Cinnamon is now available on Tubi.
A little birdie over the weekend drew my attention to director Landon Spicer’s new vampire-hunting action horror, Cinnamon, which landed on FAST platform Tubi in recent weeks. Spicer makes his feature debut on the pic, as does lead actress Sabreen Marie Rosas for a story clearly intended for fans of IPs like Blade and Buffy and the like.
Spicer’s script also makes clear its sexy, tongue-in-cheek, and often absurdist approach to the genre in ways that an independent actioner can get away with. The performances are generally decent in their amount to balance some of the more stilted or cheesy areas of delivery; Rosas lends an amiable portrayal of the title role, a young stripper who finds herself way in over her head when her latest customer ends up revealing his true intentions.
What follows is an otherworldly descent into chaos that sees Cinnamon rescued by veteran vampire hunter, Jo (Isadora Ortega), and thrust into a longstanding war with a vampiric coven led by notorious bloodsucker, Freddy (Freddy John James). Adding to the intrigue is the mystery behind Cinnamon’s generational connection to the battles that await, along with the kidnapping of her Auntie (Jennifer Dees), all connecting her to an inescapable destiny a grave cost.
Cinnamon lets loose on its concept from the very start, leaning hard on its pseudo-seriousness to produce the kind of spectacle horror fans can enjoy. It helps that the film avoids being too outré to be at least fun when it can, and the cast makes the most out of their performances enough to keep things sturdy in the film’s runtime, including James who hams it up admirably in a villain role that rightly earns Cinnamon some of the film’s standout comedic moments.
Co-star Ortega brings empathy and pathos to the role of tough-as-nails Jo, heading up the ragtag team of strippers-turned-killers of the night. Her character often serves as the more solemn of the bunch, particularly on matters of her own sacrifices, and the gumption it takes to do what’s required.
Assuredly, Cinnamon makes good on making the exotic dancing a centerpiece when needed, and there’s plenty of eye candy to feast on in that aspect. The action measures about the same with sequences choregraphed by James, coupled with the kind of requisite practical and CG blood and gore to check the necessary boxes.
With Cinnamon, Spicer ekes out a worthwhile streaming indie thriller that gets the job done for the most part. While the ending leaves plenty of room open for whatever sequel prospects there are, you’ll still get plenty of sexy femme fatales and vampire thrills, and a palatable heroine in Rosas’s performance to sink your teeth and genre fandom into.
Streaming Sleepers is a column attributed to newly or quietly-released titles on legitimate VOD/SVOD and/or Digital platforms.