Set during the spring of 2023 in Alderson City, Virginia, “Take from Me” (2025) revolves around three people who stopped living though they are still alive. Alcoholic John Harker (Ethan McDowell), a former contractor, is obsessed with maintaining a one hundred fifty-year-old farmhouse when he is not drinking at The Red Devil or sleeping off a bender. Chief Abe Jackson (Dwayne A. Thomas) is the only law in town, but his secretary, Vanessa (Marlowe Holden), is more into investigating the men disappearing in the area, especially when one falls under Abe’s jurisdiction. Elizabeth (Kyla Diane Kennedy) buys the old farmhouse and has some strange habits. She hires John to work on the house since he is determined to do it anyway, and he soon discovers Elizabeth’s secret. Writer and director West Eldredge’s first feature is an uneven start, but you will want to stick around because the mistakes seem promising.
“Take from Me” can be predictable, but then it zags when you expect it to zig. It sometimes feels as if there is some connective tissue missing when characters make certain decisions based on the preceding scene. It does not feel like an editing mistake or failure made while crafting the narrative. While being surprising for the sake of being unpredictable can be its own kind of aggravation, Eldredge makes his characters do things that are bafflingly dumb but make sense if you work with a lot of people and start filing away a collection of stories of outstanding stupidity. Some of these scenes feel like huge, unrealistic leaps, but there is also a dense logic if people decide to protect a person even if it is the worst idea ever. None of these characters are going to get prizes for making great life decisions.
McDowell has a Josh Hartnett vibe since John continues to charm when he is clearly a bad idea in the form of a person. John’s tendency to hunt for his food and use a crossbow like Darryl in “The Walking Dead” seems showy for a region where guns are more likely to be used for self-defense. It is too much of a tipoff to the twists in store. There are flashbacks to fill in John’s tragic backstory, his motivation for maintaining the house and his attraction to Elizabeth. After a half hour, if you cannot accept John’s actions, you should probably tap out because it gets more counterintuitive after that. If you are in the right frame of mind, it works but perhaps takes too long to reach the end.
Elizabeth is suspicious from the start because who moves into a house and unpacks in a white dress. Instead of being alarmed at John constantly creeping around her vicinity, she seems to enjoy challenging his curiosity. They have an uneasy dynamic because they both are equally dangerous and accepting of each other. Elizabeth enjoys John’s company, but also correctly assesses that he is a hot mess and probably not a great person to associate with. Kennedy gets to explore a full range of emotions and chew the scenery as Elizabeth, who is fun to watch, especially when she lets loose. There is a Deborah Ann Woll quality in the way that she makes her character seem to enjoy gradually unmasking.
Abe has more in common with John than it may seem. He is a well-respected family man but seems to be sleepwalking through life. Thomas and Holden’s comedic chemistry is fun, especially Abe’s frustration over Vanessa’s inability to stay in her lane and let him do his job. Abe and John have a relationship, and both men like each other. “Take from Me” works because everyone is generally low key and not a problem if left to their own devices, but Abe learns a lesson from his past that no one else understands. You can be content, but not passionate, or you can be passionate, and lose everything. It makes him a human character who is paying the price to survive. The story’s crucial flaw is that his wife, Lisa (Melan Perez), would welcome unexpected guests. Black people are not a monolith, but we rarely answer the door even if we are home, and you are unexpected. Nope. Especially if you are married to a law official and have kids. Absolutely not.
“Take from Me” has a great soundtrack. When John makes a shocking discovery, the diegetic song warps and slows then starts back up after he absorbs the new information. For most of the film, cinematographer Kenneth Keeler makes the film look great whether the scenes are interior or exterior and day or night. The opening is the only exception because it is a little too dark to distinguish people’s faces. It takes some time to get acclimated and distinguish John from the other men until there are more close ups and figuring out what is going on, which may be intended, but that confusion means that it takes longer to absorb the character’s profile, hopes and fears. For instance, the scene with the real estate agent, Michael Mendez (Cezar Constantine), when first introduced, seems like John because he is moving the sign with a realtor name printed as John. A subsequent scene raises the movie’s pulse, but kind of does not make sense, especially regarding the timing.
“Take from Me” is ultimately a human story about wanting to be accepted, protect those that you love and not making smart choices.
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I knew that Elizabeth was a vampire from the trailer. Shout out to the character’s names as references to “Dracula.” John is so excited that he gets to live in his old house and thinks of her vampirism as an illness, which she never asks him to do. John is so incompetent because he treats her like a normal woman when he needs something instead of thinking that maybe it is a bad idea to get wound care from your vampire girlfriend. John does not seem like the kind of person who would kill even if he is drunk and provoked, and it is to feed his lady. People must work their way up to killing even during war.
The vampire effects were excellent, and honestly, I wanted more. Elizabeth is more chill than the vamps from “30 Days of Night”, but also seems more demonic, which is a compliment. It was unnecessary, but I wanted to know more about how she got turned. When she decides to turn John, it is another bad decision. Unlike her, he is not going to be able to rein in his appetite, especially since the story makes him capable of killing when he is a normal person. Also considering that John found it virtually impossible to function, eternal life seems like yet another bad idea and its own death sentence.
The thread of addiction to things that are bad for you does not resonate as much as the willingness to endanger yourself to protect someone you love(d), especially children. Elizabeth may need blood, but it is not exactly an addiction like the men’s. Her primary thirst is vengeance and power to defend herself and her people. There is a certain psychological je ne sais quoi that is missing as a theme among all the characters that would make the story stronger. Elizabeth will kill and do dumb things for John, and vice versa for John. Abe is not about that life for Nessa and his paycheck, but he is for the family. He has metaphorical blood on his hands.
I was left with one question. Did Abe drink after shooting his gun, but before going home or is Elizabeth just taunting him because she knows that it is his weakness, and she wants him off the board no matter what it takes?
