Black as Night: a teenage girl "driven by revenge" fights inner-city vampires. I hate it when a movie title tells you nothing about the movie itself, but over 90% of movie trailers feature heterosexual kissing, and this one doesn't, so I'm in.
Scene 1: A homeless guy pushes his shopping cart through the run-down Ombreaux (Shadowy) Apartments. He's attacked by a snarling gang of vampires.
Scene 2: Establishing shots of New Orleans: voodoo totems, skulls, the French Quarter. On a rooftop, Shawna sunbathes with her swishy gay bff (shirtless, rather an unimpressive physique). Representation matters: Shawna is black, and her friend is Hispanic. She complains about how boring life in New Orleans is. In a voice over: "This summer will be different. I got breasts, and I fought vampires."
Scene 3: On the way home, Friend asks why Shawna didn't try out for the dance team: "They only pick Creole girls." Uh-oh, overt racism! Friend, meanwhile, has a track scholarship to a college in...ugh...Texas, but he doesn't want to go (good choice, bro!) There's a party full of cute guys tonight. Shawna doesn't want to go because she's awkward and unpopular, but Gay BFF insists.
Scene 4: Shawna goes to the Ombreaux to visit her mom. She hates it: all run-down, and overrun by druggies. Plus hot junior Chris Thompson? What's he doing here?
Sorry, I cannot find a single beefcake photo of any of the cast members, so here's a random hunk.
Mom lives in an apartment with several other strung-out crack heads. She asks for money, but instead Shawna provides her next hit.
On the way out, Shawna investigates a door marked "Keep Out." A snarling person lunges at her.
Scene 5: At home, Dad Steven is cooking dinner -- tuna casserole -- for Shawna and her hot older brother Jamal, who has the dets on Hot Chris: he only likes Creole girls. More racism! "Besides, you ugly. You look like Wesley Snipes with braids."
Scene 6: The party, in a run-down apartment. Teenagers swaying. Gay BFF -- Pedro -- makes it his life's mission to get her a boyfriend. "Go talk to Chris!" He's surrounded by girls, but Shawna makes an awkward attempt to say "hi." He and his girlfriends roll their eyes and patronize her, so she storms out, past BFF Pedro -- who is cruising a shirtless guy wearing a slave collar.
Shawna walks home alone, down dark streets strewn with garbage and graffiti. A vampire attacks and bites her, but is scared off before it can finish the job. She rushes home, hand on neck (not to the hospital?), and examines her wound.
Scene 7: To avoid turning into a vampire, Shawna tapes newspapers to the windows (no sunlight!) and stays awake all night. When Dad gets home, he doesn't question the newspapers -- he just tells her to take them down. Apparently sunlight is ok, so Shawna goes to BFF Pedro's house. Big family -- at least three older brothers. He's serving breakfast to his grandma (aww, he helps out).
In Pedro's bedroom (pride flag, but no pictures of divas), Shawna explains the situation. He's dubious at first, but comes around surprisingly quickly. Otherwise be lousy story.
Scene 8: Surmising that the vampires' lair is at the Ombreaux Apartments, they go to Mom's crack house to rescue her. But she's already been vampirized, and attacks! Shawna tears down the curtains, and she bursts into flame.
Scene 9: They call the cops, who don't know if Mom's death was a homicide or suicide or accident. Shift to the funeral, and Shawna vowing to get revenge on the vampires who vampirized her mother.
Later, Dad shows Shawna the empty lot where their house was before Hurricane Katrina, 15 years ago. They lost everything, which drove Mom into drug addiction.
Scene 10: Searching for info on vampires, they go to a meeting of a vampire book club in an abandoned church. All white girls. The leader, Granya, discusses various theories of vampirism. It's just basic stuff that everyone older than five knows, garlic and wooden stakes and such, but Shawna and Pedro act as if they are learning deep secrets.
Scene 11: While Pedro gathers vampire-killing supplies, Shawna goes home. Hot Chris arrives to deliver post-funeral food from his mom. (Their moms used to "kick it" together which makes Shawna and Chris "peoples." I love this slang!). He offers to help out, if she find out who the killer was.
Scene 12: Apparently Shawna explained about the vampires. She and Chris meet BFF Pedro at the Ombreaux. They investigate the "Keep Out" room. A vampire attacks, but Shawna subdues him, ties him up, and demands to know who turned her Mom.
A vampire named Lefrack is vampirizing all of the homeless people and addicts he can find, to build an army. And a new bit of lore: If the head vampire dies, all of the vampires he created turn back to human again.
I'm out of space, so I'll just summarize the rest: Shawna the Vampire Slayer and her Scoobies (Pedro, Chris, Granya, and eventually Jamal) go after the head vampire, who is not Lefrack after all. They are assisted by some non-human-eating vampires.
And, in the penultimate scene: The old, hackneyed, homophobic Bury Your Gays trope.
Beefcake: Pedro and Lefrack have shirtless or semi-shirtless scenes.
Other Sights: Lots of establishing shots of New Orleans.
Gay Characters: Pedro, but he doesn't count, since HE IS KILLED.
Heterosexism: Fade-out kiss between Shawna and Chris.
My Grade: It was in the B+ range, until the gratuitous killing off of the gay guy, and the annoying heterosexist fade-out kiss. F.