Dave Chamberlain

Here's a recommendation that assumes people interested in seeing this movie aren't expecting "Mulholland Drive." Dig vampires? Well this is next level shit. Dig comic books? Than you'll appreciate Guillermo del Toro's take on Marvel Comic's "Blade" series. When we left off with the first "Blade," the mutant vampire that can resist daylight was in Moscow. Del Toro picks the action up there to tie up some loose ends before removing Blade to Prague, where he's enlisted by his arch-enemy vampires to help combat a race of super-vampires, the Reapers. Nighttime escapades, massive bloodletting, vampirical politics and more bloodletting ensue. But del Toro, whose credits include a host of gothic thrillers including "Cronos" and the ultra-creepy "The Devil's Backbone," takes "Blade 2" beyond the bloodbath. His pacing and high-speed edits recall the comic-book-cum-movie style of "X-Men," and his use of Prague's underbelly as filming location adds a spine-tingling and grimy real-ness. Especially impressive is his use of sound: the quiet tinkling of chains, the creaks of a wood floor and singular drips of water make "Blade 2" plain old scarier than its predecessor. Though Wesley Snipes' Blade will hardly earn him an Oscar, he seems more than aware when he's working with cheese, and his interplay with elite vampire guard Ron Perlman approaches knee-slapping humor. A surprisingly good sequel. With Kris Kristofferson, Leonor Varela.

"Blade 2" opens March 22.

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