Written by: Shayne at 5:21 pm
Filed under: Movies
Bad Blood is a new release from Tartan Video. Tartan, who also has released Carved, is quickly becoming my favorite option for horror movies. The movies that I have seen thus far from Tartan are internationally based. Carved is a movie from their Asian Extreme line and Bad Blood is set in Portugal. Both movies use subtitles, but the stories are worth watching thanks to the decent storylines. Unfortunately, horror movies in the US are often muted, wimpy versions of foreign counterparts.
We have seen this in recent years with The Eye, The Grudge, and The Ring. Whether Carved and Bad Blood are on their way to American versions, I don’t know, but either way I am certain that these versions will remain better options and thanks to Tartan they are easy as possible to get a hold of them.
Bad Blood offers a good old fashioned ghost story. The closest American movie I can think, though they are not overly similar, would be The Haunting. Bad Blood is not a movie that is going to scare you in the sense that you will be popping out of your seat. However, you will be haunted by the eerie tale of ghosts in this small town. If you are a fan of outright gore, Japanese extreme horror or slasher films you will likely find Bad Blood a little too slow for your tastes.
The movie begins and sets a creepy air about the film from the get go. The story revolves around a scholar named Dr. Monteiro who decides to move his city dwelling family into the country when he inherits a home in a small, isolated village. The children in the family do not want to move. The mother is not real enthused about the decision either, but feels the need to support her husband. While everyone wishes he would just sell the home, and leave their lives alone, however for the purpose of this movie they all pack up and move to this incredibly odd village and the movie commences.
After a while you learn that the house and the people who live in it have inherited an ancient curse that belonged to the family and was acquired as a housewarming present. Apparently, the family wanted the land where the home stands and did whatever was necessary to make sure they could move in. Now, the family is in this home, in the woods, and the original owners of the home want vengeance.
Bad Blood offers more than a ghost story. While the plot is minimal what is there is filled with drama. There are problems between husband and wife and father and children. These relationships are what drive the movie along between the scenes where the ghosts come out to play. They also help to build the story with and without the ghosts up to a higher level. The biggest problem is that the buildup is stronger and the climax and subsequent events are not as strongly executed.
In addition to the movie the disc includes two special features. You can enjoy the actual trailer for Bad Blood and a 30 minute documentary on the making of the film. In the end, Bad Blood will work for some and not for others. If gore is your thing you will find this is not enjoyable for you. Meanwhile if you like the things that go bump in the night then this might thrill you in ways that movies like Saw left you miserable. While this was not the best horror flick I have seen, it ends up being worth watching.
Technorati Tags: dvd review, Japanese horror movie, film, Bad Blood
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Written by Shayne - Visit Website
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I am the proud Papa of a son, Dylan Michael Keller. Other than spending time with my son, I have two main obsessions in life; video games & movies. Often, the two accompany time spent with Dylan. I've been married to Andrea for 13 years this December. One thing I've learned about married life is to always expect the unexpected. After nearly eleven years with just the three of us, and our Golden Retriever, Braeden, I've just found out I'm going to be a dad again. In my professional life, I'm a bit of a cyber geek. I enjoy D&D, writing stories, role-playing, computer games, working on websites, and just hanging out. I work for a computer firm doing computer-tech type work and that's all I can really say about my job. In my fantasy life, I escape to the world of film. I'm not ashamed to admit that I've seen The Return of the King at least 37 times. I signed up to review movies, and you can guarantee I'll do the job right. I hope you enjoy my reviews and always remember kids...Make Love, Not Warcraft.
