Elo de Sangue

Seems to me there aren't enough horror films dealing with evil twins. Sure there are some (Dead Ringers springs to mind though I've not seen it) and the concept has made for an amusing twist in a variety of slashers, but there aren't so many films directly based around the concept. Blood Link is one such though, and pretty entertaining stuff albeit no classic. The story follows Dr. Craig Mannings, research psychiatrist having visions of beautiful women getting offed by his hand. He realises soon enough that in fact he is seeing through the eyes of his maniac brother Keith and so without further ado heads off to Hamburg to find him. Though directed by an Italian Blood Link has more in common with glossy yet seedy Hollywood thrillers of the era, the sort of thing in fact inspired at least in part by giallo cinema. There isn't overmuch style on hand, but its a pretty well made affair and there's an understated but fairly pleasing Ennio Morricone score to keep things bubbling along. Perhaps the most typically Italian thing about the film is a script that cares about nothing more than moving the action along, resulting in a succession of plot holes opening up that threaten to engulf the whole experience if one looks back even for a moment to consider them. Like how come neither Craig's girlfriend nor employers have anything to say on the subject of his leaving the country to search for a murderer? Why doesn't he fess up to the Hamburg police straight away (having presumably no prior experience of going after murderers himself)? Why was Keith allowed to get to Hamburg in the first place? There's more, but part of the fun comes from the mounting implausibilities and the pace is sufficiently swift that to say much more would be a spoiler anyway. Of course, none of this would work without some performances up to the task, and happily awesome character actor Michael Moriarty is on the case, playing Craig and Keith. As Craig he does not initially hook, coming across very much low key and befuddled, but grows into the role, taking on determination and a harder edge. As Keith he's a blast throughout though, putting his all into a great show of malevolent camp. Especially fun are scenes with the two together, both tense and bizarrely amusing. The rest of the cast is solid and includes a nice but sad cameo from the great Cameron Mitchell, though mostly notable for its attractive women. Penelope Milford as Craig's girlfriend, Sarah Langenfeld as a vengeful lass on Keith's case and Martha Smith as a local hooker, all fill their roles well and all show their lovely breasts. Moments of death or menace in fact often come after or involve sex or nudity giving a nice sleazy edge, which is helpful as in a shocking turn of events there's only bare minimal bloodshed. The nasty bits are at least pretty mean though, and once or twice even mildly shocking. Altogether this is a smooth ride though not especially memorable, Some longueurs in the final block but a nice suspenseful and twisted finale end things on just the right note, making it overall a worthy venture. Strong 6/10 then I guess.

I'm strangely fascinated by the acting career of Michael Moriarty. He's rather odd-looking and never seems to know what's going on, yet he was often offered important horror roles during the 1980's. Especially, by Larry Cohen who cast him in "Q – The Winged Serpent" and "The Stuff". Well, "Blood Link" isn't exactly an important film, but it's easily his most ambitious and valuable role. Your first impression will probably be that he's terribly miscast in his double role as sadistic murderer and the telepathically linked twin brother who pursues him, but he actually grows in his role and gets more convincing as the story develops. Craig Mannings is a doctor living in the United States who's frequently disturbed by nightmares in which he sees himself committing gruesome murders. He's instantly reminded of his former Siamese twin brother Keith, only he supposedly dies in an arson at age 17. The search brings him to Hamburg where the sane & insane brother will be reunited, although not without a lot of bloodshed. "Blood Link" is an interesting, albeit slow and implausible thriller with some clear giallo influences and a most enchanting score by master Ennio Morricone. Alberto De Martino – one of Italy's most criminally underrated director – professionally and adds in twists, nifty murders and even some nudity whenever you tend to lost interest. Although nearly not shocking or violent enough to rank among Italy's better thrillers, fans might find it enjoyable and worth tracking down.

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.

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!!??

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...