A group of five festively adorned bank robbers, in the wake of an intense bank heist, are looking for a place to lay low until the heat dies down. They crash at the Jolly Roger Hotel while one of their members, dressed as Santa, acts as a decoy and lures the authorities away from their hiding place. What these devious delinquents fail to realize until it is too late, is that the hotel is a honey pot for a brood of sultry female vampires who are hungry and looking for a good time. Further complicating matters is an off-kilter hotel manager who seems to be playing both sides and a new vampiric recruit who is fighting to embrace her intended nature. Will anyone make it out of this crazy deathtrap alive in time to have a merry Christmas?

While one can certainly feel something of a From Dusk Til Dawn influence on Silent Bite with the way it basically begins as a crime bank heist flick before barreling full tilt into vampire horror comedy territory, the proceedings have a distinctly quirky lo-fi feel to it that sets it apart. Simon Phillips as the Santa robber turned murderous vampire steals the show whenever he’s on screen, but most of the rest of the cast acquit themselves admirably as well, and the screenplay by Philliips also manages to balance the comedy and horror elements to solid effect. Even the directing from first-time feature director Taylor Martin keeps things lively with a garish color scheme that gives the film a little bit of a Tales from the Crypt/Creepshow vibe. While the character development is pretty thin for most of the characters save the starcrossed puppy love subplot, some of the supporting actors come across a bit stilted, and some of the special effects definitely suffer a little from the low budget, overall I was actually pleasantly surprised as how slick and fun this little seasonal delight turned out to be.

The digital transfer for Silent Bite is very clear and well mastered with a nice color saturation and deep blacks that make for a quite good viewing experience. The audio is a bit of an odd one though. The 5.1 surround track is compressed but still does a solid job of separation across the channels even though it seems to be a bit anemic overall. Oddly enough the 2.0 stereo track IS presented uncompressed and sounds quite robust and full with a proper low end the 5.1 track should have had. I’m not sure why the disc has been mastered this way, but for once I think I would actually recommend the stereo track over the surround track. The extras are very slight with only a trailer and a slideshow.

Given the time of year, if you find yourself getting tired of the usual Christmas horror classics like Silent Night Deadly Night, Christmas Evil and Gremlins, give Silent Bite a try. It’s a fun, pulpy little horror comedy romp that might even make its way into your usual rotation if you can look past the low budget.