Bloody Axe Wound

This was a very silly movie that parodies slasher flicks that revolves around a slasher dad who has a family business in creates slasher films and owns a film rental store who is trying to groom his adopted daughter to rise up and take over the business and save it before it goes under. It was very campy and corny at times but some parts were entertaining and there was some kind of underlying message about breaking the status quo of being a typical slasher when you start letting your emotions run wild. For what it is, if you're into seeing a mock up flick that pokes fun at slasher flicks while showcasing what it would be like to be the kid of a Jason Voorhees like character then check this one out.

I've never seen a film that so nonchalantly asks you to simply accept the ridiculousness of its premise. It doesn't even try to explain the absurdity and implausibility of it all. There isn't even anyone filming these murders? I thought I was losing my mind. After about 20 minutes though I realised the only way to get any enjoyment out of the film was to simply sit back, accept it, and go along for the ride. Even then, it's touch and go whether you'll enjoy it.

The one thing the movie does well, and really its saving grace, is that it creates some likable characters. It's hard to make a young woman who murders innocents for profit into a pleasant character, but the movie finds a way. Also some of the side characters are quite well created. And so while the horror and story may not always be working for you, at least you can fall back on that.

Some of the gore was quite effective and it's a nice and short film. It knows not to outstay its welcome. It's not all bad, but it certainly does require some effort on the audience's part. A generous 5/10.

Painfully awful movie with a totally misleading star rating. I am puzzled by this rating in fact. The '90s video rental store(necessary for the storyline it appears) precede the age of 99 percent of the actors within the film. I hear there is some nostalgia for this decade lately but it is certainly overshadowed by the hodgepodge of a storyline and/or screenplay. We have not walked out of a theater in many years but this one has surely earned the distinction.

The dad's makeup and the quality werewolf mask alone do not make a movie. The high school cast must also have been responsible for the ratings it received. Gen Z does it again it appears.

Bloody Axe Wound initially comes across as another subversively interesting slasher that aims to have fun with the rules of the sub-genre, but eventually becomes a wasted idea executed in a fun enough way to keep it watchable.

Acting is decent from the Bladecuts, with Billy Burke being an easy highlight of the movie as he handles the humour and the intensity to an impressively balanced degree as the fatherly killer Roger Bladecut. Moreover, Sari Arambulo is really fitting in the lead role of Abbie Bladecut; she is able to convey the struggles and aspirations to follow in her father's footsteps in a straight-faced and very comical way that is still funny but never comes across as silly or overacting. On a more technical note, the cinematography, lighting, and practical gore effects are all very well done. And the story itself starts out pretty strong, with an interestingly funny set up, and the balancing between the jokes and the killings is done to an effective degree.

However, that is also where it seems to be a point of struggle for the film. It can't consistently maintain its aforementioned balance, where the second act very much becomes a high school romance story that very nearly hijacks the main premise several times. The third act, in an attempt the balance the scales again, instead tips them entirely to being a straight up generic slasher flick with a strange and underwhelmingly unrewarding ending.

But it's biggest weakness is by far the world building, with several aspects and plot mechanisms left either unexplored or unexplained. Furthermore, the script can never decide how it works, and it leaves the audience with an utterly baffled sense of confusion as to how particular mechanisms drive the narrative.

Overall, it is funny enough to keep you entertained, but not interesting enough to stick with you and leave any kind of lasting impression.

The premise of this script is hilarious: the adopted daughter of a serial killer is ready to take over the family business. Or thinks she's ready until she falls for the cool girl in biker jacket and lip gloss who is next on the kill list. The nostalgic 80s context was perfect, down to every hairstyle, rattly car, and interaction with cassette technology. Good performances from an appealing and funny cast.

I like how the film cleverly has it both ways. I didn't really want to see adorable, dutiful daughter Abbie Bladecut become a cold-blooded killer, but this is a horror movie after all. So people do have to go in bloody, sometimes hilariously accidental ways. I had to close my eyes several times, and laughed a lot.