Blood Rage
It’s Thanksgiving in Jacksonville, Florida. Terry’s twin brother—institutionalized since childhood for a brutal hatchet murder—returns to the family’s garden apartment home. This causes Terry—who actually committed the murder—to embark on a killing rampage.
How to rate this? The execution careens between impressive and embarrassing. It reuses the same locations, but they feel authentic. The camera work feels tepid but never amateurish. The violence shocks but the interstitial scenes vacillate between underwritten and awkward. The production design is non-existent, but the practical effects impress. Mark Soper’s dual-role performance transcends the material, while Louise Lasser seems to phone it in over a bad connection.
I can’t argue Blood Rage is a good movie, but I enjoyed it. For Thanksgiving-themed slashers, accept no substitute.
Viewing History
Commentary watch. Moderator Ewan Cant prompts director John Grissmer for insight, but Grissmer responds to most early questions with one-word answers. As the film unfolds, he expands to single sentences. When asked how he achieved a memorable effect, he replies, “With a lot of work.” He regards the picture as a work-for-hire effort, scuttling my hopes he was drawn to the material’s doppelgänger plot. John Dalley, who now co-owns the picture, offers little insight, but speaks with enthusiasm. My most interesting take-away: producer Marianne Kanter—who plays a sanitarium doctor—dictated the nudity and violence.