Here's one of the more underseen Troma movies out there. But also a fine example of a film which doesn't quite live up to its premise. And the premise being "Vampire catches AIDS". A hard premise to screw up. Not to say Sucker screws it up, exactly. But I expected something more than this when I first saw it in 1998. The idea of a vampire contracting the aids virus sounded a bit more taboo way back then, so, of course I had certain expectations for this film that weren't exactly met. But have recently given it a rewatch. And despite still being a tad underwhelming, it really is a fun little film.
Sucker: The Vampire focuses on the growing friendship of a vampire and his awkward henchman. A friendless loser, and raging Necrophiliac named Reed, who vaguely resembles a werewolf but isn't one. Just a tool, really. He seems to want to be Anthony's buddy pretty bad, but of course the brooding creature of the night isn't interested. He just needs him to dispose of the corpses of the hot young ladies that he sucks dry on a nightly basis. which is the perfect job for Reed, being that he gets to stick it to them good before sending them to their final resting place.
Once Anthony catches the aids and seeks advice from his dimwitted henchman, Reed is there for his master like a real friend should be. Although, he's a bit concerned that the may also have aids, now, due to all the corpse loving he does, which leads to an awkward little scene between the two where Anthony gets all huffy and self righteous when he learns of his henchman's fetish. But slowly, they form a warm friendship as Anthony lets his guard down along with his immune system. Bonding over aids, so to speak. And Reed proves to be a true friend to Anthony until the bitter end.
One of the many overlooked Troma movies to come out of the 90's, Sucker is a pretty cool Horror comedy. Although, it could have stood to be a little less silly and a little more surreal which is what I expected for some reason. The premise alone is funny enough without so many attempts at goofy humor. However, this movie's attempt at making AIDS funny without making fun of those who have AIDS is accomplished rather well. Sucker is nothing mindblowing, but for those Troma fans who think they've seen it all, here's a little gem you might have missed. 4/10
