Fangs out, suckheads: The ‘Blade’ vampire rave returns for a bloody good July 4 party

Forget the bottle rockets. This Fourth of July, Deep Ellum is trading the usual red, white and boom for something that’s all red and far more anemic.

The Blade Rave returns to Dallas on July 4, and it has no interest in your patriotic potato salad. Picking up where last year’s bloodletting left off, the party slithers into Puzzles Deep Ellum (2824 Main St.). They’re calling it “Red, White and Bloodbath,” which is the most honest event title this city has seen in years.

If you’ve watched the movie “Blade,” you know the infamous vampire club scene. A clueless mortal stumbles into an underground club, the remixed beat from New Order’s “Confusion” starts thumping and then the sprinklers open up. Hundreds of gallons of blood rain down on a crowd of vampires until Wesley Snipes, as the daywalking vampire hunter Blade, shows up to ruin everyone’s night. It is, without exaggeration, one of the greatest openings in movie history. And now Dallas suckheads get to live it.

Yes, the ceiling will weep crimson. Yes, you will leave sticky. That’s the whole point.

The dress code writes itself: fangs in, leather on, dignity optional. The Fang Gang is running the show alongside the Dream City Dimes, so expect the kind of crowd that owns more trench coats than khakis. At the bar, the signature pour is a blood bag daiquiri, because nothing says “land of the free” like sipping something red out of a medical pouch while industrial beats rattle your bones.

Tickets run from $20 to $25. That’s right, you can get drenched in pretend plasma for less than the cost of a single overpriced firework stand sparkler pack. Cheaper than a hot dog made from discernible meat, and infinitely more memorable.

There’s something gloriously Dallas about all this. While the suburbs light up the sky, Deep Ellum goes underground, turns the lights low and lets the freaks have their night. It’s messy. It’s silly. It’s a little bit profound, in the way only a room full of strangers raising their arms toward falling blood can be.

So, skip the cul-de-sac. Choose blood gush over fireworks. Grab your fangs, book your ticket and meet the rest of the city’s beautiful weirdos under the sprinklers.

Visit the official website to secure your place on the dance floor. Doors open at 9 p.m. You must be 21 to enter.