Mickle's observation of a devastated working-class America is so sharp that the horror elements, though effectively handled, come to feel like an afterthought.

Like Romero, Mickle has a pragmatic attitude to genre convention: even the corniest stereotypes can be turned to new purposes.

Somehow its posse of American travellers, attempting to reach the Eden of Canada while assailed by vampires, seems a little dull.

It's hard to put a fresh spin on the vampire subgenre, so even a slightly new perspective feels like an even bigger success.