On paper this one sounded like a complete winner to me, and perfect Midnight Madness fare for which it was programmed at TIFF. A Curry Western with vampires, sign me up! I love the sound of it, we know there’s going to be blood and violence – its action sequences were choreographed by Very Tri Yulisman who did the same on The Raid 2.

But I think I was hoping for a little more chemistry between the two leads, Ranjith Sajeev and Aiswarya Raj, their supposed to be daywalkers, and twin siblings. There isn’t much there, and the playful banter, what there is of it, feels forced. And the only way we know they’re vampires is that it tells us in the title card. They have supernatural strength, absolutely, but we never see them feed, or need to feed. Perhaps that is a Western conceit to vampirism.

Ethan (Sajeev) and the non-verbal Ivy (Raj) run afoul of a group of criminals who run cars off the road, kill the travelers and steal all their belongings, including the cars. When the pair are left for dead by the baddies, we know a bloody ass-kicking is about to be laid down, and though tthere are some really great moments, I couldn’t find myself engaged in it, because I didn’t really care about Ethan or Ivy.

There are lots of needle drops for the fights, and the makeup and practical effects for the wounds, breaks and deaths are top-notch, but I couldn’t find a way into the characters. I don’t mind if they aren’t likeable, but gimme something. A few extra minutes to build some banter, and a sense of connection between the characters would have served. What we’re given isn’t enough, and the pair don’t quite seem to click.

Still, for the audience at Midnight Madness who will be queing to see tthe blood, and the violence, it’ll serve. It looks great, and feels a little rough and tumble around the edges, making it feel a bit like an exploitation film of the 1970s but made with 2020s sensibilities and tech.

It’s big, loud, wonderfully violent (and great practical effects), and ass-kickings are delivered in a bloody and timely fashion, I just wanted a little more character on the side.

Half has its Midnight Madness premiere Friday at the Royal Alexandra Theatre, and if you miss that, there’s a final screening on Saturday and Sunday evening at Scotiabank.