US 2013, 89m, Cert 15 (UK)
Weirdsmobile Productions
VOD/DVD: Safecracker Pictures (UK)
Student and aspiring journalist Leah (Allison Scagliotti) is looking for the scoop which will kick start her career. She certainly gets it when the mysterious Liz Batho (Louise Griffiths) takes up a position at the college, and forms the Virginity Action Group (VAG), which promotes chastity among the female pupils. However, Batho has an ulterior motive - her real name is Countess Elizabeth Bathory, and she has a track record for bathing in the blood of virgins to prolong her life...
Comedy-horror is a very easy genre to screw up, but John V. Knowles (directing his first feature) mostly hits the right buttons, keeps things moving and manages to pull off some effective horror moments as well. The screenplay by wife Lotti magages to take some satirical potshots at popular culture and social cliques along the way, whilst also structuring itself as an endearingly old-school shocker. The comedy doesn't overwhelm the horror aspects of the film, which really helps it to work.
Griffiths makes for an enjoyable villainess, delivering her lines with plenty of relish on top, but it's also very much a group piece, with the cast all pulling their weight. The climax perhaps isn't as effective as it could have been, but that's a relatively minor gripe in a very enjoyable hour-and-a-half. If a vampire-slasher, with a touch of Heathers (1988) in the mix sounds like your thing, then Chastity Bites is recommended viewing.
Chastity Bites is available through UK video-on-demand from February 2nd 2015, with a DVD release scheduled for April.
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