Blood River

Blood River is one of the better Indy films I've seen in a long time. The lead actor is exceptional and the rest of the small cast deliver fine and engrossing performances, the look of this film is top draw and the location was right on the money, a spooky ghost town. The story had me memorized and on the edge of my seat. The transformation of the victims were totally engrossing and the climax was horrifying. The style was straight forward and simple, which adds to it's classy film making. All the tension built just fine to a climatic ending. After leaving the the theater, I found myself thinking about some of the bad things I've done in my life and even called a friend to apologize about the thing I did, which he wasn't aware of. It made me search my soul and think a lot about being a better man. Rod Serling would be proud.

After The Devil's Chair, one could be forgiven for not wanting to bother with an Adam Mason film ever again. That wouldn't be the wisest course though, as Blood River is actually quite good. The seductively simple premise follows young couple Clark and Summer, heading to see her parents and announce her pregnancy. After a near fatal crash they land up in the deserted town of Blood River, wherein they make the acquaintance of chain smoking thoughtful hippie type Joseph. Here the fun begins, and I won't go too much into it but things pan out a little differently to how you might think. Now, with this kind of set-up, a film needs good actors and here the film shines. Ian Duncan is pretty handy as the at first cool but increasingly edgy Clark, a yuppie with a bit of a tweak to him while Tess Panzer is equally effective as the bright, pleasant and outgoing Summer. Andrew Howard really sets the film on fire as Joseph though, affability chased by shades of aggression, pulsing menace while drawling wisdom like a latter day seer. Once the three of them get down to interaction things never let up and they have mostly great chemistry, sparking off each other with tension steadily mounting. It's a slow burner with most of the excitement in the last half hour, but the film sets up its foundations well enough that things are fairly nerve rattling. The last half hour is where the film slips up though; it's hard to explain why without spoilers but basically, an important plot point is handled with a level of ambiguity that works against it. I'm all for ambiguity and films letting the audience figure things out for themselves, but here the shading of the point leaves the film morally at sea. Perhaps that was the intention, it certainly had me pondering it afterwards which is rarely a bad thing, but on the other hand I think this is a case where a more direct approach would have worked better. The film also comes into the problem at the end that (like The Devil's Chair), it really isn't as grisly as it should be. Sure there are a couple of good nasty scenes and things are pretty intense, but it misses a chance to really make an impact. Another complaint, though a smaller one is that at the beginning at least the film suffers from too much editing. The setting is wonderful and the cinematography sharp, so the short shot lengths are quite an irritation, they just don't do the location justice. Fortunately this either clears up or the drama covers it because I stopped noticing it after a while and an interesting atmosphere of hot, bleak isolation sets in. One last issue I had is that during some of the bigger dramatic moments the writing falters. Lines that seem a bit out of place or hammy, it brought me out of the film. Still, this is a good romp while it lasts, with Joseph standing out as a pretty fine effort to write an iconic character, some decent drama and a few gnarly scenes. It may lack a little in lasting punch and it has some niggling flaws, but I was pretty entertained throughout. Recommended if it seems like your sort of thing

A couple driving through the desert crashes their car due to a blowout and are left stranded. They decide to head for a nearby town called Blood Creek to search for help and meet a mysterious stranger who calls himself Joseph.

The film is directed by Adam Mason, a man whose greatest skill is creating great looking films for very little money, and the film does indeed look great. Unfortunately, it lacks the creative touch that was very apparent in his previous work The Devil's Chair (which I gave a very high score). Indeed, the film feels uninspired and watching it is a bit like going through the motions.

This is a shame, because there is a glimpse of something great hiding within the religious angle that the film takes. I wish that this had been explored in more depth, but instead this is covered by clichés that border on parody.

By far, the worst part of Blood Creek is the characterization of the two leads; the man is aggressive and loud, the woman is passive and dripping with tears. This is the case from the get-go and only gets worse as the film goes on. I assume that this is somewhat intentional, but it crosses the line between believable human flaws and annoying caricature.

The best part is the performance of Andrew Howard as the mysterious traveler Joseph. While he does have the best material to work with, it is pretty clear that he is the one with the acting chops and he pretty much carries the film single-handedly.

Despite the good craftsmanship (cinematography and sound is great), I would recommend watching something else. While Blood Creek is not offensively bad, it presents a handful of moments of annoyance and leaves no lasting impression.

This is a movie that I think you will either completely love or completely hate. There is a lot of psychology involved. It made me reflect on what sins I have committed and whether one sin is worse than the next. In the movie a couple sets out on a journey. They pass a hitchhiker and refuse to give him a ride. Further in the movie, their car breaks down. They walk to find the nearest town and find it abandoned. Eventuall the hitchhiker shows up and tells them that if they can siphon gas from their car, they car get his car going. From here the relationships among the three take many different turns and by the end, you're not quite sure who did what or if it was all just a trick of the mind. I enjoyed it, but I'm not sure it's for people that are not into dissecting the hidden messages in movies.

I was definitely let down by this film. This is partly my fault for having high expectations due to someone else's post.

The acting is decent enough to carry the film but I was longing for it to end. Was too unbelievable and predictable. The overall plot is a good premise but failed to execute. I was left watching the credits wondering why I watched this movie in its entirety. My only explanation is that I was hoping for some salvation at the end and my prayers were not answered.

I know everyone is a critic so if your like me, take the time to watch it but you will have been warned. Others here hype this into more than it is. Makes me wonder what there favorite horror movie is. This is another good B attempt at a good premise.