Blood Vessel, Vampires, Nazis, and a Ghost Ship

1980's "Death Ship" is one of my favorite movies. The George Kennedy film had a haunted derelict Nazi ship picking up an innocent bunch of survivors from a shipwreck.  Today, we have a look at an almost identical plot in 2019's "Blood Vessel," directed by Justin Dix.  This World War 2 film also has a derelict Nazi ship...this time infested by vampires, picking up survivors from an allied sunken ship.  Dark, and not the feel good film of 2019, it is a vampire film set on the high seas...which merit it a look.

A motley crew of allied survivors are adrift in a life raft after a U-Boat sinks their vessel.  Starving, the castaways believe they catch a break when a Nazi freighter comes by.  After their captain is shredded by the freighter's propeller, the others manage to climb aboard.  Interesting survivors...the babe nurse Jane (Alyssa Sutherland), the Aussie Nathan (Nathan Phillips), the English Intel guy/traitor Faraday (John Llotd Fillingham), and the Russian Alexander (Alex Cooke...I guess cultural appropriation is no great sin if it concerns Russia).  Soon our surviving allies figure out the vessel seems deserted.  Then they find the charred, rat bitten, maggot infested corpses of the crew.  Now our survivors figure they may not be as lucky as first theorized.

Then the vampires arrive.  First a little girl vampire takes an unhealthy liking to Jane.  Then it is discovered this Nazi crew looted artwork, relics, and coffins from central Europe.  Wouldn't you know it... vampires are in the coffins.  Soon the allies figure out what is going on and a war erupts...beyond World War 2.  The awkward group must now trust one another and work together as the toothy menaces do not die easy.  The creepy derelict ship is spooky enough and the vampires aren't the attractive ("Underworld") variety.  As the kid vampire continues to hunt and torment Jane, the guy survivors tangle with the full grown vampires.

Will Jane survive the wrath of the toothy little girl?  Will the Australian, Russian, and English traitor put their cultural differences aside and realize diversity is their greatest strength (NATO is trying to do this now, w/o much success)?  Creepy and horrific..."Blood Vessel" is a dark horror film which adds new meaning to the phrase "horrors of war."