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Sortilèges

Original title: Blood Beat
  • Video
  • 1983
  • R
  • 1h 27m
IMDb RATING
4.5/10
1.7K
YOUR RATING
Sortilèges (1983)
Slasher HorrorHorror

A young woman accompanies her boyfriend to his family's rural Wisconsin home for Christmas, where the spirit of a Japanese samurai begins wreaking havoc on them.A young woman accompanies her boyfriend to his family's rural Wisconsin home for Christmas, where the spirit of a Japanese samurai begins wreaking havoc on them.A young woman accompanies her boyfriend to his family's rural Wisconsin home for Christmas, where the spirit of a Japanese samurai begins wreaking havoc on them.

  • Director
    • Fabrice-Ange Zaphiratos
  • Writer
    • Fabrice-Ange Zaphiratos
  • Stars
    • Helen Benton
    • Terry Brown
    • Dana Day
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    4.5/10
    1.7K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Fabrice-Ange Zaphiratos
    • Writer
      • Fabrice-Ange Zaphiratos
    • Stars
      • Helen Benton
      • Terry Brown
      • Dana Day
    • 41User reviews
    • 42Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Photos83

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    Top cast17

    Edit
    Helen Benton
    Helen Benton
    • Cathy
    Terry Brown
    Terry Brown
    • Gary
    Dana Day
    Dana Day
    • Dolly
    James Fitzgibbons
    James Fitzgibbons
    • Ted
    Claudia Peyton
    Claudia Peyton
    • Sarah
    Peter Spelson
    • Uncle Pete
    Franck Miley
    • Paul
    Carol Wagner
    • Christie
    Charlie White
    • Sheriff
    Andrea Cauchon
    • Little Girl
    Bill Madlener
    • 1st Hunter
    Duane Albrecht
    • 2nd Hunter
    Cleatus Gouldman
    • 3rd Hunter
    Mark Johnson
    • 4th Hunter
    Ronald Drachenberg
    • 1st Attendant
    Jo Salava
    • 2nd Attendant
    David End
    • 3rd Attendant
    • Director
      • Fabrice-Ange Zaphiratos
    • Writer
      • Fabrice-Ange Zaphiratos
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews41

    4.51.7K
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    10

    Featured reviews

    6HumanoidOfFlesh

    Bizarre supernatural slasher that defies description.

    A family with a few secrets of their own are terrorized by the spectre of a Japanese samurai warrior at their home deep in the woods.People begin to die,some by sword,some by arrow before mother's two kids step in and dispatch the sword-wielding samurai with their newfound magical power."Blood Beat" is a strangely fascinating film to watch.It has tons of flaws:confusing plot,lousy sound and cheap optical effects that made me laugh.There is some nudity and gore(knives entering bodies,a bloody stomach and neck wound)to keep your mind briefly occupied,but I'm still trying to understand this bizarre supernatural slasher.Wish me good luck.6 out of 10.
    white pongo

    mysteriously watchable

    When i used to live in a crappy room in a crappy flat in London, me and my girlfriend (now my wife) sat down to watch this video (which my mate picked up in a cheap cash exchange shop) one lazy Sunday afternoon. We both really enjoyed this minimal but captivating little tale, but i have no idea why and still find it hard pushed to find a reason to recommend it. Might make a good double-bill with the equally diverting NINJA 3: THE DOMINATION.
    4meddlecore

    A Supernatural Christmas Slasher From Wisconsin...In Shambles.

    Bloodbeat is an odd tale about a brother and sister who come home for Christmas...only to end up fighting for their lives in a battle of light vs darkness.

    The kids grew up hunting deer with their father, but their mother is a psychic artist, sorceress and prophetess, who paints what she forsees.

    Thus, when her son brings home his new girlfriend for Christmas, to meet the family, she senses that something isn't right with her.

    They make the mistake of bringing the girl deer hunting with them.

    Where she ends up freaking out and running away...right into the path of a dying man.

    Later that night, she has a dreams of finding a suit of samurai armour in a chest.

    Now, every time she gets riled up- or has an orgasm- this rogue samurai comes to life...and attempts to hunt down and kill any and all of the deer hunters who happen to be in the vicinity.

    After killing all of the neighbours...the ghost turns his sights on the family itself.

    The mother- having been privy that something was awry- tries to intervene, and use her magic to stop the entity.

    But it's vengeful spirit is just too powerful.

    It's not until the two siblings combine their powers- which they have inherited from their mother- that they are able to stop this dark ronin once and for all.

    The film doesn't do a very good job of explaining exactly who the ronin is, where it came from, why it was attached to the boy's girlfriend, or where the mother had "seen (the girl) before", despite those being central elements to the plot.

    It all just kind of goes down...and then ends.

    So you're left kind of confused in the end, other than, perhaps, to read into it, that the ronin is the devil, who, for some reason, has become attached to the girl, so as to attack this family that possesses powerful spiritual abilities.

    But, really, that's all just reasoned speculation, based on a few subtle elements of the storyline.

    It's not the worst supernatural Christmas slasher out there, but, they certainly could have done a better job developing the plot structure a little better...

    4.5 out of 10.
    6annablair-19191

    Like Nothing You've Ever Seen

    You could call Blood Beat a slasher film, but that would be too easy. It might have all the trappings of one (mostly one secluded location, a sword twirling villain, a decent body count), but it marches to the beat of its own wonky drummer.

    I'm not saying Blood Beat is good, but nothing this unique and odd can be totally bad. I was riveted from start to finish, so it must have done something right. Mostly, I just couldn't believe my eyes. I found it all rather well shot and appealing looking and the addition of a Japanese samurai as a villain is certainly not something you see a lot of. There's also an incredibly odd sequence (in this movie? Shocker!) where a young woman's masturbation seems to beacon the killer to her location. It sorta felt like a similar moment in High Tension.

    Blood Beat is a hard one to recommend, because everyone's threshold for strange, artsy trash is different, but it's worth giving a shot. You might enjoy it.
    6drownsoda90

    A wintry acid trip of a horror film

    "Blood Beat" follows a young woman named Sarah who goes along with her boyfriend to his family's rural farmhouse in Wisconsin to spend Christmas. Their celebrations are soon interrupted by her boyfriend's mother's apparent psychic visions, followed by the spirit of a Japanese samurai soldier armed with a sword who begins decking the halls with body parts.

    I think it's probably inarguable that "Blood Beat" is the strangest Christmas-set horror film that's ever been made. It's not really a "Christmas film," though for some reason it is set during the holiday; it's also not entirely a slasher film, as it is littered with supernatural goings on and psychic extravagances that go without explanation.

    The most baffling (and alluring) thing about the film is that next to nothing is elucidated for the audience; the psychic connections between the characters, the ghost of the samurai, the utterly bizarre dialogue--it all comes and goes with a casual passiveness that is rather astounding. I have read that the French filmmakers who made the film were on drugs during its shooting, which does not surprise me in the least. However, I will admit that, despite its logical inconsistencies and bizarre structure, the film is actually well-shot, especially for having been made on a shoestring budget. It looks fairly professional and slick at times, save the odd camera filter edits that go wild in the final act. The atmosphere is at times creepy and oppressive, and the wintry woodsy setting is well-captured, adding a chilly element to the proceedings. In some ways, the film reminded me of its equally strange contemporary "Satan's Blade."

    Overall, I found myself consistently perplexed and amused by "Blood Beat," mainly because so little of it makes a shred of sense. One can try and put the pieces together themselves, though I'm not sure they were designed with the forethought to be put together in the first place. The film is utterly bizarre, and I say that as someone who has seen their fair share of weirdo genre flicks. If nothing else, "Blood Beat" is a true B-movie one of a kind. 6/10.

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    Storyline

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    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The director of photography, Wladimir Maule, believed that the film was being shot for television rather than for theaters, and filmed in fullscreen rather than widescreen. Director Fabrice-Ange Zaphiratos wasn't aware of that until fifteen days into the production.
    • Goofs
      The man stumbling into Sarah coming out of the woods dies moments later. After having died, his eyes blink (22:22).
    • Connections
      Featured in Blood Beat: An Interview with Fabrice Zaphiratos (2017)
    • Soundtracks
      Carmina Burana: O Fortuna
      Written by Carl Orff (uncredited)

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • December 1988 (West Germany)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Blood Beat
    • Filming locations
      • Spring Green, Wisconsin, USA(main location)
    • Production company
      • Huskypup Film Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 27 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.33 : 1

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