Blood Stalkers

This is a pretty obscure, dumb horror movie set in the 1970s Everglades. It is really stupid and lame for the first half, then it actually starts to get good for the last half. There is a scene with the hero running to save his friends interspersed with shots of a church group singing, I don't know. It is mesmerizing. I was impressed with the night time scenes, because it actually looked like night, unlike most low budget horror films where it still looks like daytime. I feel like the director was really talented but was working with a miniscule budget and a tough schedule. There are a few scenes towards the end, the one mentioned above and also the end credits that are extremely cool. This movie could have been a genuine classic if it left its Scooby Doo conventions behind and went straight for the throat. I was surprised at how good this movie turned out to be. I couldn't take my eyes off of it, and I had to ask myself "why?"

Two married couples decide to spend their vacation at an old hunting cabin located deep in the Florida everglades.On their way to the cabin they meet an old gas station attendant who warns them to turn back because of Blood Stalker territory.They also meet a trio of hillbilly hunters,who leer at the women while they play with their guns and knives.They aren't too friendly to begin with.The upcoming night quickly turns into blood-chilling nightmare with Bigfoot-like creature on the loose..."Blood Stalkers" is a perfect example of low-budget regional film-making.It features few nasty gore bits((a gutted dog,a hand being severed,an axe to the stomach)during its pretty tense climax,unfortunately the action moves at a snail's pace.The soundtrack is truly annoying and pretty much destroys any mood.The director Robert W.Morgan has a small role as bald-headed hunter,who is always having fun with his knives.A generous 6 out of 10.

Two married couples go out to an inherited hunting lodge, which has been vacant for eight years. They experience curious resistance from the yokels when they ask about the place. Worse, they're in for a night to dismember.

"Blood Stalkers" (1976), aka "The Night Daniel Died," was obviously inspired by "Deliverance," but also includes some (possible) swamp ape frolics. It starts out surprisingly well for a spare change Indie, as you get to know the four protagonists, although it starts to drag a bit. Voluptuous Cisse Cameron as Jeri is a highlight and so is blonde Toni Crabtree as Kim, the latter appearing in a tame nighttime skinny dipping sequence (just a heads up).

After the midpoint, unfortunately, there's an extended nighttime sequence that's too dark and tedious, which reflects lousy filmmaking. However, the bad parts are usually counterbalanced by effective sequences such as the artistic black church segment. The violent close is well done, all things considered, and I liked the explanation.

Ken Miller, who plays the secondary protagonist (Daniel), was 43 during shooting in June, 1975, while Cisse Cameron, who plays his wife, was 21. I bring this up because someone complained about how much older he was than her. But Cisse could easily pass for mid-30s, so it's not really an issue. And, besides, it's not like husbands being significantly older than their wives is rare.

Some of the music was composed by Stan Webb, who went on to contribute a song to "Thelma & Louise." The rest was done by Blood Sweat and Tears, who were uncredited to save money.

This was the sole flick directed by the writer/director, who happens to play the bald yokel in the film. He supposedly saw Bigfoot when he was 21 and appeared in four sasquatch documentaries between 1972-76, not to mention lectured at colleges and universities before retiring to western Montana.

"Blackwater" (2007) is a better movie of this no-budget Indie sort, which involves four women as the protagonists rather than two couples.

It runs 1 hour, 34 minutes, and was shot in southeastern Florida at Fort Lauderdale and the Everglades just west of there.

GRADE: C/C- (4.5/10)

The other reviews here give a pretty accurate view of the story and how it plays out so won't rehash any of it here. In presenting a review I would only add the filmmakers appeared to have a distinct vision of the film they wanted to make. Once a hardcore horror film viewer I've sat thru a lot of low budget dreck, so while some horror fans may describe Blood Stalkers as a bad and poorly made film, I would strongly disagree. Certainly not on par with say Sam Raimi's early work (The Evil Dead trilogy), it is an entertaining and sometimes scary film. The actors are not the buff and pretty people found in today's slasher films and Chainsaw remakes, but instead ordinary looking middle aged folk. And within the context of a low budget horror story they give rather good performances. The film has a terrificly crude visual style, and makes nice use of it's locations. Not as polished as much of today's low budget fare but worth seeing if you can find it.

I rented this film about a year ago at a 'mom n pop' video store, thinking it would be trash, but perhaps entertaining trash. I made fun of the movie for the first thirty or forty minutes before I finally shut up and began to enjoy it. I'm not going to exaggerate and say this is a classic or anything, but it is a surprisingly good film with a few twists and some acceptable performances. It also has what, for my money, has got to be the greatest "scared sh*tless" performance in a single scene of any horror film I've ever seen; just keep your eyes on Jerry Albert (Mike) when he goes back to the car to get the beer. Albert may not be that great of an actor, but in this scene he delivers and then some! Albert redoes his "scared sh*tless" moment with Toni Crabtree later in the film. All in all, a great "C" movie that's hard to find, but worth it if you do.