Punhos de Sangue

Beloved by trash movie cultists the world over, the hugely prolific Filipino action madman, Teddy 'Blood Debt' Page rewardingly teams up with the no less hard-hitting kickboxing star, Sean Donahue and their combined iconoclastic force unleashes a schlocky knock-out blow of non-stop Kickboxing mayhem for rabid action fans! A joyously unhinged, solar plexus pulverising, ribcage-wrecking, bloody-knuckled blast from VHS video's historically head-knocking past, 'Blood Hands' is still feistier than a fridgeful of hornets!

After four especially unsavoury, diabolically drunken skells escalate a spontaneous alcohol binge into Kickboxing-infused ultra-violence, that, not unexpectedly, culminates gruesomely with the bloody deaths of pretty much everyone outside of big, Steve (Sean Donahue) and his pristine looking, bodaciously boff-able beau Tracy (Kristin Landson). With the sharp astringency of merciless street justice in the air, it is not long before the unforgiving wheels of Kickboxing retribution spin to their inexorable conclusion, with Steve brutally 'kicking' the errant bottom of crime faster than the lugubrious, flat-footed mechanism of the law!

A bizarrely brief power/training montage heroically hones our righteously vengeful hero, Steve into a deadly intense, iron-girded master of squat-bodied, close quartered death! Steeled for war, Steve luridly cuts a hot crimson swathe through the sports casual clad villains that have done him and his family such monstrous harm. 'Blood Hands' delivers a more than zesty homage to 'Game of Death' that bloodily rounds the hyperbolic punch-fighting proceedings off with a spectacularly spine-shattering climax! With a gonzo, Teddy Page B-Actioner you are guaranteed hectic, rewardingly unrefined fight scenes with no nasty plot shenanigans to soften the hardcore bludgeoning! Just the way god intended!

'So long, Champ!'

From Top to Bottom, one of the best ever! 'Blood Hands' is masterpiece of film making, and a truly great movie.

'Blood Hands' is a film which puts reality first, and chooses not to live in a fantastic world of simple brutality, unlike other martial arts films produced by less visionary talents. This film exists in the here and now, with only the present as it's guide, and as it's bible to the world around us. We learn about kick boxing as it really is; and are taught that vengeance will always have its price.

We see the reality of violence, and are warned of its nature. Yes, this tale is a complex morality piece, and one that exposes hidden truths within us all. We see how perpetrators of heinous acts can be undone, and how justice will provably.

We see, reassuringly so, that the institutions that bind our society together, also bind the world of 'Blood,' keeping the film relevant to the public. One such institution is that of the police, and police work is the heart of this film. All central characters study clues, and do their best to find the killers of a kindly foster-child raising couple, and an angry supermarket owner. As everyone knows the only real clue to any serious murder would be a gaudy, and somewhat campy object left by the killers at the scene. They leave such fantasy crime fighting devices as eyewitness accounts, fingerprints, and DNA-testing behind. These count for nothing in the real world.

As well as being beautifully atmospheric and incredibly realistic, we also see a technically well made film. The dialogue and acting stand out, with a super grasp of both fundamentals being displayed upon screen. With supreme acting talent on show, including such stand-outs as star Sean Donahue leading the charge, not too mention a dynamite script, one with a real message, so we feel for the characters. We realise that this is more than just a movie. This film is showing us a way of life.

Morality, with an emphasis on the youth of today, is given the highest degree importance. Young people now know that "vio-lence is a re-al-ah-taye of our lives." Such lessons are missing from today's pictures, and this one is superbly delivered to the audience.

'Blood Hands' is a film of love and openness. There is a most touching coming out scene where a young man named Bruce hollers to his evil father that he wants to just be himself, "I just wanna be Bruce! I just wanna be Bruce!" We feel for him, and his character is shown to survive the events depicted vividly on screen, despite his mullet, and the many severe beatings he takes. He can live, as he renounced evil, and walked toward the light. Again, such moral messages are left behind in martial arts film of today. 'Blood' is about The Love.

'Blood Hands' raises the bar and lets you into the world of danger associated with top level kick boxing, and lets you love it's characters. Could this be the definitive martial arts film of our time?