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Razor Blade Smile

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Razor Blade Smile
Official Teaser Poster
Directed byJake West
Screenplay byJake West[1]
Produced by
  • Jake West
  • Robert Mercer[1]
StarringEileen Daly
Christopher Adamson
Heidi James
CinematographyJames Solan[1]
Edited byJake West[1]
Music byRichard Wells[1]
Production
companies
  • Manga Live
  • Eye Deal Image[1]
Distributed byManga Entertainment[1]
Release date
  • 19 September 1998 (1998-09-19)
Running time
102 minutes[1]
CountryUnited Kingdom[1]
LanguageEnglish

Razor Blade Smile is a 1998 British horror vampire film, written and directed by Jake West. It stars Eileen Daly, Christopher Adamson, David Warbeck in his final role and Heidi James.[2] The film has since become notable for being the lowest budget film to have a cinematic release in the United Kingdom.[3]

Plot

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150 years ago, in the year 1850, Lilith Silver is mortally wounded as she attempts to avenge the dueling death of her lover by Sir Sethane Blake. Enamored by her spirit, Sir Sethane reveals himself to be a vampire to Silver and grants her the gift (and curse) of eternal life as a vampire. Today, Lilith moves through the city as a contract killer hired to elimiate all members of the mysterious and evil Masonic "Illuminati" sect, the leader of which is Sir Sethane. Clad in black latex and armed with a coffin full of weaponary, the vampiric hitwoman hunts down her targets while the police close in on her trail, desperate to end the carnage.[2]

Cast

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Production

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Filming

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The filming began in 1996.[4] The film was completed on a budget of £12,000, the main shoot locations of the film were shot in the director, Jake West's, parents house, a rock formation in Turnbridge Wells and at a underground goth bar in Hampstead, London.[3] West purposefully chose locations close to his residence for connivence of shooting on a lower budget. The crew often shot without permission and had to film scenes in one take, sometimes against the actors wishes, due to the limited film roll.[2] Props throughout the film were reused in multiple different scenes, mainly Silver's dual pistols, who were inspired by Lara Croft, the police officers in long-shots used toy guns.[4]

Release

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The film premiered on 19 September 1998, at Fantastisk Film Festival Lund and was released in the United Kingdom as part of the Raindance Film Festival on 22 October 1998.[citation needed] It was released on DVD on 14 September 1999.[5] In 2026, it was re-released in 4K resolution.[2][6]

Daly went on to feature on the cover of Bizzare magazine and was interviewed on Eurotrash to promote the film.[citation needed]

Reception

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Rotten Tomatoes, a review aggregator, reports that 14% of seven surveyed critics gave the film a positive review.[7] Ken Eisner of Variety magazine called the film a cheesy, over-the-top vampire film with enough style to make up for its acting and plotting.[8] Time Out London wrote that despite the film's faults, "there's a no-nonsense, unapologetic mood that makes the film hard to dislike."[9] Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times called it "a silly, gory, overly self-congratulatory vampire comedy".[10] Christopher Varney of Film Threat rated it 2/5 stars and called it "loud, atmospheric nonsense" that "rates high on the novelty factor".[11] David Johnson of DVD Verdict called it forgettable and generic vampire film that has a distracting visual style.[12] Kim Newman (Sight & Sound) described the film as "essentially the work of enthusiastic fans rather than pros" noting that "performances are extremely amateurish, which hamstrings the expositions scenes and makes for a succession of annoying walk-on victims."[1] The film has mixed reviews, mostly positive, on user-review sites IMDb and Letterboxd.

Despite negative reviews, the film has since gained a cult following and received mostly positive reviews from horror critics.[13][14]

Awards

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The film went on to win majority of the top awards at the first ever B-Movie Film Festival in 1999.[15]

  • Best B-Movie Film Actress: Eileen Daly
  • Best B-Movie Film Director: Jake West
  • Best B-Movie Film Cinematography: Razor Blade Smile
  • Best B-Movie Film Special Effects: Razor Blade Smile

References

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  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Newman, Kim (1998). "Razor Blade Smile". Sight & Sound. Vol. 8, no. 12. London: British Film Institute. p. 12.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Thompson, Patrizia Dahlia (17 January 2026). "Come On Eileen | Razor Blade Smile In 4K: The Playful 90s Indie That Reinvented The Vampire". HeadStuff. Retrieved 5 August 2026.
  3. 1 2 Thompson, C. T. "The Vampire Database - Razor Blade Smile - Vampire Rave". Vampire Rave. Retrieved 5 August 2026.
  4. 1 2 "Jake West • RAZOR BLADE SMILE". STARBURST Magazine. Retrieved 5 August 2026.
  5. ↑ Gross, G. Noel (16 March 2000). "Razor Blade Smile". DVD Talk. Retrieved 8 June 2014.
  6. ↑ Leisure, Time & (23 April 2026). "Film Director Jake West Re-Releases His Classic 90's Movie". Time & Leisure. Retrieved 5 August 2026.
  7. ↑ "Razor Blade Smile (1998)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 29 June 2019.
  8. ↑ Eisner, Ken (25 October 1998). "Review: 'Razor Blade Smile'". Variety. Retrieved 8 June 2014.
  9. ↑ "Razor Blade Smile". Time Out London. Retrieved 8 June 2014.
  10. ↑ Thomas, Kevin (15 July 1999). "A Poetic Outpouring". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 8 June 2014.
  11. ↑ Varney, Christopher (15 November 2000). "Razor Blade Smile". Film Threat. Retrieved 8 June 2014.
  12. ↑ Johnson, David (7 October 2005). "Razor Blade Smile". DVD Verdict. Retrieved 8 June 2014.
  13. ↑ adminHQ (17 April 2026). "FROM NUCLEUS FILMS ' RAZOR BLADE SMILE' UK UHD & BLU RAY PREMIERE! 3 DISC COLLECTION & OVER 9 HOURS OF SPECIAL FEATURES". THE HORROR ENTERTAINMENT MAGAZINE. Retrieved 5 August 2026.
  14. ↑ "Nerdly » Romford Film Festival 2025: 'Razor Blade Smile' (4k Restoration) Review". Retrieved 5 August 2026.
  15. ↑ "British Vampire Flick 'Razor Blade Smile' Wins Top Honors at B-Movie Film Festival" Archived 27 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine, b-movie.com, 31 August 1999. Retrieved 12 April 2007.
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