Bad Blood

Bad Blood is the true story of West Coast (New Zealand) Eric Stanley Graham who, during the 1940's shot dead several people in the small village of Kowhitirangi, and sparked NZ's biggest manhunt in history. The film is both atmospheric and disturbing, and is well focussed on Graham and his family, and their gradual alienation from the small community. The bush setting only amplifies this claustrophobia. Both well acted and scripted, Bad Blood is worth more than a look.

Watching BAD BLOOD today, one is immediately struck by the similarities between the look, feel, and story of the movie and the contemporary FIRST BLOOD. Both films feature loner heroes who fall foul of polite society and then are forced into becoming fugitives. The difference between them is that FIRST BLOOD is a crowd-pleasing fantasy whereas BAD BLOOD is a brutal true story with all too depressing plot ingredients.

The stunning New Zealand locations are some of the best things about this atmospheric and engaging story. It tells of a rural farmer who snaps when the local authorities show up to confiscate his rifles (they need them for the war effort, the film being set during WW2). Murder and a manhunt ensue, all of it directed well by British director Mike Newell (HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE).

The emphasis of the film throughout is on realism and the naturalistic performances of the actors enhance the effect. There are some truly jaw-dropping moments to be found here and it's clear that Newell is doing everything in his power to avoid sentimentalising the story, instead sticking to the cold, hard facts. I found the downbeat nature of the production a little too strong for this to be a film you can really enjoy, but it's nonetheless a strong and vivid slice of film-making, and highly memorable with it.

Hollywood made Stallone's First Blood, which spawned a slew of profitable sequels. This simple film is First Blood lite, New Zealand Style. It is difficult to find a protagonist or antagonist in this film. Some will root for Stanley Graham and his family, while others will see them as obviously insane and in need of removal from society. This real life event was tragic for eight families. The seven that lost a loved one, and the one that lost its husband and father. There is also a question about the involvement of the wife in this film, beautifully played by an unknown New Zealand actress. The tragedy of the film is arrogance and insensitivity. The authorities of the village seem arrogant and insensitive to the plight of the wife and children of this disturbed man, And there is a good case that the wife was also disturbed. And what about these two poor children? I guess they wound up in social services. After a slow start and without the benefit of translation and subtitles of New Zealander language, the film kicks into high gear. New Zealand, at times, and in most places, is almost like heaven on earth. But at other times, it can descend into hell on earth. So too, are the people in this story; caught somewhere between heaven and hell. A riviting story worth watching.

Admittedly the title sounds like it's stolen from a lousy and cheesy 80's B-slasher movie, but "Bad Blood" is one of the most hauntingly dramatic depictions of a real-life human tragedy ever made. Set in New Zealand in 1938 and revolving on painful facts as they occurred there, "Bad Blood" tells the story of Stanley Graham and his wife Dorothy. They're outcasts in the small village community because of their rude and asocial behavior and the accumulation of financial problems slowly drives them to insanity. Stanley nearly has to go to prison for refusing to turn in his riffles and the woeful regards of the townsfolk become more and more hostile when the Grahams accuse them of poisoning their cattle. The script slowly and atmospherically builds up towards the inevitable tragedy of Stanley going irreversibly berserk and butchering seven people during a nightmarish rampage. This beautiful period piece, with marvelous costumes and set pieces, draws a mesmerizing portrait of human paranoia and despair. It also frighteningly illustrates how quickly a chain of little and seemingly insignificant events can escalate into a bloodbath, and that's truly disturbing to say the least. The sober music and gloomy photography epitomize the depressing tone of the film and Jack Thompson gives away one of the most perplexing performances I've ever seen. He should have received awards for his role, and the film in general as well for that matter. Carol Burns is equally amazing as his Dot, who may not have killed anyone but who's at least as dangerous as her husband, if not more. The climax sequences, revolving on the extended manhunt for Stanley after he fled into the open country, are also very gripping and effectively revealing the monstrous nature of people. Suddenly, the little town is overrun with people carrying riffles, most of them even unaware of the details of what happened exactly, simply to join the vigilante hunt for Stanley. No less than Mike Newell directed this sadly obscure little gem back in 1981. Nowadays he's an acclaimed director of slightly more light-headed films, like "Four Weddings and a Funeral", "Love in the Times of Cholera" and "Mona Lisa Smile". The fact that Newell was born and raised in England makes it even more admirable how he's capable of reflecting the typical New Zealand characters, culture and WWII background. I'm not aware of "Bad Blood" being available on DVD now, but the day it comes out make sure you grab a copy of this tense masterpiece. I certainly will.

Don't let the badly chosen B-movie-ish title fool you, this film is better than that. Set in rural New Zealand during the early stages of WWII in the 1940s, this film portrays the true story of Stanley Graham, a poor farmer with a wife and two kids. Unable to connect with the more well-bred surrounding community, and treated as outcasts (part of that being their own fault), he and his wife become increasingly paranoid about the bank and mortgage companies foreclosing on their small plot of land because of their ever-increasing debts. Making matters worse, the local police chief confiscates Graham's best firearm for use in the war, further enraging him and convincing him that the whole town is out to get him and his family. When the police finally do come to confiscate his land, he cracks up - killing the officers, fleeing, and becoming a fugitive in what became the biggest manhunt in New Zealand history.

The best thing about this film is its topicality, which extends far beyond the specific time and place portrayed here. There are parallels here to the cases of David Koresh and Randy Weaver here in the U.S. - two other crazed rural isolationists obsessed with firearms and perpetuators of violence when confronted by government officials. In fact, director Newell does a fine job of setting up in the beginning just how central a role firearms play in the daily life of this isolated community - they seem to be everywhere in the first few scenes, and even children play with toy guns intensely. A film like this pokes holes in the rhetoric of the NRA which says defiantly, "Guns don't kill people, people kill people." Well, yes, Graham is slightly nuts from the beginning, but how likely would the massacre he creates have been had he not had such easy access to the rifles, which play such a central part in his psychology? Also, it is interesting to note that Graham seems to be the kind of competent professional with a firearm that the NRA so often endorses as its core consituency, yet we don't seem him using it for any legitimate hunting purposes at all - only to kill other human beings.

Australian veteran actor Jack Thompson, as always, turns in a fine performance as Graham - totally immersing himself in the role of a cloistered-up nutcase with the us-versus-them mentality which would lead to an inevitable standoff with the outside world. Not surprisingly, he is much more adept at using his rifles than his pursuers, killing and wounding just about everyone he fires at, and creating an intense hatred in the posse organized to catch him.

Newell has done an excellent job of creating the small period details of the setting, from showing the organized women's war production to the local dance and rationing for the war in this community. Additionally, Gary Hansen's cinematography and camera-work has an exquisite feel for the New Zealand Landscape.

The major flaw is that here is a film which has traces of further ambitions beyond itself, but unfortunately did not capitalize upon them. The build-up of Graham and his wife's paranoia following real and imagined humiliations from the community in the first half is riveting. Unfortunately, the second half loses steam, as the organization of the posse and manhunt seems rather inconsequential and pedestrian. Graham supposedly became something of a folk hero to the country, but this is only hinted at by one or two lines from peripheral characters. Newell would have been wiser to expand this theme further: the pathology of Graham is definitely universal, and there are likely traces of it in any isolated rural community. That is much more interesting than an obligatory chase. However, these flaws owe more to the script than Newell's direction, which is very accomplished. Throughout the entire film, Newell's direction retains the conviction that we are witnessing important historical events unfolding. It is too bad that the script does not delve much deeper than the superficial storyline of a nutcase who kills several people and get chased by the police. Still worthwhile, though.