I was going to be a bit kinder to Bloody Axe Wound, a horror comedy from writer-director Matthew John Lawrence, who also gave us Uncle Peckerhead, but a friend of mine then mentioned a film that it quite closely resembles and now I am less inclined to be as kind as I was going to be. I'm not going to be unkind though. And I'm not going to mention the other film here, for fear of spoiling the experience of the film for others.
Sari Arambulo plays Abbie Bladecut, a young woman who appreciates the fact that her father, Roger Bladecut (Billy Burke), is a prolific serial killer. He always ensures that his list of victims includes every main character type you find in most slasher movies, and that pays off when the more acceptable side of the family business, a video store, receives tapes of films showcasing real murders packaged in a fictional context. Abbie believes it is her time to take over from her father, but he isn't so keen to pick her as his immediate successor. She knows that she can kill anyone though. Well . . . anyone except Sam Crane (Molly Brown), a young woman Abbie soon becomes attracted to.
While fun for most of the runtime, and really enjoyable when we get to see Abbie try to balance her chosen life with a chosen partner who was destined to be a victim, Bloody Axe Wound doesn't really have the focus to work as well as it could. There are some good ideas in the mix, some more familiar than others, but they end up raising questions that Lawrence then never bothers to answer. Which is his prerogative, but doesn't really add anything to the plot, considering we don't see, for example, who makes and delivers the videotapes, how they are being received by film fans in the area, and why the power of Bladecut allows for some impressively unnatural endurance and capability.
I thought there might be some commentary here, something about the clash between generations, but there's nothing. The "meet-cute" element is nicely done, and Arambulo and Brown have great chemistry, but that's about it. Some decent gags aside, the comedy isn't great. Neither are the kills, which would at least help to make up for other weaknesses.
Burke, quite unrecognisable under a heavy amount of make up, is pretty good casting for the role of Roger Bladecut. He manages to exude weariness and disdain in equal measure, accepting his role as an essential one and his victims as simply people made useful once they have met their demise at his hands. Arambulo is fantastic, a great presence, and the film only works as well as it does thanks to the pairing of her and Brown, who is equally good. Eddie Leavy, Matt Hopkins, Margot Anderson-Song, Sage Spielman, and David Littleton help to round out the cast, although it's only Anderson-Song who manages to make enough of an impression to stand out from the crowd, and Jeffrey Dean Morgan is an extra bit of fun, portraying the killer, Butch Slater, featured in many of the videos that make use of the real-life kills.
I enjoyed Bloody Axe Wound (and, sorry, am I the only one thinking that the title is deliberately referring to a phrase that you can find on Urban Dictionary?), but it never became as good as I hoped it could be. It's just okay, and okay feels much worse than it used to be, due to the never-ending selection of viewing choices being offered up to us week in and week out nowadays.
5/10
If you have enjoyed this, or any other, review on the blog then do
consider the following ways to show your appreciation. A
subscription/follow costs nothing, and ALL of the links you need are here - https://linktr.ee/raidersofthepodcast
Or you may have a couple of quid to throw at me, in Ko-fi form - https://ko-fi.com/kevinmatthews
Or Amazon is nice at this time of year - https://www.amazon.co.uk/hz/wishlist/ls/Y1ZUCB13HLJD?ref_=wl_share
No comments:
Post a Comment