31 Days of Horror- Day 8: Blood Rage (1987)

(dir. John Grissmer)

Prism Entertainment

*First-time viewing

As children, identical twin brothers, Todd and Terry, are involved in a murder. But when the wrong brother is sent away, he escapes from an asylum 10 years later to confront the real madman behind that night’s fatal attack, just in time for Thanksgiving.

Blood Rage, also released under the under the titles Nightmare at Shadow Woods, and the even more creative, Slasher, came near the tail end of the slasher craze. It really makes no effort to do something different within the sub-genre, but it does an ok job meeting the basics. The twin aspect is always a welcome element in horror movies, and Mark Soper does a serviceable job as the adult Todd and Terry. Todd, the innocent brother wrongly sent away, is portrayed with an awkwardness that borders on mental deficiency, while Terry is given a winning personality and popularity that could almost be considered normal, if it wasn’t for his aversion to sex and the rage that stems from witnessing the act od it. If the film spent most of its time focusing on them, and Terry’s teenage friends and unwanted love-interest, Blood Rage could have actually developed some momentum behind it. But the film, spends an unseemly amount of time focused on Todd and Terry’s mother, played by Louise Lasser, and her fiancé. Lasser gives an absurd performance that quickly enters the realm of irritation and makes the film’s pacing drag. She drifts wildly from joy to sadness with a manic fury that’s almost terrifying, but it never amounts to anything. It’s weirdness for the sake of weirdness, or a strange attempt at humor that’s never strange enough to feel purposeful.

There’s an overall lack of Thanksgiving horror movies, and while Blood Rage isn’t a particularly strong film, that holiday element does elevate it a bit. Though other than a short-lived dinner and Terry’s absurd habit of tasting the blood of his victims and proclaiming “that’s not cranberry sauce,” the Thanksgiving element doesn’t really have any bearing on the plot. The film’s strongest elements are its kill scenes, which while lacking creativity, do deliver on the gore and bloodshed. Blood Rage also delivers a strong ending, filled with the kind of tragedy and mass bloodshed that made me long for a stronger movie proceeding it and more interesting supporting characters.

Scare Factor: 1/5 Blood Rage is a traditional mixed bag. It’s not a good movie, and it’s too inoffensive to be comically bad…though it’s got moments of that too. There are instants that make it worth watching, but I’d only recommend if you’re a slasher movie junkie looking to catch-up on something that may have flown under the radar.