Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)
O-M-G! There’s no way I can objectively rate the Thai series “OMG! Vampire” because it swings from inanely hilarious to quite cringe-y. I nearly died of laughter when the city of Vampires was introduced as “Thaiwilight City,” so whoever came up with that name, high-ten to them.
Directed by Phadej Onlahung, the 10-part series, also known as “Red Wine Vampire” (Thai Title: แวมไพร์ไวน์แดง), is a vampire-parody that stars Frank Thanatsaran Samthonglai as Poom, a human-turned vampire who longs to return to the land of humans with his group of friends, but the rules of “Thaiwilight City” forbid young vampires from leaving. So Poom and his friends find an illegal way out and must blend into the human world to avoid detection by the vampire police. Lee Long Shi plays Patrick, the handsome owner of an exclusive bar where Poom begins to work, and the two start dating.
The first episode of “OMG! Vampire” starts with Poom’s vampire friends—played by actors David Kittikawin Justice, Kan Tangruek, Dear Napat Lertwiram, and Mon Varakorn Varuncharoentham—waking him up from a century-long slumber in “Thaiwilight” City. Time works differently for vampires and humans, viewers are explained, and an oppressive regime rules the vampire city, where youngsters aren’t allowed to marry or copulate to keep the population under control. This is why Poom and his friends escape to the human world, and the next few episodes follow their comedic journey of trying to live like ordinary humans.
Frank Thanatsaran Samthonglai and Lee Long Shi were last seen together in another silly comedic series called “Crazy Handsome Rich,” which I tried watching but couldn’t; it was simply idiotic. But with “OMG! Vampire,” at least the vampire theme gives the show an added layer of exaggerated absurdity and theatrical touch that sort of works for those looking for something completely non-serious. However, there’s very little chemistry between the lead actors Frank and Lee, and I don’t see why they keep getting cast together. For instance, the Thai series “Secret Crush on You” relied on a lot of cringe-comedy too, but despite all its silliness, lead actors Seng Wichai Saefant and Billy Patchanon Ounsa-ard had crackling chemistry, even though they don’t look like a conventional visual pair.
With just ten episodes, “OMG! Vampire” squeezes in four different romantic pairs, one of them between Vampire police captain Joe (Sugus Buntawit Tragulpanich) and his colleague Nicky (Bonus Tanadech Deeseesuk), which was pretty unnecessary. But Sugus Buntawit Tragulpanich is dashing in the cop uniform and could’ve used more scenes because he exuded “main lead” energy in all of his scenes. Among the many couples in the show, Poom’s chubby-cute single friend Mix (Mon Varakorn Varuncharoentham) stands out, as he often feels left out but is always there rooting for his joker friends. Dear Napat Lertwiram, who plays Jolie, the only girl in the group, cracks viewers up with her attempts at playing the beautiful bimbo who is often overwhelmed by the male attention she gets, although it’s just two guys really. David Kittikawin Justice and Kan Tangruek looked mismatched as Sen and Run, Poom’s friends, who get to run a dessert cafe together in the human world, but they sort of do grow on viewers. The villains in the tale on the other hand are completely caricature-like and forgettable.
For a vampire-based series, there’s very little violence in “OMG! Vampire,” although the last two episodes do pack in some conflict between the younger vampires and the old regime. The cinematography ranges between over-the-top and engaging, and the special effects for the gothic-looking “Thaiwilight” aren’t too bad, even though they’re evidently fake. What surprised me were the vampire fangs everybody sports on the show, even though the characters rarely try to attack anybody with their sharp cuspids, the rare times they are on display, the special effects is pretty convincing. Oh, and the background music is a whole other story—the creators often use stock tunes that sound like familiar Christmas/Halloween jingles, which is very funny.
The last episode of the series gives all the primary characters an easy victory and “happy ending”, but with an interesting vampiric twist. If you’re up for a vampire parody that feels more like an amateur play with zany characters, give “OMG! Vampire” a shot.
You can watch “OMG! Vampire” on WeTV.
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