The Forsaken (film)
Encyclopedia
The Forsaken is a 2001
horror
/thriller film
written and directed by J. S. Cardone. In Australia
, its promotional title was The Forsaken: Desert Vampires.
) is driving cross country to his sister's wedding when he picks up Nick (Brendan Fehr
), a hitchhiker who happens to be a vampire
hunter hunting a group of vampires led by Kit (Johnathon Schaech
), one of the Forsaken.
The Forsaken are a group of French Knights that during the First Crusade
made a pact with the demon Abaddon
to live forever. There were nine knights: eight were turned into vampires and became known as the Forsaken; the ninth was a sacrifice to Abaddon to seal the pact. Of the eight, four are dead, one is in Europe, one in Africa and two in the United States (including the one Nick is tracking, Kit). Nick was bitten by a vampire but, thanks to an antiviral drug cocktail, the vampire virus is kept at bay. Each of the Forsaken carry a unique strain of the virus and killing the Forsaken kills the entire strain of virus; killing all the vampires descended from it, and stopping anyone just infected from turning, which is why Nick is hunting this particular Forsaken. He believes him to be the one that his strain of the vampire virus is descended from and that if he kills him, he will not eventually turn into a vampire (as the drug cocktail eventually will lose effect). At first Sean is less than willing to indulge his new acquaintance, but then they find Megan (Izabella Miko
), a girl Sean finds he is attracted to, bitten and left for dead by the vampires. Nick also proves he is telling the truth by killing a vampire, Teddy (Alexis Thorpe
), by exposure to sunlight.
When Sean is infected with the vampire virus (Megan bites his hand while he's covering her mouth), their only hope is to kill the vampire leader before it is too late. The Forsaken must be slain on hallowed ground, so the three head for a Spanish mission 60 miles away - chased by the vampires and their day driver Penn (Simon Rex
). After a battle on the road Penn is killed and the car is running out of gas as its tank was shot so they are unable to reach the mission. They stop at a gas station where an old woman named Ina (Carrie Snodgress
) lets them in after seeing Megan. She shows them a newspaper connecting Megan to a bloodbath in Arizona; when Megan wakes up and is coherent enough to talk, she explains she was a victim of the vampires' bloodbath (led by Kit) and after Kit bit her he left Teddy to kill her, which she did not do for some reason. Kit and Cym then catch up to them and lay siege to the gas station.
Sean discovers a graveyard outside and Ina explains that it is an old Spanish graveyard that was never dug up, making the house hallowed ground and thus a suitable place to kill Kit. In the following battle, Sean kills Cym with Ina's shotgun but both he and Nick are injured and Kit forces him to be his new day driver then goes after Ina and Megan. As Kit is about to kill them Sean drives his car through the gas station wall and pins Kit to the wall, hoping to hold him there until the sun rises. Kit pushes the car back when it runs out of gas due to the hole in the tank but Sean then shoots him, knocking him into a beam of sunlight and shoots him again when he manages to escape the light. As Kit starts to combust, Sean, Nick, Megan and Ina flee the gas station; Kit's explosive death ignites the gas. It seems Sean and Megan are finally clear of the vampire virus, however, Nick is not cured as it turns out that the vampire responsible for his infection is descended from the other member of the Forsaken in the United States.
Nick takes to the road to try to find and kill the other Forsaken, leaving a letter of thanks for Sean. However, Sean catches up to him driving Kit's car and insists on helping, having discovered that the Forsaken is probably in Denver. The two set off for Denver.
2001 in film
The year 2001 in film involved some significant events, including the first of the Harry Potter series and also the first of The Lord of the Rings trilogy...
horror
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
/thriller film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
written and directed by J. S. Cardone. In Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, its promotional title was The Forsaken: Desert Vampires.
Plot
Sean (Kerr SmithKerr Smith
Kerr Van Cleve Smith is an American actor best known for playing Jack McPhee on The WB drama series Dawson's Creek, Kyle Brody in The WB's, supernatural drama, Charmed and more recently Axel Palmer in My Bloody Valentine 3D...
) is driving cross country to his sister's wedding when he picks up Nick (Brendan Fehr
Brendan Fehr
Brendan Jacob Joel Fehr is a Canadian actor. He portrayed Michael Guerin on the WB television series Roswell and Laboratory Tech Dan Cooper in CSI: Miami.-Early life:...
), a hitchhiker who happens to be a vampire
Vampire
Vampires are mythological or folkloric beings who subsist by feeding on the life essence of living creatures, regardless of whether they are undead or a living person...
hunter hunting a group of vampires led by Kit (Johnathon Schaech
Johnathon Schaech
Johnathon Schaech is an American actor, writer, and director.-Early life:Schaech was born in Edgewood, Maryland to Joseph, a Baltimore City law enforcement officer, and Joanne Schaech, a human resources executive. He is of German and Italian descent, and was raised Roman Catholic...
), one of the Forsaken.
The Forsaken are a group of French Knights that during the First Crusade
First Crusade
The First Crusade was a military expedition by Western Christianity to regain the Holy Lands taken in the Muslim conquest of the Levant, ultimately resulting in the recapture of Jerusalem...
made a pact with the demon Abaddon
Abaddon
Abaddon in the Revelation of St. John, is the king of tormenting locusts and the angel of the bottomless pit. The exact nature of Abaddon is debated, but the Hebrew word is related to the triliteral root אבד , which in verb form means "to perish."...
to live forever. There were nine knights: eight were turned into vampires and became known as the Forsaken; the ninth was a sacrifice to Abaddon to seal the pact. Of the eight, four are dead, one is in Europe, one in Africa and two in the United States (including the one Nick is tracking, Kit). Nick was bitten by a vampire but, thanks to an antiviral drug cocktail, the vampire virus is kept at bay. Each of the Forsaken carry a unique strain of the virus and killing the Forsaken kills the entire strain of virus; killing all the vampires descended from it, and stopping anyone just infected from turning, which is why Nick is hunting this particular Forsaken. He believes him to be the one that his strain of the vampire virus is descended from and that if he kills him, he will not eventually turn into a vampire (as the drug cocktail eventually will lose effect). At first Sean is less than willing to indulge his new acquaintance, but then they find Megan (Izabella Miko
Izabella Miko
Izabella Anna Mikołajczak , better known as Izabella Miko, is a Polish-born actress, dancer, and environmentalist.-Life and career:...
), a girl Sean finds he is attracted to, bitten and left for dead by the vampires. Nick also proves he is telling the truth by killing a vampire, Teddy (Alexis Thorpe
Alexis Thorpe
Alexis Ann Thorpe , is an American actress, eldest of four children, who grew up in Yorba Linda and whose first professional role was at the Canyon Lake Theatre as Wendy in Peter Pan. She is known for her role as Cassie Brady on the American television daytime drama Days of our Lives, which she...
), by exposure to sunlight.
When Sean is infected with the vampire virus (Megan bites his hand while he's covering her mouth), their only hope is to kill the vampire leader before it is too late. The Forsaken must be slain on hallowed ground, so the three head for a Spanish mission 60 miles away - chased by the vampires and their day driver Penn (Simon Rex
Simon Rex
Simon Rex is an American actor, comedian, television host and recording artist. He is known for starring as Jeff Campbell in What I Like About You, during the first season.-Early life:...
). After a battle on the road Penn is killed and the car is running out of gas as its tank was shot so they are unable to reach the mission. They stop at a gas station where an old woman named Ina (Carrie Snodgress
Carrie Snodgress
Caroline "Carrie" Snodgress was an American actress.-Biography:Snodgress was born in Park Ridge, Illinois. She attended Maine Township High School East in Park Ridge then Northern Illinois University before leaving to pursue acting. Snodgress trained for the stage at the Goodman Theatre, in Chicago...
) lets them in after seeing Megan. She shows them a newspaper connecting Megan to a bloodbath in Arizona; when Megan wakes up and is coherent enough to talk, she explains she was a victim of the vampires' bloodbath (led by Kit) and after Kit bit her he left Teddy to kill her, which she did not do for some reason. Kit and Cym then catch up to them and lay siege to the gas station.
Sean discovers a graveyard outside and Ina explains that it is an old Spanish graveyard that was never dug up, making the house hallowed ground and thus a suitable place to kill Kit. In the following battle, Sean kills Cym with Ina's shotgun but both he and Nick are injured and Kit forces him to be his new day driver then goes after Ina and Megan. As Kit is about to kill them Sean drives his car through the gas station wall and pins Kit to the wall, hoping to hold him there until the sun rises. Kit pushes the car back when it runs out of gas due to the hole in the tank but Sean then shoots him, knocking him into a beam of sunlight and shoots him again when he manages to escape the light. As Kit starts to combust, Sean, Nick, Megan and Ina flee the gas station; Kit's explosive death ignites the gas. It seems Sean and Megan are finally clear of the vampire virus, however, Nick is not cured as it turns out that the vampire responsible for his infection is descended from the other member of the Forsaken in the United States.
Nick takes to the road to try to find and kill the other Forsaken, leaving a letter of thanks for Sean. However, Sean catches up to him driving Kit's car and insists on helping, having discovered that the Forsaken is probably in Denver. The two set off for Denver.
Cast
- Kerr SmithKerr SmithKerr Van Cleve Smith is an American actor best known for playing Jack McPhee on The WB drama series Dawson's Creek, Kyle Brody in The WB's, supernatural drama, Charmed and more recently Axel Palmer in My Bloody Valentine 3D...
...Sean - Brendan FehrBrendan FehrBrendan Jacob Joel Fehr is a Canadian actor. He portrayed Michael Guerin on the WB television series Roswell and Laboratory Tech Dan Cooper in CSI: Miami.-Early life:...
...Nick - Izabella MikoIzabella MikoIzabella Anna Mikołajczak , better known as Izabella Miko, is a Polish-born actress, dancer, and environmentalist.-Life and career:...
...Megan - Johnathon SchaechJohnathon SchaechJohnathon Schaech is an American actor, writer, and director.-Early life:Schaech was born in Edgewood, Maryland to Joseph, a Baltimore City law enforcement officer, and Joanne Schaech, a human resources executive. He is of German and Italian descent, and was raised Roman Catholic...
...Kit - Phina OruchePhina OruchePhina Oruche is a British actress, radio presenter and former model best known for her performances as Liberty Baker in ITV's Footballers' Wives, for which she won a Screen Nations Award for Favourite TV Star....
...Cym - Simon RexSimon RexSimon Rex is an American actor, comedian, television host and recording artist. He is known for starring as Jeff Campbell in What I Like About You, during the first season.-Early life:...
...Pen - Carrie SnodgressCarrie SnodgressCaroline "Carrie" Snodgress was an American actress.-Biography:Snodgress was born in Park Ridge, Illinois. She attended Maine Township High School East in Park Ridge then Northern Illinois University before leaving to pursue acting. Snodgress trained for the stage at the Goodman Theatre, in Chicago...
...Ina Hamm - Alexis ThorpeAlexis ThorpeAlexis Ann Thorpe , is an American actress, eldest of four children, who grew up in Yorba Linda and whose first professional role was at the Canyon Lake Theatre as Wendy in Peter Pan. She is known for her role as Cassie Brady on the American television daytime drama Days of our Lives, which she...
...Teddy - F. J. Flynn...Hoot
- Sara DowningSara DowningSara Nicole Downing is an American actress who has had a starring role in the television series Dead Last.-Filmography:* Boy Meets World .... Camryn...
...Julie