Blood Link - Blutspur

A man finds himself having visions of murders being committed that turn out to be true. His visions and investigations take him to Berlin where several revelations bring him face to face with the killer.

I love 'one good twin, one evil twin' movies. This is another example of this genre but is closer to Dead Ringers than Basket Case.

I hate it when people describe movies as having a 'dream like quality' but that description is entirely applicable here. I'm not sure if this was the intended outcome for the movie's director or if this was the result of inexperienced filmmaking but it works really well. If you like to have a few tokes whilst watching a film then that's not needed here. It's obvious that the cast and crew have done all of that for you. I'm surprised Mary Jane wasn't given her own credit to be honest.

The Berlin locale works really well with moody, neon lit scenes of down town Berlin at night looking gorgeous and fitting the darkness of the film splendidly.

And then theres the cast. Michael Moriarty shows his continuation of giving off-beat performances to bring to life off-beat characters after his surreal role in the brilliant Q. He's just as idiosyncratic in Blood Link as he was in Larry Cohen's cultfest and is a major part of why this film is so likeable and watchable. We also get Cameron 'Toolbox Murders' Mitchell as an ageing wrestler who is also fantastic. We also get an Ennio Morricone score (quite surprisingly).

File this movie under 'Oddity'. Not a cult classic but well worth seeing.

Two twin brothers, one good and one evil, share a Blood Link which allows them both to see through the other brothers eyes. Problem is that one of them is a serial killer and the good brother will have to try and stop his sibling from murdering innocent people in Germany.

We meet Craig who starts having visions and nightmares of a person who looks just like himself killing random women. He feels satisfaction and relief each time he sees these things happening, evening feeling as though he committed the crimes himself. Craig starts investigating his upbringing and the fact that he has an apparent siamese twin out there named Keith. This all leads him to West Germany where he travels to in an attempt to find his brother and stop his murderous ways. Will he be able to accomplish this, or will Keith turn the tables on him and switch places in the eyes of the police?

Blood Link is a thriller that has a very interest concept with the two identical/siamese twin brothers, one good and one evil. The idea that they can see each others actions through each other's eyes is an interesting one which worked well throughout the movie. Craig sees every evil action and kill that Keith commits. The flaws with the movie lies with the character development and motive of the killer Keith. We get that there was a very bad childhood upbringing, but the film never gives us his real drive to kill all of the people he knocks off. In the end, the murders feel very shallow and we are left just with two twin brothers battling it out for no good reason.

Michael Moriarty does a fine job as the lead character Craig and Keith. He's believable as both the psychotic killer and the man who is so confused as to what is happening in his dreams. I thought the real standout was Penelope Milford as Craig's girlfriend Julie. She had some fun scenes with the good brother, and highly emotional and terrifying scenes with the evil one.

Blood Link was a below average watch for me. It started out well, but dragged on quite a bit with a story that never seemed to be fully imagined on screen by the director.

4/10

This obscure Italian film – made in the English language – mixes typical elements of the giallo with a few sci-fi trappings, and adds to them a doppelganger theme. Incidentally, given that it deals with Siamese twins who haven't been in contact for years but are able to 'see' what one another is doing, it somehow feels like the long-lost sibling of two Brian De Palma films itself – coming, as it does, in between his SISTERS (1973) and RAISING CAIN (1992)!

Anyway, it's mildly interesting (even more so for me, being a twin myself!), good-looking (the film was shot in the U.S. and Germany) and features an understated Ennio Morricone score – but, in the long run, emerges as nothing especially remarkable. Besides, even if the supporting cast is decked out with veteran presences – Geraldine Fitzgerald, Virginia McKenna and Cameron Mitchell – they're all basically wasted (McKenna, for instance, is already dead within the first 5 minutes!).

The lead is played by Michael Moriarty, an actor noted for his intense performances – and, here, we get double the dose (with the star, predictably, hamming it up particularly in his serial-killer characterization)! However, he's flanked by two lovely ladies whose contribution is above-average for this sort of thing – Penelope Milford (ex-Oscar nominee for COMING HOME [1978]!) as the good Moriarty's girlfriend and Sarah Langenfeld (in one of only 4 films she did) as the daughter of has-been prizefighter Mitchell, whose cold-blooded murder at the hands of the bad Moriarty she witnesses. By the way, the film features a surprising amount of nudity (by the two girls and others) – but it's not done in an overly sleazy or exploitative manner.

The 'face/off' situations between the two brothers provide the expected fireworks; the climax, then, sees Milford distracting the villainous (and impotent) Moriarty by letting him rape her – thus enabling the police to track him down through his brother's ability to recognize the surroundings! This is followed, however, by a far-fetched CARRIE (1976)-like twist set in the city morgue...but which leads to an effectively unsettling 'curtain' where Milford is literally unable to tell which brother she's ended up with!

P.S. If all goes well, I should be getting to another of De Martino's horror films – HOLOCAUST 2000 (1977) – in the near future, which is one I've missed out on numerous times in the past...

Michael Moriarty does a good job of playing identical, separated Siamese twins, who share a telepathic link. Craig is a doctor practising in North America whilst Keith is a psychopathic killer, murdering in Berlin. Craig acts upon his visions and travels to Germany to try and stop the killing spree. Although a fan of Euro horror I had not heard of Blood Link until I saw a cheap copy for sale on VHS. The cover alone sold it to me. Moriarty is good in both roles. Cameron Mitchell shows up as an out of condition, over the hill fighter. And most of the actresses end up naked. There is a touch of sleaziness about Blood Link. It also has a reasonable body count, and although there is a lot of dialogue throughout it's running time it is peppered with kills and nudity to keep it interesting. Now, that artwork for the cover looks very familiar - New York Ripper!!??

"Blood Link" is a suspenseful and pretty scary thriller.

The plot: Craig Manning (Moriarty) is a doctor. But for some nights now he's been having horrific visions of murders. It turns out he has a Siamese brother (also played by Moriarty) who lives in Hamburg. Craig tracks him down to unravel the mystery.

"Blood Link" is worth watching for the usual excellent performance by Moriarty. He puts a lot of energy and character into the role. The direction by De Martino is fast-paced and the music by Ennio Morricone is always worth a listen.

In the end: If you can find it, "Blood Link" is an interesting horror movie worth watching.

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