DVD Release
Not long ago I got into a discussion with a friend regarding backwoods survival films and why we enjoy them so much as a genre. He was of the opinion that beneath our law abiding exterior lay fantasies of rape and torture. The fields and woods surrounding the homes and farms these atrocities take place in represent a barrier of sorts between “us” and civilization, law and order or “them” while the house or farm represents our true desires. According to him, us (men) all want to dominate and rape while all women, whether conscious of it or not, desire to BE dominated and raped…
…no more beer for him.
However you choose to look at films like this, we cannot deny the terror we feel when we see a victim trying to escape from a house/farm (death/rape/torture) and surrounded, almost trapped, by the woods/fields (unknown). While most situations in horror revolve around stupid people running around in their homes trying to hide from a killer, backwoods horror is decidedly different. Where do you run when your attackers know the woods and/or fields surrounding their homes? How do outwit a mountain man in the woods?
Jim McMahon’s Bloodshed is a tense, nail-biting tale of backwoods survival very much in the same vein as The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Deliverance. No worries, you won’t be seeing any bare Beatty butt anytime soon though…thank God.
Every small town has their “weirdos” and surrounding every “weirdo” is some cockamamie urban legend that explains their outcast status. Frankie (Íce Mrozek) and his simple brother Donnie (Christopher Childs) are the small town “weirdos”, believed to have murdered their parents and disposed of the bodies. Donnie normally visits the local coffee shop in order to sell his homemade jams and Frankie can sometimes be found skulking over a beer in the town tavern.
One night while out drinking local prankster/scoff-laws Rodney (Mark Saffold) and Luke (Ryan Parks) decided to antagonize Frankie while he’s drinking a brew. Not one to be toyed with, Frankie grabs Rodney by the throat but quickly releases him and leaves not wanting any trouble. Rodney decides to follow Frankie only to be intercepted by his father Sheriff Greene (Paul West). The Sheriff diffuses the situation and sends everybody on their way but you’d be blind not see the storm coming.
The next day Rodney, Luke and his girlfriend Katie (Shannon Laine) head out to the woods to do some ganja and sexin’. When Luke catches the simpleton Donnie peeping through his car window, while girlfriend rides his magic stick, he and Rodney begin stomping poor Donnie. Before the beating can go any further Donnie’s brother Frankie arrives and hand’s the two guys their asses with the handle of an ax. Katie, terrified by all the violence, runs off into the woods and the guys hop into their ride and tear outta there leaving her behind.
Not long after the incident, Sheriff Greene arrives to have a word with Frankie. He’s surprised to lean that the Sheriff isn’t there to make any arrested but to look for Katie; she’s gone missing and Rodney and Luke believe Frankie might be holding her captive. Naturally, Frankie has no idea where Katie might be…that is…until he catches a quick glimpse of his brother Donnie carrying her limp, semi-nude body to the back of their home. Frankie denies the Sheriff access to his home unless he has a warrant and the Sheriff goes off dismayed.
Apparently, Katie spotted Donnie in the woods, ran off in fright and accidentally tripped and landed on a rock. Knowing full well they’ll be blamed for the death, Frankie decides to cover things up before anybody can find out. Unfortunately, Donnie answers Katie’s ringing cellphone and begins speaking to Katie’s co-worker Beth (Shana Lee Klisanin)!
Frankie and Donnie must now do what needs to be done in order to cover up this terrible incident. They kidnap Beth and find themselves spiraling further and further into an unstoppable string of cold-blooded murder.
Will Beth survive this ordeal? Will she end up plastered in the wall alongside Katie?
Surprise Surprise! Bloodshed was actually quite good. I was truly impressed how absolutely engaging the characters were; each character was distinct and believable. You can’t help but smile at Donnie’s innocence or Beth’s kindness to him. You’ll immediately hate the two town slackers and find yourself stiffening at the site of the shirtless Katie. Hell, you’ll even admire Frankie’s initial dedication to his younger brother. When things go bad though…they go very very bad and nobody is safe in Bloodshed.
The acting was far better than most low budget productions, the cinematography was solid and the red does flow freely. Gorehounds may find the lack of actual on-screen slaughters to be frustrating but I can honestly say it never really bothered me. Director Jim McMahon knows he’s not making an after-school special so horror fans will get drugs, sex and violence.
One gripe I did have was Donnie’s miraculous metamorphosis from shy, simple (almost retarded) wall-flower to cold, calculating killer “just following orders.” I thought it was a tad bit of a stretch but I suppose it was meant to convey Donnie’s “loss of innocence.” Another small issue I had with Bloodshed was the last 15 seconds of the film which felt a bit forced. There’s no real “Hollywood ending” per say but it did leave me with that “Huh?” feeling. Was it a dream? Was it Beth’s insanity? You’ll understand once you see it. Donnie and the ending aside though, Bloodshed was a damn good flick.
Anthem DVD have done a great job with the transfer but failed to offer consumers any special features. There is literally NOTHING on this disc in the way of featurettes, commentary or interviews. Can you believe there wasn’t even a shitty blow-off trailer? Now, I’m not sure whether that’s McMahon’s fault, as it’s often up to the filmmaker to provide extras, or it was Anthem DVD just looking to save an extra buck on design but bare bones DVDs just don’t cut mustard these days. It would have been really great to have found out a bit about the film and how it was made and some of the actors thoughts on the production. As it stands, you get the film, chapter selections and a choice of Dolby Digital 5.1 or DTS Surround. Zowee…decisions decisions.
Somebody dropped the ball on the extras.
Ah well, Bloodshed delivers some well timed thrills and cold-as-ice killers. I’d definitely recommend Bloodshed, a bag of Bar-B-Q pork rinds and a sixer of Bass Ale. Let’s hear it for Shannon Laine and her fantastic juggs!
