find that out, with the encounter generating the first encounter where the supernatural work to get them to the club has a startling sense of realism that's also an effective concept which is hardly ever utilized in the genre. As well, the series of scenes here show off their efficiency in keeping the operation under wraps and completely inconspicuous, not only for the rituals that take place inside the facility but also how they ensure the clients are always taken out without any trace of being found makes them that much more threatening. That manages to give the vampire scenes in here quite a lot to like. The opening pre-credit attack and a feeding sequence in the basement of the club on a random victim give a highly effective look into their ferocity and aggressive behavior early on. The way they overtake the patrons inside the club, starting with the beatdown of the rowdy guest and just herding everyone into the locker room where they prepare for the special restoration ceremony that requires removing the tattoo from the one guy and taking the second guy into the other room while everyone else is in complete shock offers quite an effective setup here. Given the finale not only has all the big vampire action with their ceremony taking place transforming the rest of the group into their own kind which results in some nice graphic kills with their victims being bitten and ripped to pieces. There's also a fun finale, with the hunter coming to the rescue and helping to take them down while saving the remaining friends in the bowels of the club featuring tons of nice gore along the way. These elements are enough to make this one likable for what it is. There are some minor issues to be had with this one. The biggest issue with the film is the overblown use of slow-motion here for so many of the random sequences that make no sense. This happens almost exclusively during the vampire attacks which renders a majority of them to be rather comical instead of terrifying since the ideas involved require it to be shown at full speed to get the most effect and impact. Instead, the filming technique shows off the limitations of the effects as well as rendering most of the sequence unintelligible due to the confusing nature of everything, which is an unintended side-effect of the film as a whole since this does showcase the budgetary limitations frequently as well. The only other issue is that the film features a slew of vampire traditions and rules without saying anything about what's going on, leading to scenes involving ceremonial transformations and powders for defensive purposes yet not explaining what's going on which makes for some confusing scenes when they're utilized. Beyond that, it's not that bad overall.

Rated R: Graphic Violence, Graphic Language, and Nudity.

Usually I try and keep this semi-professional, but in this case I felt more compelled than usual as a Full Moon fan to post a quick quip to defend this film. One commenter on this board said this was the worst "vampire strip club film" they'd ever seen. With all due respect, how can you expect anything from a film with that description? Now then, the film delivers on that level, that it has vampires and takes place in a strip club, but does it work on other, "more sophisticated" levels? Like most Full Moon films, the answer is "sort of", depending on what you look for in a film.

I honestly don't understand why people keep renting Full Moon movies expecting technical masterpieces. Although Danny Draven has shown again that he's very capable when working with the low budget and criminally short shooting schedule, he has yet to direct the "break-out" film that will gain him the accolades and attention among non-genre fans that he deserves. Besides Draven's work, special attention should also be called to Josephine Soegjanty's score, which is amazing, and the best thing from a strictly technical aspect that the film offers. In addition to the film's good direction and great score, unlike standard low-budget fare, with performances that can be best described as "passable", all of the major roles in "Cryptz" are played by actors and actresses that are totally in touch with their characters, whether that means being legitimately funny, a legitimate "bad-ass", or legitimately sexy and mysterious. That's a definite plus, because although the location used for shooting has the perfect sleazy/creepy look to it, the film doesn't feature a lot of special effects or extras because of its budget, and at times, were it not for the lead's charisma to draw your attention from this fact, the film would look as if it were severely lacking.

It's good that the film lacks little in the acting and camera/production department, because the plot, in comparison, is a little lacking. It's a fairly standard vampire plot with a nice little "ghetto twist", but several important plot revelations that are made spontaneously to advance the plot, and never fully explained. Another slight problem with the script is some of the film's dialogue. Even though the exaggerated stereotypical "ghetto talk" used by the leads throughout the film was intentional and is often funny, it's also just as often annoying, especially compared to Full Moon/Big City Pictures' other "urban horror" projects, which for the most part had confident, intelligent black characters that still retained a share of "street talk" in their lines.

Other than those minor quibbles with the plot, there's very little wrong with the film. While at first viewing it wasn't that impressive, the film's fun comes out more after repeated viewings and observing the chemistry the cast had with each other and director Danny Draven on the accompanying "behind the scenes" footage on the DVD release. To the detractors, yes, it's still just another low-budget film, made without the best film stock or any expansive shots or sets, but to those same detractors, I challenge them to find another film made in 8 days on this small of a budget that's so enjoyable.

I have noticed that a lot of people have given this film rather rude remarks. I can't see why. This film is without doubt one of the better Full Moon movies. I've always been a Full Moon Pictures Fan and have seen almost every movie from them. This one is great.

What made the film most interesting is that it tended to drift way from the usual "Gore is Great" motto that Horror films these days are made by. Look, I'm not saying its rated P.G., I'm just saying there was more to it. Also, this film succeeded in trying good Effects.

How could someone criticize the Acting?

The acting was rather normal (not bad or anything)

This film has the thrills of old Full Moon Picture Movies as well as the acting and plot to the newer ones.

I would recommend this to any Horror Movie fan.

An easy 9 / 10

I think that Zuvembie #1 is awesome! She's scary as all hell! I just thought the movie was all right until those hooded creatures showed up and that's when I thought the movie got good. Props to the actress Julia Marchese for doing such a good job!

This movie was really bad. The acting was horrible. The special effects were bad. The vampires did not seem threatening at all. Apparently in this movie vampires are simply abnormally strong people with sharp teeth who like to drink blood. If you have a karate fighting muscle man on your side than the average vampire is no contest. The vampire hunter doesn't even use weapons. So silly. This movie is on the same level as a bunch of teenagers trying to make a vampire movie with a hand recording camera.. and I'm not exaggerating. I thought this movie was a sequel to the very popular and entertaining TALES FROM THE CRYPT. Instead I ended up watching one of the worst stripper vampire movies since Bordello of Blood. Putting a bunch of attractive girls in a movie with some fight scenes aren't going to satisfy most people. Avoid this movie unless you and your friends want a good mystery science theatre film to make fun off. The only bonus is the DVD comes with another movie. I don't recall it being advertised so I was surprised to find it. The second movie is RAGDOLL, which is actually worse than Cryptz, so the surprise bonus was a real let down. At least with 2 movies I got half my rentals worth. Overall it's not worth your time.

Kind of a black version of From Dusk Till Dawn only without all the excess of the latter. Anyway, this is a direct to video film from Full Moon. It is better then a lot of the films they have been putting out lately (much, much better then Dead and Rotting), but because these films budgets have been so extremely limited right now, there really isn't anything the makers of this film could really do. I will give them credit, they certainly tried. Budget limits pretty much kill an interesting idea.