Michael Raven’s latest venture into horror-land is an entertaining combination of gorefest and understated love story. Instead of going straight for the jugular, so to speak, he stays focused on his characters. The reality of their relationships helps make the supernatural elements credible and the terror all the more chilling. 

Five friends — three women, two men — set out in a van for a Burning Man-style rock festival in the remote California desert. Little do they know that the hamlet they’re headed for is home to a particularly bloodthirsty coven of the undead. On the road they cross paths with a pair of vampire hunters (Stormy Daniels and Derrick Pierce) who are only slightly less creepy than their designated prey.

Kaylani Lei is recovering from an affair with a cheating lover, a buddy of Barrett Blade, who’s at the wheel of the van. The two banter and spar with each other but with an undercurrent of mutual affection and need that eventually becomes passionate and physical.

Kaylani has sexualized premonitions of what’s to come in a dream sequence that allows for a good group bang with her, Sophia Santi (an impressively imperious vampire queen), Mikayla Mendez, Barry Scott and a very scary Evan Stone.

Lei and Blade both turn in excellent, convincing performances, on a mainstream-worthy level. Voodoo gets laughs as their impressionable sidekick.

Director Raven makes this one flow like a “real movie.” Technical elements — photography, art direction, special effects — exceed the high Wicked Pictures standard. The indie rock on the soundtrack is a plus, as is the second disc of extras.

Retailing: First-class product should appeal to a variety of markets, from couples to horror fans.