Sortilèges

"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.

Where to begin with a movie like Blood Beat? I had never even heard of this until Vinegar Syndrome gave it a Blu-ray restoration a couple years back. It sounded odd enough that I decided to give it a chance. Odd is an understatement.

You are never given any explanations for anything that happens in this movie. It's not one of those experiences where the end credits begin to roll and you're angry because you feel like you wasted your time though. They never lead you on like you're going to get an explanation at any point, you're just along for the ride.

The film itself has slasher tendencies, but it's definitely not a full-on slasher flick. But for a slasher villain, the Japanese samurai is super cool and original. Not to mention that a girl keeps having orgasms every time it kills! Why? Who knows?! But it's a cool effect!

It also seems like the majority of the cast has phychic powers. How? Beats me! What does it all have to do with the mother's paintings? Don't ask me! But it adds an unusual supernatural angle to everything.

The film itself is actually shot rather well with some memorable cinematography. This combined with the editing, and in certain scenes the lighting, add to the trippiness of everything. Blood Beat almost plays out like a nightmare. There are many dream-like qualities to it.

I just finished the film as I'm writing this, and I'm so intrigued by this oddity that I feel compelled to research it a little further. This will be one I'll try to introduce to as many people as possible. Highly recommended to lovers of strange cinema, and those who know how to have fun with a "bad movie".

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.

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.

Blood Beat (1983)

* 1/2 (out of 4)

Extremely bizarre low-budget slasher about a group of people living in the woods of Wisconsin where they hunt deer and do very little else. One of the women begins to see strange things and before long a samurai warrior has her possessed.

Fabrice A. Zaphiratos wrote, composed, edited, shot and directed this bizarre film that's not really that good but at the same time if I ever met the man I'd have to shake his hand. I say that because quite often low-budget movies try to cash in on a popular genre while not doing anything original. If you're familiar with the slasher craze that was going on during this period then you know it was basically a bunch of horny teens in a variety of locations being stalked by a killer.

What's so interesting about BLOOD BEAT is the fact that the director really did try to do something different. This is a very bizarre movie and it's not one that is easy to write about because it's so darn weird that most people wouldn't believe what you're saying. The possession scenes, if you want to call them that, are being weird in their own right and why a samurai? In fact, why a samurai in Wisconsin of all places? The entire movie was obviously shot on a low-budget so there aren't any good special effects, no real memorable kills or anything like that.

The only thing you've got is this really weird idea that plays out about as weird as you could expect. I keep using the words bizarre and weird but there's really not other way to describe this movie. The performances are pretty much what you'd expect from a film like this and there's really nothing good here. The budget was way too low for the material to work but once again I tip my hat to the filmmaker for at least trying something different. In doing so he's at least created something you won't forget.