Up in that sky, the color of a dead TV channel, there is finally an explosion of color in the hyper-stylized cyberpunk vampire show Voltaic Blood, written and directed by creator Jaime Gonzalez. It opens with an 1980s-style Commodore 64 font explaining that when Lucifer’s angels revolted against God, they became demons and interbred with man on Earth, creating monster races like the Nephilim, as well as other offshoots. One of these strains of demon spawn spread across the planet, living by night and drinking blood.
The show opens in the near future with the ruthless vampire, Gabriel Bathory (Jake Wade), drinking a woman to death and then sliding into her Corvette, which talks. In the driver’s seat is a plump, juicy baby, which Gabriel is about to chug down when he spies the insignia the child clutches. Realizing the child must be protected, he puts the car on autopilot to an orphanage with the baby’s dead mother propped up in the driver’s seat.
Thirty years further in the future, that baby is now grown into Michael Rakoczi (Aaron Groben), who still drives his mama’s talking car through the neon-bathed night city. He meets up with Valeria (Victoria Myssik) inside a virtual vintage arcade bar in cyberspace, with both wired to their headsets and decks in other locations. Michael is still trying to solve the mystery of his mother’s murder and needs to see what information Valeria can find through her connections in the underground. Suddenly, a virtual Gabriel appears from behind the joystick cabinets and warns them to get off the channel now. They heed his warning just a second too late, as when they try to log off, they are locked in the arcade with a sinister, helmeted figure that materializes before them.
“…Michael is still trying to solve the mystery of his mother’s murder and needs to see what information Valeria can find through her connections in the underground.”
Voltaic Blood rocks so hard your screen will vibrate. Jaime Gonzalez gives us an ultra-futuristic bouncy castle built on a foundation of the best old-school bricks. It turns out mixing cyberpunk with vampires is a combination as tasty as chocolate and peanut butter. The genius move that Gonzalez blew my mind with is the whole retro video game aesthetic he uses in the construction of his dark tomorrow. The 5 and a half inch black floppy disks used along with the old 8-bit cursor work take this back to the dawn of cyberpunk in the early 80s, when OG Billy Gibson started it all.
Despite working on an indie budget, Voltaic Blood looks like Blade Runner on magic mushrooms in every electrifying frame. The gorgeous lighting and the digital enhancement take this to the wild extremes of a future that is tripping balls at all times. It would look fantastic if you are high, and thankfully, it is easy to follow despite the rapid world-building. And don’t think I am dogging the talking car element. This is one of the most brilliant uses of the talking car trope in a TV show, with homage paid to both Knight Rider and My Mother The Car.
It also instantly pulls into focus the 80s-style future shock Gonzalez delivers on the pilot episode, Infusion. It’s like Dark Shadows and Max Headroom dosing with sugar cubes against a shiny leather horizon. Voltaic Blood is a super fun neo-psychedelic cruise up the vampire highway of a future past. I won’t be looking for an exit anytime soon.
"…looks like Blade Runner on magic mushrooms in every electrifying frame."
