Bloodrage

A title like "Bloodrage" is enough to catch the attention of any horror fan, the cover is also promising but the movie itself isn't that good. Ian Scott plays a violent young man that is about to snap at any moment, the event that leads to that is a encounter with a prostitute that went sour. When she asked him for money and threaten to call his mother, he lost it and unveiled his more basic violent instincts. To escape the police he moved to New York, checking in a motel. Soon he started to feel the pressure of the big city, full of things that deeply bothered him. First in that list, the prostitutes, which he'll hunt down one by one until he meets one that will give him a run for his money. Not only he has to deal with the city life but also the small town cop that came to New York trying to find the person responsible for the death of the first prostitute. Who will get to him first?

The movie's plot is simple, nothing wrong with that if it was well executed, in my opinion it wasn't. It's rather slow-paced. Only in the first murder we see any blood, not enough for a movie called "Bloodrage". The characters aren't developed enough to make them interesting, their actions don't make much sense. Ian Scott reminded me of Ted Raimi, specifically in "Skinner", they kind of look alike.

Bloodrage is not a great film. It's also not so-bad-it's-good. It's simply watchable and decently fun. Despite the lack of gore, the film is very gritty. You can almost smell the New York bars and apartment halls. Exploitation fans should find the amount of violence that is present thrilling enough, even if it's not overly explicit. There's a ton of nudity, so that box is checked if that's your thing. Overall, Bloodrage is a good watch if you go into it knowing what you're going to get. What you get is a simple plot about a guy who kills hookers and his further descent into madness. The sparse plot is very lean and tight. The acting is pretty darn good overall with the exception of a few characters.

The synopsis on the back of the ancient VHS cover box describes the plot of "Bloodrage" as reminiscent to "Taxi Driver" and "Death Wish" and the director's styles and methods for creating tension as "Hitchcockian". You can unquestionably guess without even seeing the movie for yourself that these generous comparisons are just *slightly* exaggerated, but it's nevertheless a decent and overlooked psycho-shocker that comes recommended to the selected group of avid fans of this type of obscure and grim exploitation cinema. Director Joseph Zito's predecessor to the much more known and infamous "The Prowler" is clearly inspired by the success of "Taxi Driver", since it's more or less also a portrait of the sleazy and pauperized streets of New York's red light district, but it definitely benefices most from it's atypical serial killer protagonist. Unlike Travis Bickle, the psychopath here – Ritchie – is a seemingly shy and introvert young lad; barely out of his teenager years and presumably from a decent social background. Ritchie visits prostitutes but ends up barbarically killing them because they aren't like he expects them to be … whatever that may be. Even when he meets a "normal" girl, she turns out to be an infidel nymphomaniac and Ritchie gradually sinks deeper into misogynist rage and madness. Meanwhile, the secret lover of one of Ritchie's prostitute victims – a ruthless copper – follows the trace to New York and hunts him down like an animal. Particularly the opening fifteen minutes – covering Ritchie's first murder prior to his escape to the big city – are immensely powerful and shocking. You really don't see this fragile kid capable of murdering but he is and, moreover, remains stoically focused throughout the entire process. Ritchie's odyssey in the rancid streets of New York is far less exciting, mainly because we're on more familiar territory here, but the murder sequences nonetheless remain harsh and ultimately brutal to look at. With is lurid atmosphere, copious amounts of gratuitous nudity, grainy and cheap looking photography and uncompromising violence against women, "Bloodrage" perfectly fits in the late 70's/early 80's trend of misogynist slasher pictures, like "Don't Go in the House", "Maniac", "Hitch Hike to Hell" and "Don't Answer the Phone". And if you really wonder where the connection lies with "Death Wish", you just wait until the downright fan-tas-tic end scene!

What a grimy, filthy and bleak film this is! "Bloodrage" is one of those glorious New York City movies, filmed when the place was literally crawling with hookers, pimps, junkies and every kind of deviant freak that can be imagined. Working as both an incredible documentation of a vanished New York in it's "Golden Age" as well as an utterly fascinating character study of a truly sick, soulless maniac. Ryan is a baby faced, average looking young guy, but with this palpable hatred for women...not all women of course. One of the reasons why this sick little film works so well is that it's perhaps the ONLY movie of it's kind that forces the viewer to seriously relate to the psychopath. Although the guy is a complete scumbag, the women in this film, and I mean EVERY woman, is portrayed as money grubbing, dishonest. Not once did I feel sorry for any of the females that got murdered here, because they were all so horrible. And that is how this clever movie gets under the skin. It feels downright creepy to catch yourself relating to a serial killer, but "Bloodrage" forces the viewer into this guy's mindset by making you see women the way he does. Wow. It's as politically incorrect as the worst of these 70's films, and it literally bleeds atmosphere from it's filthy pores. Why on Earth "Bloodrage" isn't available on Blu Ray, or even dvd is an absolute mystery to me, as is this ridiculously low score here. Do people just not GET what director Joseph Zito (of The Prowler fame) who goes under the funny pseudonym Joseph 'Bigwood' has succeeded in doing with this one? For a title like "Bloodrage" it isn't extremely bloody, as the violence here is more of the psychological kind. It does make up for the lack of gore by splashing a healthy amount of T&A on screen (actually nothing about this is "healthy), as "Bloodrage" is based in a World of hyper-sexuality. I urge fans of this genre to seek this movie out and witness some truly beautiful 42nd Street grime. And I urge some Blu Ray distributor like 'Vinegar Syndrome' to please restore "Bloodrage" to it's original pristine version. It is so deserving.

"Bloodrage" tells the story of Richie,a withdrawn young man with the penchant for murdering hookers.He kills Beverly,a small-town prostitute and after concealing his crime goes to New York.As his killing spree continues Richard becomes more and more fascinated with a prostitute who lives across the alley.He watches her undress through the window and we hear his innermost thoughts via voice-over monologues."Bloodrage" oozes sleaze and misogyny.The seedy atmosphere of 70's New York is well-captured with its peeling-wallpaper interiors and dirty alleys.The murder scenes are quite brutal and there is plenty of full-frontal female nudity.If you enjoyed "Maniac" or "Don't Go in the House" give this grimy slice of psycho cinema a look.7 out of 10.