Halloween gets all the glory as the horror-hound holiday of choice, but what's a fright fanatic to do after the time for seasonal standards like Halloween and Friday the 13th has come and gone? True horror devotees know that a decent creep show is worth watching all year round, but once Halloween ends, it can be a little difficult to find the next slasher worth sampling, as those who only dip their toes in the bloody waters of Camp Crystal Lake are generally out for the count for the remainder of the year. For those who like a little terror with their Thanksgiving turkey, 1987's Blood Rage is the perfect schlocky slasher to slake any scare seekers' thirst for blood and cranberry sauce alike.
What's the Story Behind Blood Rage?
Originally shot in 1983, Blood Rage sat on the shelf for four years before finally being released under the much less catchy title, Nightmare at Shadow Woods. The first version of the film to debut was heavily edited, eliminating most of the movie's deliciously over-the-top gore effects and any sexual content. As a slasher film with no slashing to be found, this initial edit quickly disappeared from its already limited theater release. Only upon its release to home video, under the more widely known title Blood Rage, did the film finally have its true colors exposed. Funnily enough, that same VHS did its part in lending more confusion to the title toss-up, as the opening credits dub the film Slasher, despite the Blood Rage banner on the cover.
What Is Blood Rage About?
The film stars mostly unknowns, save comedic actor (and a great scream queen that never was) Louise Lasser. Blood Rage opens with identical twins Todd and Terry watching their mother, Maddy (the aforementioned Lasser), as she makes out with her boyfriend at a drive-in movie theater. Disgusted, the twins explore the drive-in. After finding an axe, Terry murders a man engaged in a similarly salacious activity to Maddy and her boyfriend. Terry then plants the murder weapon on his meek twin brother Todd, who is promptly institutionalized for the crime.
A decade after the murder, the once silent Todd suggests that Terry is, in fact, the brother responsible for the drive-in death, much to Maddy's chagrin and disbelief. That night, with friends and family gathered for a Thanksgiving celebration, Maddy and Terry learn that Todd has escaped from his mental institution, spurring forth a renewed murderous rage in Terry. With his freedom at stake, Terry decides to enact a killing spree and pin it on his brother, who has been mistakenly labeled insane all these years. What happens over the remainder of the runtime is, naturally, violent and goofy in equal measure.
What Makes Blood Rage a Fun Watch?
What sets Blood Rage apart from its equally-gory slasher compatriots, aside from its rare Thanksgiving setting, is how it uses the terrifying prospect of dysfunctional family gatherings as a linchpin for the murderous proceedings that follow. The slapdash slasher works as a surprisingly effective examination of sibling rivalry on a grand scale, the damage that family can inflict (despite the best of intentions), and the pain a parent can experience watching their children spiral to a place beyond their control.
The real joys of Blood Rage, though, come from its pure and unadulterated absurdity. This is the stuff of prime '80s slasher movie schlock, complete with wonderfully splattery (and appropriately-cranberry colored) gore effects, stilted soap operatic performances, and wrongheaded line readings throughout. For those uninitiated to the campy delights of the 1980s B-movie horror and exploitation, Blood Rage is an excellent entry point. It exemplifies all the weird enthusiasm, the worst tropes, and ridiculous decision-making inherent in that corner of cinema.
Does Blood Rage Hold Up?
That being said, Blood Rage is by no means a misunderstood masterwork. But there are moments of transcendent and sublime goofiness that carry the movie when its technical weaknesses threaten to collapse the entire affair. Couple that with excellent gore effects and a self-aware sense of humor, buoyed by a kitchen-sink performance from Louise Lasser, and there's the solid foundation of a totally enjoyable contender for the schlocky slasher movie canon.
Horror fanatics and the creepily curious alike in need of a Thanksgiving treat are bound to find a cornucopia of wacko wonders to recommend in Blood Rage. And if the viewer happens to have a few fellow gore-geeks in the family, this blood-soaked B-movie is the perfect one to watch under the gauze of a tryptophan-induced haze.
Catch Blood Rage this Thanksgiving season, currently streaming on Tubi TV.