I must admit I was weary going into "Blood Punch". Here was an independent film without a clearly defined genre and featuring a cast and crew made up of Power Rangers alum. My expectations were a bit low. Luckily, by the time the film entered its second act I was completely hooked. What I thought was sure to be another run of the mill independently produced genre outing turned out to be something that I couldn't wait to watch again. Not only was the acting stronger than I ever would have expected the story itself is filled with plenty of twists and turns and is dripping in pitch black humor.
The film itself concerns a young man named Milton living in court ordered rehabilitation for cooking crystal meth. While in rehab he meets Skyler, an outgoing and overly forward young woman who approaches him with an offer to cook a large amount of meth in only a few days with the intent to sell it for millions of dollars. Though he is weary about taking part in her plan he ends up with no choice when her bat shit crazy boyfriend Russell breaks into the rehab center and takes both of them to a cabin in the woods where he can cook the meth in solitude. Since I prefer to stay spoiler free in my reviews I won't reveal what happens next but it was truly unexpected.
It's also at this point in the film where the acting becomes most important. The remainder of the film takes place primarily in this one location so the dynamic between the three main characters is key. As the sexual tension between Milton and Skyler becomes more obvious and Russell becomes unhinged, all of the actors have to walk a fine line between seriousness and dead pan humor and for the most part they succeed. Milo Cawthorne and Olivia Tennet are particularly strong with Tennet showing a perfect blend of sincerity and pure evil leaving me constantly unsure of what her intentions were.
On top of great writing and performances, the film is also filled with tons of excessive death and violence as almost every method of murder you could imagine is attempted on screen adding another layer of fun and absurdity that blends well with all of
the other elements and helps set a definitive tone for the film. That's about as close to spoiler territory I am willing to get.
Overall if there is one thing I want to reiterate about "Blood Punch" is that its well worth your time and I hope that you seek it out. It's a truly original, entertaining and darkly comic film. This one is a strong recommend and one I will gladly revisit again.
Score: 4/5
As of September 1st Blood Punch is available on DVD, Digital HD, and Cable VOD. Seek it out!
In this episode of Midnight Triple Feature we focus on one of the more popular genres (for better or worse) to come out of the 80's home video boom, the shot on video horror film. Up first is "Sledgehammer", a microbudget take on the slasher film from the late great David Prior. Up next is "The Bite" from Joel D Wynkoop, a man whose earlier film "Lost Faith" received a solid recommendation from us. We also discuss two more Artsploitation releases, Cub and Reckless. We also talk about what we've been watching, horror news and more! Enjoy!
