Blood night

Some 70's horror movies are really scary which is definitely not the case here. I think the problem that really stopped Blood Stalkers from being a scary horror was the time it took for the horror element to kick in if you can call it that. It's not real horror by today's standards.

Blood Stalkers characters aren't obnoxious like many modern horrors. They are more ignorant or short sighted. It's an ugly story of how one can unwittingly find themselves in the wrong neighborhood very easily. The horror element is more of a disguise to cover up what little mystery the movie has which is probably why the movie rates so poorly. Calling yourself a horror when you aren't is clearly blasphemy to horror fans.

Apart from that obvious flaw its quite watchable and the music and sound affects aren't bad and quite expected for its time just don't go in expecting Evil Dead like horror or you will be very disappointed.

It could easily have been edited down to 80 - 85mins and it probably would have been better. I liked it but I doubt I would see it again anytime soon.

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.

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?"

BLOOD STALKERS is a small dramatic movie with horror overtones. The body count is high and there's some on-screen violence and gore but the script is more concern with Mike (Jerry Albert)'s fragile psychological well being than scaring or grossing out the viewer. The film ain't bad but it's not stellar too. For instance, the three hicks, who keep fighting with each other, and the old man who runs the gas station, look more like cartoon characters than real people living in the backwoods. As for the good guys, Ken Miller is a strange actor, if you know what I mean. Jerry Albert is also an odd looking fellow. One rarely sees his average type of face in today's films, which, when you think about it, is unfortunate. The two women are buxom and don't make fools of themselves (a rarity in these types of films). The actors are okay in their roles but their characters are pretty limited. The cinematography is at times pretty good.

The worst thing in BLOOD STALKERS is the music. The soundtrack actually nullifies all attempts at suspense or empathy towards the characters with its terrible TV-like generic music. Had the music been better and the gruesome foursome had been a bit more believable, BLOOD STALKERS would have been fairly good. As it is now, BLOOD STALKER is okay, nothing more.