Summaries

Synopsis

There's going to be a total lunar eclipse over Santiago, Chile next Monday.The astrologers predict that there will be emotional consequencesand changes all around.

Professor Romero [Jorge Denegri] has given an assignment that his journalism studentsaren't too happy about...to conduct an interview withsomeone...anyone...just so long as it's someone of interest. While sittingin Romero's history lecture about the influence of Christian ideas inLatin America, one of his students, a Goth wannabee chick, notices a cuteGoth boy sitting in the back of the room. Hmm, he looks "interesting."Later, when she sees him in the hallway, she asks if she can interviewhim. He's too busy right now, he says.

His name is "M", and he is the Master in a game of Sangre Eterna(like V:tM) with his two Goth amigos Elizabeth [Patricia López] and Martín [Claudio Espinoza]. They arewalking down the street when they notice the sidewalks are empty ofpeople. Suddenly, they are open-fired upon by a group of vampire-huntingpriests and nuns. M [Juan Pablo Ogalde] takes out one of the priests while Elizabeth takescover behind a car. A lone priest blows a hole in Martín's stomach. As thepriest is about to put another bullet in Martín's brain, M speeds by andbreaks the priest's neck. Just then, their bodies begin to steam, and theyrealize that they've been out in the sun too long and must take cover.Meanwhile, Elizabeth has beheaded a nun and is drinking her blood when sheis ambushed by another gun-toting team of priests. They riddle Elizabethwith bullets as the sun peeks its way over the buildings. Severely woundedand now exposed to the sun, Elizabeth begins to burn up.

"You're about to lose your life," M tells Elizabeth after looking ather dice roll. "If you die, so does your character."

Elizabeth does not want to give up her character, so M comes up witha plan...get another player whose character can jump in and savethem...and he knows just the person...that cute Goth chick who asked himfor an interview this afternoon. She'd be perfect for the role ofCarmilla. The next day at school, when M passes "Carmilla" in the hallway,he stops to talk to her. This time he agrees to be interviewed, and theygo to a cafe where they can talk. It turns out that Carmilla [Blanca Lewin] really digsvampires, so M invites her to play Sangre Eterna. After teaching her how to roleplay,the "vampires" pick up where the game left off. As Elizabeth is about todie, Carmilla uses Speed to whip past all the vampire hunters and slittheir necks before they can kill Elizabeth. Unfortunately, Carmilla'sarrival from the Vaida's clans has released two ghouls who set uponMartín. Smelling the ghouls, M retreats, leaving Martín to fight alone.Together, Carmilla and Elizabeth defeat the ghouls and save Martín.Carmilla is a natural player, and the group is happy to have her.

M is happy, too. He and Carmilla have hit it off quite well. Tocelebrate a successful gaming session, Elizabeth invites them to accompanyher to a party at her friend's house. The address takes them to a wroughtiron gate that fronts a big, spooky-looking, rundown house with no lightsin the windows and no suggestion that any party is going on. Elizabetheventually finds the way in. The inside of the house is even spookier thanthe outside. The guests are decked in their finest Goth garb, lit candlesare all over, and there's a lot of drinking and toking going on.When party host Dahmer arrives, M gets the chills. He recognizesDahmer from Blondie's (a club). After drinking a bit too much last night atBlondie's, M had gone into the men's room to relieve himself. While Mstood in a stall, Dahmer and his watchdog friend Punk entered and proceededto severely beat a third guy they thought was a snitch. Through a crack inthe stall door, M saw it all, including the part where Dahmer turned intoa vampire and bit the snitch's neck. M doesn't like how chummy Dahmer isgetting with Elizabeth, so he follows them out back, where they appear tobe necking. When Dahmer raises his face from Elizabeth's neck, M iscertain he can see fangs and blood.

The next morning, M awakens to a big spot of blood on the side of hishead and doesn't remember how he got it. Carmilla explains that he gotinto some kind of row with Dahmer, and Punk had to clobber him in order toget M to stop. When Carmilla and M meet up again after class, Carmillawonders where Elizabeth is, and M says that Martín said that Elizabethspent the whole night at Dahmer's house. M confesses to Carmilla that hehas a bad feeling about Dahmer, but Carmilla poohpoohs him. When Martínphones M later that evening to tell him that he's going over to Dahmer'shouse to buy some "stuff," M tries to warn Martín about Dahmer, but Martínisn't concerned either.Realizing that he's alone with his concerns about Dahmer, M begins todo a little research. He has learned in Romero's class about the Church'steaching that the soul of anyone who drinks blood will not enter heavenbecause "the blood is the life." He downloads some information from theInternet about "Saving Souls." The next morning is Saturday, so he goesover to the library to do a little reading on how the church purifiessouls. He runs into Romero. Always interested in helping a studentinterested in Christian history, Romero provides M with even more booksand papers on the subject.

That evening, Dahmer is holding another party, a more private one forhis special friends. Martín tries to talk M into going, but he doesn'twant to, even though he's worried about Elizabeth. When Carmilla shows up,however, and says that she is going, M tags along. When Dahmer offers hisguests some good "stuff," M refuses and tries to force Carmilla to leavewith him, but Carmilla doesn't want to go. Dahmer orders M thrown out ofthe party. M returns to his apartment. He rages in anger until he finallyfalls asleep. He is awakened several hours later when Carmilla shows up,her wrists covered with blood. M carries her into his bedroom, lays her onthe bed, and tries to clean the blood off her wrists, but all Carmillawants to do is have sex. While they are so engaged, M looks up to see thatCarmilla's face has turned into that of a vampire.

Sure that all his friends have been turned into vampires, M knowsthat he must do something. But what? Sunday morning, he goes to see hisfather, but good old dad is at work, as usual. M tries to phone his fatherat work but gets chewed out for interrupting him. M returns to his ownapartment to find Carmilla gone. He tries to call Carmilla's mother buthangs up when she lights into him. He tries to call Romero but gets ananswering machine. Out of ideas, M finally goes snooping at Dahmer's houseand finds him passing around a cup and telling his followers about theritual they will perform tomorrow night during the lunar eclipse, theritual that will "finish what we have started."

M knows what he must do. The next morning, Monday, M pays a visit toa nearby church. While there, he dips a handful of bullets into a bowl ofholy water. After the sun has set and the lunar eclipse begun, M returnsto Dahmer's house, bullets in gun, gun in hand. He begins to shoot ateveryone in the house, even Martín. Dahmer comes flying at M in an attemptto stop the shooting, but M puts a stake of wood through Dahmer's chest.Elizabeth is in the bathroom when she hears Carmilla screaming, peeks outthe bathroom door, and sees M firing a bullet into Carmilla's abdomen.Elizabeth watches as Dahmer reappears (where's the stake in his chest?)and knocks down M. Then she starts to scream.

Elizabeth has been taken to the police station where the policeattempt to calm her down while they wait for her parents. Carmilla isbeing rushed into surgery, while her mother sits in the waiting roomwatching news reports of the lunar eclipse. M and Romero sit in the policeinterrogation room while M tries to explain to Romero how he got the ideaof saving his friends' souls from the professor's own teachings. Romero ishorrified that M would have so twisted his words and storms out of theroom while M yells, "This isn't over yet!"

So what happened? Was Dahmer really a vampire, turning M's friendsinto vampires? Was M a psychotic murderer? Were they just kids unable tohandle the "good stuff"? Was it the effects of the lunar eclipse?

Epilogue: Carmilla lies asleep in her hospital bed after undergoingsurgery. The EKG beeps...beeps...beeps...then straightlines. Carmillaopens her eyes. In an alternative ending, all the characters -- M, Carmilla, Martín,Elizabeth, Dahmer, Punk, and Romero -- are seated around the playing tableat the end of an all-night session of Sangre Eterna. Dahmer opens thecurtains, letting in the sun, laughs and says to M, "I'll kill youtomorrow." Carmilla goes home, sneaks into her bedroom, and hops intobed. [Original synopsis by bj_kuehl]