Blood Shack

Okay, so this isn't one of Steckler's best films, but it's a lot better than "Sinthia: The Devils Doll."

Pretty Carolyn Brandt inherits a little house out in the middle of nowhere. Also on the property is an old shack...an old shack that is supposedly haunted by The Chooper, a vengeful Native American spirit. Anyone who unwisely ventures within the shack are never seen again...with the exception of two little girls who jump up and down on a stained mattress until they're chased off. (BTW - the little girls look exactly like their daddy, and I'll give you 3 guesses who daddy is!)

The killer isn't hard to spot, and after an hour or so of rodeo footage, Brandt's dreamy voice-overs and shots of her wandering around in the height of godawful 70s fashions, The Chooper reveals himself to her in a brief and un-shocking climax.

No, it's not a great film, but hardcore Steckler fans will not want to say they haven't seen it. If you saw "Incredibly Strange Creatures" and were disappointed by this one, don't give up, just go find a copy of "Rat Pfink a Boo Boo" and all will be well again, I promise.

Proving that you can make a movie with a budget of about $20, Ray Dennis Steckler's BLOOD SHACK is a stark,minimalist film featuring a haunted shack that looks like it'd fall over if you breathed on it. The Chooper,however,is a killing machine. I liked this movie a lot.

Pity those who have never seen "Blood Shack," depriving themselves of one of the true guilty pleasures in life. Whether you're watching for the bad acting ("That's right, baby!"--the first scene is a scream), the implausible scenes inside the shack (it grows from one or two rooms to a mansion when the Chooper starts his chase), or even, yes, the rodeo footage (note: many people point out the over-abundance of stock rodeo footage, but many do not realize Wolfgang Schmidt [as Steckler is credited in the film] was forced to add the scenes because the film's distributor felt the movie was too short), you can not go wrong with this rental. The story centers (as if it matters) upon an abandoned old shack (that's actually being kind to the edifice) with a past (cue scary music). It is cared for by Daniel, a man whose fear knows no bounds, and whose torso knows no shirt (he does wear a midriff-exposing jacket, however). Well, yadda, yadda, yadda, a lot of hoopla is made about The Chooper (the spirit who supposedly haunts the place), a girl takes off her clothes (to the most laughable sound track I've ever heard), Daniel throws some wood in a bucket, Daniel hits a tree with a shovel, a lady takes a shower, and yes, we all go to the rodeo. In all, a classic. Oh yeah, the mystery is solved. Most people feel "bad movies" are simply a waste of time; I, on the other--well, actually most of the time they are, but as I preach the gospel of "Blood Shack," many converts have been made. I hope that others, too, will soon see this film for what it is: the "Citizen Kane" of people-throwing-wood-in-buckets-movies.

Blood Shack is actually two films put together:

1. One story centers around a woman trying not to get killed by a madman hanging out at a shack in the desert. 2. The other film shows the sheer joy that can be had spending time at the rodeo on a hot summer's day.

Sadly all the action in the film takes place at the rodeo.

The filmaker(s) evidently ran out of story (or plot, or ideas etc...) about halfway through the film. So what we get is the protagonist will occasionally leave the crime scene and go to the rodeo where the viewer is treated (heh heh...) to scenes of bullriders frolicking about. These are the most frightening scenes in the film.

The horror action is cheeeesssyyyy and not imaginative. Everyone sleepwalks through this flick. No surprises, NO budget, no action, no acting, whew... just cheese.

Blood Shack is truly one of the worst films ever filmed. I still gave it a 4 though. I like the rodeo...

Because of intense passion for self loathing, I continue to watch these sort of films. Blood Shack is yet another link in the chain of bad b movies that are out there. This movie is b-movie purgatory. I will say that the lighting was done well. You could see the characters face to foot even in night shots. Also, the killer looks hilarious when he attacks. His monosyllabic grunt is worth a laugh or two. The acting was acceptable for a b-horror film. It's only 55 minutes. It's not even a feature length movie. But, the writer was clever and made the script so bad that it seemed like a 90 minute feature when it was over. They just teased. This whole movie was a mental cock tease. There was blood, but it wasn't gory. There was women but no nudity. There were children, and they lived. I tell you, some film makers take their titles too literally. There was blood, and there was a shack. That's about all you can say.