Once Bit...

New vampire stories come with the same rules as those about zombies: if you're going to use a monster we've seen thousands of times, bring something new to it, whether that's fresh style or a deeply personal motivation. Thankfully Brad Michael Elmore's Bit does both.

Quick Plot: Loner Laurel (Nicole Maines) graduates her Oregon high school without much aim, deciding to spend her summer visiting big brother Mark in LA. On her first night out, she happily hooks up with Izzy, who ends the evening tearing out Laurel's throat. 

First dates are weird, ESPECIALLY in LA.

As you probably suspect, Izzy is a vampire. More importantly, Izzy is part of Duke's v-squad (name pending), a quintet of undead bloodsuckers whose primary rule is simple: never turn a man. You don't have to study much history to know what happens when the lesser sex gets more power. These girls are simply being responsible.

Laurel makes her vampiric transition official, saving Duke and the girls from a wannabe Van Helsing (with hints of Joe Rogan). Once she tastes human blood, she's converted, though she remains extremely uncomfortable with actual human murder. It doesn't prevent her from drifting away from the small core of people in her previous life: brother Mark, best friend Andy, and supportive, if overbearing parents. 

Naturally, Duke's grand intentions prove to be a little less pure than initially stated. There's a history, you see, with the former head vamp now separated from his own beating heart. As Laurel's two lives begin to mix, she finds herself making some pretty big decisions with bad consequences for both worlds.

Bit made some waves a few years ago when it debuted but somehow flew right over my head (like a....vampire floating over the city lights). It was well-reviewed, especially if you're considering the fact that it's a low budget lesbian vampire movie. But what apparently caught more attention was that it wasn't just a low budget lesbian vampire movie: it's a low budget vampire trans girl lesbian vampire movie.

I was unfamiliar with the wonderful Nicole Maines, but I guess many people who spend more time on the Gen-Z internet than I do would recognize her as an incredibly prolific trans rights activist who also has the distinction of playing the first (official?) transgender superhero via TV's Supergirl. 

We all experience stories on a very personal level, often looking to find that specific thing that speaks to us directly whether intended or not by the makers. As a cisgender heterosexual woman, I'll confess that I didn't see the trans element in Bit until it popped up in the IMDB description (I was about halfway through the film at that point). Before that, I was loving Bit as a fun and fresh young-feeling vampire story. And after, it just grew a little richer once I realized it had this whole extra level.

It's a fascinating watch experience, and for me, a reminder at just how many more stories there are to tell. 

High Points

There's a balancing act when crafting a protagonist who's kind of a jerk. We're fully rooting for Laurel, but Bit doesn't hide the fact that she also turns into a pretty crappy friend and sister when her vampirism starts redirecting her priorities. She's not a perfect heroine, but she's incredibly understandable, and more importantly, Laurel reluctantly sees exactly what she's doing. It's not the easiest journey to take a character in a horror movie on but Maines and Elmore do it wisely

Low Points

It's the teeniest of complaints, but at a certain point, the budgetary restrictions show themselves a bit in the fairly lackluster visuals and limited production design. Again, I'd far prefer the story and character development to cool vampire effects, but if I HAD to pull out a negative (and for now good reason but that I started using this format 13 years ago and don't like to break my own rules), here we are

Lessons Learned

People in LA are far less patronizing than those in Oregon

When driving to LA, always keep an eye on your levels

Remember: just because they're vampires doesn't mean they don't also have weapons

Rent/Bury/Buy

I was so thoroughly entertained and impressed by Bit. It's certainly exploring some interesting things (even if it took me a bit to catch on), but more importantly, it's FUN. Give it a go via Amazon Prime.