Satan's Blade (1984)
* 1/2 (out of 4)
A mysterious robbery is followed by an even more mysterious double murder that leaves a couple cops not knowing what to think. At the same time two groups of people show up at a mountain resort where they plan on having fun but they're also told about an evil spirit that is said to haunt the place.
L. Scott Castillo Jr.'s SATAN'S BLADE is a film that was shot in 1980 and was meant for a theatrical release but it never got that. In fact the movie wouldn't be released until 1984 and that was straight to video where it was sold as a slasher movie. The film certainly isn't a slasher, although some of those elements can be seen here. For the most part this is another possession film and it does have a few memorable qualities to it but one major flaw as well.
I was really surprised at the opening ten or so minutes of this film because there's actually a lot that is happening. I'm not going to ruin everything that happens but there's some nice action, a couple murders and a few twists that really get the film off to a good start but then everything hits the wall. The next fifty-minutes is when absolutely nothing happens at all. And I really mean nothing. We get to the mountain resort and we spend all of this time with the two groups and they're boring, not interesting and we have to sit there while they talk and do very little else.
Finally the final fifteen-minutes pick up and we get to some actually stalking and killing. You know, SATAN'S BLADE has a pretty good opening and closing but sadly it's the middle section that just kills the entertainment value. It's really too bad that the writer and director didn't put more stuff in the middle of the picture because this could have been even more memorable. The performances are mostly bad but there is plenty of blood and nudity.
SATAN'S BLADE is getting a pretty low rating from me but I'd still recommend it to fans of these types of movies. Again, the middle portion is really bad but the start and ending make it worth watching.
