By Geno McGahee
The 1980s were a magical time for horror. The whodunit slasher film monopolized the horror scene at the box office and the fans could not get enough. The mystery and unique death scenes brought the fans, but the ones that truly found their way to stand out presented a great story that the people could relate to and enjoy. BLOOD SLAUGHTER MASSACRE is a film that has been inspired by the slasher craze and despite its low budget provides entertainment and understands the sub-genre that it is paying tribute to.
BLOOD SLAUGHTER MASSACRE is written by Louie Cortes and directed by Manny Serrano and brought to us by Mass Grave Pictures. We begin at a party where a killer known as “The Ripper” takes out the entire crowd. James Fincher (Matt W. Cody), a police officer, barely escapes the killer’s rampage, but the impact of the event would play a role in the rest of his life.
We fast forward ten years and the murders are starting again. This film not only is a tribute to the 1980s, but it takes place in the 1980s and considering their budget, they have to be given credit for the job that they did. I was very impressed that they were able to obtain so many of the clothes and artifacts that made up that era. Being a child of the 1980s, that was a positive check for this movie right out of the gates.
The story is as much about the life struggle of the now detective, Fincher, as it is the killer and his motives. Fincher is trying to find the balance and attempting to get his wife and daughter back into his life but cannot overcome his addiction to alcohol. Cody steals the show in this film. His portrayal of this character was very believable and interesting.
The film does follow the formula set by the 80’s slasher. We have a masked killer, stupid teens, a revenge story, a flawed hero, and a girl making it out at the end. There are several shots in this film that I really enjoyed and were done really well. The whitish mask of the killer brings the same benefit as the Michael Myers mask. It can be seen in the dark and it proves to be creepy.
I really liked BLOOD SLAUGHTER MASSACRE and after talking to the filmmakers, it’s nice to see that they are planning a VHS release as well as the other more conventional releases. This film was made with heart and it is very apparent early on and if you are a fan of this sort of film, I think that you will really enjoy what is presented here.
There are some problems with the production for sure. The audio is good in some places and not so good in others. The video seems to lose focus at times, possibly because the camera was in auto focus rather than manual, and the film is rather long at 2 hours and 5 minutes, but those problems aside, I really enjoyed this film and look forward to the future projects from Mass Grave Pictures. I recommend this.
Rating: 7/10
