Wesley Snipes stars as the titular hero, a half-mortal, half-vampire (a “Daywalker”) who hunts down creatures of the night in this flashy action adventure based on the Marvel comic.
After a brutal attack on a vampire rave, Blade rescues Dr Karen Jenson (N’Bushe Wright), a haematologist who has been bitten and is on the verge of transforming into a vampire.
Together, they work to find a cure for her condition while Jenson uses her medical knowledge to develop new weapons for Blade, including the explosive anticoagulant EDTA.
Aided by his gruff-and-tough mentor and weaponsmith, Abraham Whistler (Kris Kristofferson), Blade sets out to thwart the evil schemes of ambitious and rebellious vampire Deacon Frost (Stephen Dorff), whose plans include running a nightclub to supply humans for his fiendish pals to feed on.
Frost also plans to trigger a vampire apocalypse by performing an ancient ritual to summon La Magra, the vampire blood god. To complete this ritual, he needs the blood of the “Daywalker” (Blade himself) along with the sacrifice of twelve vampire elders.
Frost’s forces eventually raid Blade’s hideout, fatally wounding Whistler and abducting Karen.
When Blade attempts a rescue, he is captured and brought to the Temple of Eternal Night. There, he is shocked to discover his mother, Vanessa (Sanaa Lathan), is still alive and has been turned into a vampire – revealed to be Frost’s own lover.
Blade is placed into a sacrificial machine that drains his blood to empower Frost, but Karen manages to escape her own trap and frees him, allowing him to feed on her to regain his strength.
As Frost completes the ritual and gains the god-like powers of La Magra, Blade engages him in a final duel.
Frost proves immune to standard weapons, but Blade successfully uses the experimental EDTA syringes to cause Frost’s body to violently inflate and explode.
With the threat neutralised, Blade chooses to remain a half-vampire to continue his hunt rather than take Karen’s newly perfected cure.
The film concludes with Blade in Moscow, hunting vampires who have moved into Europe.
This is far-fetched stuff, but Snipes looks great in leather, it’s snappily paced, and the performances are perfectly tongue-in-cheek.
Blade
Wesley Snipes Deacon Frost
Stephen Dorff Abraham Whistler
Kris Kristofferson Karen
N’Bushe Wright Quinn
Donal Logue Dragonetti
Udo Kier Mercury
Arly Jover Racquel
Traci Lords Krieger
Kevin Patrick Walls Curtis Webb
Tim Guinee Vanessa
Sanaa Lathan Pearl
Eric Edwards Nurse
Donna Wong Heatseeking Dennis
Kenny Johnson Pallantine
Judson Scott Kam
Keith Leon Williams Reichardt
Lyle Conway Von Esper
Erl Van Douglas Crease
Matt Schulze
Director
Stephen Norrington
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Aided by his gruff-and-tough mentor and weaponsmith, Abraham Whistler (Kris Kristofferson), Blade sets out to thwart the evil schemes of ambitious and rebellious vampire Deacon Frost (Stephen Dorff), whose plans include running a nightclub to supply humans for his fiendish pals to feed on.
When Blade attempts a rescue, he is captured and brought to the Temple of Eternal Night. There, he is shocked to discover his mother, Vanessa (Sanaa Lathan), is still alive and has been turned into a vampire – revealed to be Frost’s own lover.
Frost proves immune to standard weapons, but Blade successfully uses the experimental EDTA syringes to cause Frost’s body to violently inflate and explode.
