Blood Rage (1987)

Blood Rage (1987) is a slasher that takes place on Thanksgiving. It doesn’t have to though. It could have been set on any random day, and it would not have changed the events of the movie in any substantial way. That being said, the killer does have a great Thanksgiving themed catchphrase. A few times he looks at his bloody weapon and says “It’s not cranberry sauce.” For that alone, I am happy with the holiday theme. 

It is also a movie about twins. It doesn’t have to be though. Outside of a few key points, the movie is really just a bare bones slasher that has a twin plot drifting around in the background. 

Story/Setting

Twin brothers are at a drive-in movie with their mother and her boyfriend. They sneak away from the car and one of the brothers murders a movie-goer with an axe. He then goes on to frame his twin for the murder. Ten years later is when the movie takes place and the framed brother has escaped from the psychiatric hospital on Thanksgiving. It’s definitely an interesting premise to start. It doesn't play out all that well though. Instead, it becomes a generic slasher. The setting is ok, it is an apartment complex surrounded by a wooded area and it is used pretty well. It is a nice blend of creepy woods, different apartments, and places like communal pools that keeps the setting of the kills unique.

    Music

I really liked the score. It’s a super 80s synth rock sound that has a nice horror element to it. It is in no way scary, so it loses points for that. But, it does provide the perfect slasher atmosphere for this cheesy entry in the genre.

    Villain

It’s clear who the villain is from the start. He doesn’t have a cool look or anything like that. I guess one thing I can say is interesting about him is that he is supposed to be good looking? Or at least normal looking enough to have everyone let their guard down. But, with no real mystery surrounding him and no cool slasher gimmick, there isn’t that much going on with the character. He also is in no way scary, so points are lost there as well. He does have the awesome catchphrase though, as I mentioned earlier, so he’ll gain a point for that. 

    Slasher Fodder

For a movie presenting a very interesting family dynamic, it spends way too much time dealing with generic slasher movie characters. Even the final girl doesn’t fit all that well into the main story, she’s there, she’s a virgin and that's about it. There are these two jock type characters I really enjoyed, that have funny New York/ New Jersey accents that don’t line up with everyone else's. The mother gives an uneven performance, but there are a few scenes where she really brings it.

    Kills

The special effects on the kills are pretty good. The first kill in particular is brutal and hard to look at. Towards the middle of the movie they move towards the off screen kills a little too much for my liking. There are definitely some decent kills mixed in throughout, but none meet the expectation of the first one, nor do they get very creative. 

    Double Tap

This movie has one of the most oddly placed and bizarre voice overs I’ve ever seen. It is so jarring and bad I almost quit watching. The voice over is done by a character that gets around a solid ten minutes of screen time. It is just a dreadful exposition dump to get us through the ten year time jump.

There is a quick cameo by Ted Raimi in the opening scene, which made me happy. 

There is a point in the movie where these two characters who seem to sneak off, we assume, to have sex. There is some heavy flirting and making out going on between the two of them. One of the other characters makes a joke that they are probably off playing tennis, which I took as a euphemism. The movie cuts and they are actually playing tennis in the middle of the night. (Before this tennis has never been brought up in the movie. It isn't like it was their thing). I felt like I was watching a long Family Guy cutaway gag. By the way, they then leave the court to go have sex. 

At 10 ½, the movie comes in just above the halfway mark. I think it was fun but it is also pretty poorly made. Not sure I would really recommend it, but I would never tell you not to see it either. If you are in the mood for a bad 80’s slasher this might fill that need for you. That being said, if you are looking for a good holiday slasher around Thanksgiving, this isn’t it.