Sede de Sangue

This movie was not in the least what I expected. With a typical brainless horror title like "Blood Frenzy", I assumed it would just be another one of those countless formulaic slasher films out there. In fact, the only reason I rented this tape was because the video box proudly displayed the distributor's logo in large, conspicuous type: HOLLYWOOD FAMILY ENTERTAINMENT. I thought it was absolutely hilarious that a company whose name implies that their movies are good, clean, wholesome fun for the entire family would have a title like "Blood Frenzy" in their catalog. Upon seeing this, I grabbed the tape and headed to the front of the store, not caring whether the film would be good or not. I just had to see it now.

Blood Frenzy is actually more of a mystery film than a true horror movie, although it does manage to blend the two genres quite nicely. The plot concerns a doctor who takes her six patients, each with serious psychological problems, on a trip to an old, secluded cottage in the Mojave desert. Her intent is to enact daily sessions of confrontational therapy with her patients, free from the usual distractions of the rest of the world. A couple of days later, however, we find that their RV is broken down, the food and water supply has suddenly become exhausted, and the people are being killed off one by one. Who is committing these murders, and how will be able they contact anybody for help?

This movie will really keep you guessing, and I think it's safe to say that even if you are able to correctly guess the identity of the killer, you'll still be satisfied with the ending. It really wraps the story up nicely.

If you ever get the chance to see Blood Frenzy, I hope you decide to take advantage of it. Though it's not particularly scary, it does have a great story, nice special effects, and a cast of believable, well-acted characters. I look forward to seeing more titles from HOLLYWOOD FAMILY ENTERTAINMENT!

BLOOD FRENZY is a SOV (shot-on-video) horror film I'd heard lots of good things about, yet after I watched it, I have to say that I feel it is overrated, which might be the first time I've ever said that about a SOV movie!

A psychiatrist takes six of her patients in an RV out in the desert for a little isolation therapy, where each will confront his/her problems in an attempt to fix them. However, someone begins killing them in bloody ways, leaving an old jack-in-the-box as their calling card. Is it someone in the group? Or is it someone else?

BLOOD FRENZY started off strong, yet petered out during the last half or so. One of the film's strong suits is the entertaining and three-dimensional characters. I can't really pinpoint many really likable characters, but as quirky as the bunch was, I thought they were all believable, due, in part, to the strong performances given by the cast.

The writing was above average, and I feel the desert setting is a sadly underused setting in slashers. There's a good amount of bloodshed and some realistic throat slashings, including a really good opening murder.

Unfortunately, BLOOD FRENZY became a little too repetitive for its own good. The murders seemed like they were all the same, and even the characters grew to be a bore. Throughout the film, the tone was serious yet a bit goofy at the same time. During the climactic showdown, it just turns to all out goofiness, which really doesn't work in the film's favor.

The movie also features Lisa Loring (Wednesday from THE ADDAMS FAMILY), who would go on to be in the much more entertaining slasher (this time in the snow!) ICED (1988). As it stands, I'd say it's worth seeking out, but don't expect much out of it.

A Los Angeles psychologist takes six troubled patients (three men and three women) out to an isolated mine in the arid wasteland, but the situation turns ugly when someone's neck is slashed.

"Blood Frenzy" (1987) has an engaging set-up and a unique location for a slasher. While the tone is too exaggerated and mixed with droll humor to take very seriously, the characters are fleshed out enough to make them interesting.

Masculine Tony Montero is effective as a Vietnam Vet with PTSD while petite Lisa Savage is a highlight on the female front. Meanwhile Lisa Loring (Wednesday from The Addams Family) is striking as an adult and very good at playing a biyatch. Actually, she might do it too well, not to mention she hams it up a little too much in the last act.

An eye-rolling sapphic episode in a dirty cave (off camera, for the most part) dooms any possibility of taking the flick seriously. Why Sure! Still, there are some positives if you like 80's slashers and don't mind low-budget ones released direct-to-video. Think "Sands of the Kalahari" if it were a low-rent slasher.

The film runs 1 hour, 27 minutes, and was shot entirely on location at Calico Mines, Barstow, SoCal, which is a 2-hour drive northeast of Los Angeles in the Mojave Desert.

GRADE: C.

Ah, the 80's...big hair, twelve step programs, bad slasher films..."Blood Frenzy" features all three, in a way that is at least mildly interesting. The central plot device involves a therapy group cavorting around Death Valley for a weekend "away from it all" in the 110 degree sun! Just as they are settling into their weekend digs (the whole thing would fall apart as a premise now because of cell phones) , the slicing and dicing starts. Of course, the van they came in has been sabotaged, so they have to figure out how to get away from the crazed killer, while dealing with their own psychological problems. This film is quite similar to the far better "The Hills Have Eyes". The dialog is sometimes laughably bad (the last line of the movie is "It's over"...) and the acting rarely gets to a level above your average student film. That said, there is something almost endearing about "Blood Frenzy", maybe in the way it encapsulates the first wave of Straight-To-Video movies, when local Mom and Pop stores were filled to the brim with cheap, knocked off junk like this. No one is ever going to do a delux DVD remaster of "Blood Frenzy", and even at a distance of 15 years it seems almost as quaint and dated as a 1950's low budget drive-in movie. To me, this is part of its off-the-wall charm, but if anyone actually wants to watch an atmospheric horror flick...avoid this title!I gave this movie a rating of **** , largely for personal nostalgia for this kind of stuff, but the actual rating in any sort of objective sense would really be a * or at best a **! Enjoy!

Supremely annoying characters are driving through the desert, when their van breaks down, only to be set upon by an unseen killer.

As in the vastly superior 1977 film, The Hills Have Eyes, the desert location gives a creepy atmosphere to the proceedings, but the characters are all so very annoying, and the gore effects are all so underwhelming they aren't worth waiting for.

Directed by hardcore pornographic filmmaker Hal Freeman, and allegedly based on a script by Ray Dennis Steckler , pointlessly​ titled " Warning - No Trespassing " , which was rewritten by Freeman's frequent collaborator, Ted Newsom, this will, at least, answer anyone's questions about why Wednesday Addams didn't continue acting.