Bloody Axe Wound is a horror-comedy slasher film directed by Matthew John Lawrence, and the cast includes Sari Arambulo, Molly Brown, Billy Burke, Eddie Leavy, Sage Spielman, Margot Anderson-Song, Matt Hopkins, Jeffrey Dean Morgan.I do enjoy a horror-comedy film, and while overall user reviews for this film wasn't great, I think this helped as I went in with low expectations, and while it’s a film that is a bit messy, it is also a film where some fun is to be had, too if you don't over think it too much, which I did while watching it.
The films plot follows Roger Bladecut (Billy Burke), who is a real-life serial killer who’s turned murder into a family business, and has also enlisted the help of his teenage daughter, Abbie (Sari Arambulo) to help him film his kills and then to sell them at their video store in Clover Falls, because in this town, you can just openly sell this kind of stuff.
The opening narration tells us the murders in the tapes are real, but then, the first scene shows another man, Butch Slater (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) acting out a kill like it’s a reenactment, so are these actual murders or just low-budget Faces of Death rip-offs?
The movie never actually bothers to clarify this scene because I assume, they figured if you’re watching a film called Bloody Axe Wound, you’re not the type to ask too many questions.
Anyway, Roger is getting old, because even serial killers have a retirement age, and wants Abbie to take over, so he’s already picked out her future victims, marking them in a yearbook with a blood-red marker.
Abbie then goes undercover as a high school student to get close to them, but plot twist: she accidentally falls for one of them, a girl named Sam (Molly Brown), and this, understandably pisses off her dear old dad, who was really hoping she’d inherit the family murder business.
Now, let’s talk about the town of Clover Falls, which has the highest murder rate since The Purge, and yet, nobody seems to notice or care., and I don't know about you, but if my small town had even one missing high schooler, there would be candlelight vigils and true-crime podcasts popping up overnight.
But here we get nothing, as the film just expects you to go along with the incoherent mess, and even for a horror comedy film that's not meant to be taken too seriously, it is just poor writing and world building.
This might bother some people more than others depending on how important that aspect is for you even for this type of film, as it certainly doesn't have much substance, but there is some fun to be had if you stick with it, as it can be mildly amusing at times too with some nice gore effects, and while I would say the film isn't great, it is an OK film that is watchable with a nice tight runtime of 84 minutes, too.
What works in the film is the dumb fun aspect of it, such as watching Abbie killing people, as she's terrible at it, and it's quite funny to watch, and Roger’s sitting there like every disappointed dad in history, going, “No, you idiot, you have to stab people faster“
And then we have the gore factor, and if you're a fan of some blood, Bloody Axe Wound will have you covered, as it spills enough blood to make even the most hardcore horror fan grin ear to ear that keeps at least some of the carnage fairly fun.
The acting is pretty decent too, with Sari Arambulo and Molly Brown both putting in good performances and both show good chemistry and charisma that helps the film elevate itself a bit, as it also leans into teen dramedy territory, with the horror elements lurking in the background and is a film that has a coming of age feel to it, too.
At times, it is quite a heart warming, especially watching Abby go through the emotions, as it mixes teen drama and slasher elements, but leans into more drama elements than I would have liked, and I felt it does get a bit lost between the two and the balance isn't quite right which ended up being a bit frustrating as it doesn't really know what kind of mood it is going for.The comedy attempts in the film are also a bit hit and miss and very random, with some of it landing and others just a bit too stupid, which depending on what you like, may or may not work for ya, but I found it to be a bit inconsistent overall and not enough of it landed that well for me, but again, it was OK.
Overall, Bloody Axe Wound could have made more sense with certain things, and as I mentioned above, even for a film that's not meant to be taken too seriously it is still an oversight that might bother you, and I would have liked it to be a bit more balanced, but if you want to watch something that is a bit dumb and gory, and mildly amusing at times, Bloody Axe Wound might just do the trick.But only if you’re willing to roll with the sheer absurdity of it all, but in the end, I feel with some better writing, it could have been an easy recommend, as it is the film ends up being just OK, and is a hard film for me to actually recommend and say it is well worth a watch, but humor is always very subjective, and you might get more out of it if that side works better for you, even with the other flaws.
[Bloody Axe Wound on IMDB] [Where To Stream Bloody Axe Wound]
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