Bloodmoon - Stunde des Killers

Low-budget and above-average action from director Tony Leung, who also did the fight choreography. Top-billing goes to martial artist Gary Daniels, who was still very much in his on-the-job training phase trying to learn how to act (ten years into his acting career). The guy has the moves, the build and the looks, but he is stiff as a board when it comes to delivering anything but a well-placed punch or kick. He plays a semi-retired NYC cop with PTSD whose Australian accent is never explained, but probably stems from Daniels being unable to speak with an American accent.

Much better are the triple threat of Chuck Jeffreys as a cop who reluctantly drags Daniels out of retirement, gone-too-soon Darren Shahlavi as the martial artist killer the two are hunting, and Frank Gorshin as a stereotypical police chief. Gorshin embraces the type with so such relish that he elevates the pedestrian material and makes a character with no surprises fun to watch. Jeffreys brings a similar, if slightly more understated energy to his role and makes him likable even when he's doing magic tricks at a murder scene. Shahlavi, in an early English-language role that is more substantial than stunt double in Hong Kong action films, is dynamic and wonderfully unhinged as a fighter who is systematically taking out former champions. You never know quite what he's going to do next, especially with his maniacal laugh, and he gets some of the best lines (not that there are many gems). After beating one opponent to a pulp, he exclaims in frustration "Why aren't you better?!," and you get exactly what makes this guy tick. He and Daniels tangle quite a bit as the film progresses and both are skilled enough to make the action come alive.

The story and screenplay by Keith W. Strandberg isn't much to write home about, but it moves pretty swiftly. Leung, as a director, adds some nice touches, like the dissolve from a red moon to a red stoplight or the way the reflection from Shahlavi's blade lights the face of one of his victims, and he films 1990s ungentrified Manhattan with sufficient grime and grit to make one long for the old days. It's not exactly "Taxi Driver," but it's nice to see. (Only a few scenes take place in NYC, much of the film was shot in Wilmington and it is obvious and jarring when the locations change, but Leung still makes the most of the limited screen time NYC gets.) Mainly, though, it is Leung as action choreographer who shines here, packing the film with impressive sequences that take full advantage of his casts' athleticism. Despite clunky exposition and a leading man with some severe limitations, this is a solidly entertaining watch.

This is probably on of the worst movies i have ever seen. The plot, characters, production values, location, cinematography, etc. are some of the most poorly contrived attempts at film-making yet. But, this is exactly what makes this movie so god damn entertaining!!! Thats right folks, if you are looking for a movie that will make you laugh every single time, than look no further. Where else can you find an all-American dad who persistently talks with a British accent? For being the hero of this movie, Gary Daniels is one of the worst, unintimidating actors of all time. The scene where he is sitting down and suddenly tosses a pile of papers in the air while saying, "Not again"" has yet disappoint me since I always end up laughing on the floor. The best part is that Gary Daniels isn't the worst actor in the movie. By far, the worst actor (or should i say extra) I have ever had the pleasure of witnessing is a cameo by MR. Pay per view, Mr. Monday Night himself: ROB VAN DAM. I cant even begin to describe the pain in my stomach when he says, "Okay, lets dance!."

The film itself looks like crap, which is probably cause the studio who was blackmailed into making this movie, did not have one single permit to shoot. I mean come on, there were at least a dozen of scenes in the film where people would just blatantly run stop signs and more noticeably, stop lights. Which brings me to another concern: What the hell was the editor doing during this movie. He was probably so scared of seeing his name on the credits for this piece of crap movie that he suddenly vanished in order to salvage his career. Now i can go on and on with how awesomely bad this movie is but I just have one simple question: Why was this movie made? How could the director not foresee the pile of crap this script was written on? My only reasonable conclusion is that this movie was produced for the sole purpose of seeing how a film should not be made and more importantly, for people to see a film that is a guaranteed laugh Every time!!! (whether intentional or not).

From the opening scene that shows an obvious red cardboard cut out of a moon hung from a clearly visible wire to the ridiculous and improbable ending that shows how a tape recorder can set to perfectly coincide with the explosion of a confetti bomb (dont ask), this movie will leave your stomach and mouth in pain from the sheer amount of laughter that you will experience.

On the positive first, the fight choreography in this is top notch. One of the best I have saw for this genre. It literally hits, and it feels like there were painful touches in there. Its shockingly quite raw tbh. It does not have the dance quality of higher budget films that I hate. In fact, there is a point that I feel that maybe they are taking this fighting far too realistically. Its the clear highlight of the film.

What really makes this though interesting is the concept. Silence of a Kungfu Champion is a good summary for the story. It makes you like double take and seek it out.

Then story and presentation. I am more mixed to be honest. It is very sitcom-y. Let's say that. Its literally a Buddie cop but quirky and less realistic than your higher budget films. Each line has a weird hokey joke with it and its mostly campy fun in some ways. Sadly, it works 2/3 of the way (felt the middle part is far too slow). It loses a lot of momentum once the master got killed AND it got really muddled with a lot of the plot beats.

Soft recommendation. The fight scenes are the best.

This is clearly one of the best movies starring Gary Daniels. There are two reasons for that. The fight scenes in this movie are just great! Well choreographed, really exciting and WAY better than some of the other crap that Daniels has taken part in ("American Streetfighter" or "Capital Punishment", anyone?). It's a shame that Daniels hasn't gotten more good directors to work with, because it's really great when it finally happens. The second reason why I like this movie, is because of the cool buddy cop-feel between Daniels and Jeffreys. There haven't been enough of this kind of movies for a while. The story is also OK, although everyone should watch this movie for the action, and only for the action!

Action fans, rejoice. If you're fortunate enough to find this film anywhere, do not hesitate to snatch it up. If you're interested in Asian cinema, BLOODMOON will give you a sugar rush of the intense fight sequences you've enjoyed from such Eastern filmmakers as Tsui Hark and Yuen Woo-Ping. In fact, BLOODMOON has some of the best action choreography I've ever seen. I'd rank it up there with DRIVE (starring Mark Dacascos) and FIST OF LEGEND (starring Jet Li). It's a violent, balletic display of fighting prowess from stars Gary Daniels and the main villain played by Darren Shahlavi. To be honest, most of the fun of BLOODMOON comes from watching Darren waste the "best fighters" in New York City. He's essentially a serial killer that targets disciplined fighters (whether they be wrestlers or martial artists) and takes them down to prove that he's the best at what he does - which is taking people down! Darren dispatches these other combatants and often hysterical ways. It's not enough for him to flip a man over his shoulder to snap his neck (killing him instantly) - he then has to throw the man's corpse through a storefront window! It's a brutal sequence that will leave your sides splitting.

Gary Daniels is a more than competent actor. His English accent and charm is part of what makes him a likeable hero. He's also a committed family man, always concerned for his loved one's safety. His foreign status and unselfishness also make him a somewhat atypical hero. Oh, did I mention that he's a superb martial artist? Gary doesn't even have that many fights here (one short one versus a group of thugs and then two longer set pieces against Darren) - but when he's on, he's on. His abilities shine as he fights to the death with Darren for the safety of his niece and, during the climax, his daughter and estranged wife.

And the climax is the point at which this film unfortunately fizzles out - albeit slightly. There's a somewhat hokey resolution to BLOODMOON that's a little too convienent. And Darren goes down too easily for someone who's shown himself to be such a powerful force.

Bottom line, if you crave martial arts action, BLOODMOON will not let you down. It's a must-own film and one of the best action films outside of Hong Kong. I'd rank it fairly close to DRIVE - and anyone who's seen DRIVE knows that's high praise indeed.