Blood Punch

Okay, first and foremost, I would humbly suggest that you do NOT read the other reviews here. I KNOW that sounds a little self serving, but as usual, a number of these witless reviewers totally give away the primary concept in their titles, so just trying to save you entering Spoiler Territory.

So, what we have here is a very clever concept that if it has not already been Spoiled for you, you will come to understand as the story progresses. It is a concept that has indeed been used in a few other also really good Science Fiction movies, but of course I'm not going to name them as others stupidly have done here even in their titles.

I, on the other hand, and HOPING that the idea behind this clever film has not already been ruined for you, do NOT wish to give away anything but simply as I usually try to do is give you my impressions about how well I think the film is made and if it is worth watching.

The characters are very well developed and in many cases quite amusing. The ONLY thing that honestly drove me almost totally insane is that I SWEAR at least one tobacco company must have foot the entire bill for this movie. I mean literally EVERY 2 minutes if not more often, someone, mainly the girl is lighting up. I mean, it is done to the point of total absurdity. Seriously... There must have been like 200 cigarettes lit in this movie. I personally found it REALLY annoying and somewhat insulting. I honestly saw absolutely no point in it, so FWIW there you go...

So, yes, this is a very good, clever concept that is ultimately very entertaining. If you have been fortunate enough to avoid Spoilers so far, then I think you might find this film a fun ride... I gave it a strong '7'... I KNOW I haven't given a lot of details, but there is almost no way to do so without ruining the story.

After being caught cooking meth, a teen is sent to rehab. It is here that he meets a young beautiful girl who offers him a job. They go to a remote cabin with her boyfriend and third partner in their little drug scheme. Things go a little wrong for them when they begin to turn on each other. Things go from bad to worse when they find themselves caught in an old Native American curse. Now they must find a way to break free, or forever be dammed.

I was given this little indie flick by my uncle, who surprisingly sang its praises. So I went in with modest expectations and came out with a smile on my face, a sense of disappointment and a feeling of "I've seen this done better before".

Blood Punch has one aspect about the film that I would love to talk about, but feel that it would ruin the surprise. So I'm at odds here because this happens in the first act and the rest of the movie is wrapped around this plot device. It's nothing new or original, in fact it's been done to 'death'. Yet it's the inspired direction from Paxson that really gives Blood Punch a sense of accomplishment. The drama in the beginning takes a turn to black comedy once we arrive at the cabin. The film tries a balancing act and works for the most part, it's just that I didn't really find it too funny.

The genres this film mixes a fast and furious. There is even a action heavy shoot-out for crying out loud. This might make it seem like the film doesn't know what it wants to be, but I believe Paxson and crew knew exactly what they were doing here. An ode to some crazy Raimi/Coen Brothers hybrid of a film.

While interesting enough to keep my attention, bizarre enough for me to want to find out more. This is a film that I can't really see myself watching again anytime soon. I can't place my finger on it. The acting is serviceable to the story. The direction above what one can expect from a low-budget indie black comedy flick and the blood effects will make the horror fan smile. It simply feels like a precursor to something more, something bigger, something better down the road for the career of Paxson, if anything.

Groundhog Day meets John Dies at the End. OK the plot was nothing like JDatE, but the tone really reminded me of that film.

Refreshing (if not entirely original) premise with characters that grew to be likeable after a rocky start.

Mostly good acting and great cinematography.

Ultimately pretty silly, but well worth giving your time to if you are in the mood for a light hearted horror evening.

Breaking Bad never made murder this much fun! This innovative, intelligent thriller dark comedy with a dash of sci fi traps its characters in a never ending story full of false leads and false endings that takes the audience along for the ride. In a story that's nothing but twists, the audience finds itself trapped in the same puzzle as its characters, and even ways out are not what they seem.

The clever premise is misleadingly straightforward: Femme fatale Skyler gets herself sent to rehab to recruit a crystal meth cook, where she meets college boy chemistry student Milton who got busted for running his own meth lab. Skyler has her hands on 100 lbs of pseudoephedrine and has one day to make it into meth for a multimillion dollar payday. Well actually, her boyfriend Russell has the pseudo. And Russell's psychotic. With trust issues. But on the plus side, he has a plan to break them out and a secluded cabin for the cook. Yet it turns out that making the meth is easy. Getting back out and cashing in on the payday--that's the hard part, a dilemma the characters struggle endlessly to resolve.

What makes the storytelling so much fun is that the audience knows from the beginning that in this somewhat conventional storyline, nothing is what it seems, sharing in the characters' bewilderment to figure out what's really going on. The story starts on the morning of the cook, where Milton finds a video he's already made to explain to himself what's really going on. As he unravels the mystery of his own circumstances, the characters are trapped together and the audience is trapped with them.

Filmmakers Paxson (director) and Guzelian (writer) are a husband-and-wife team who've built their resumes in Los Angeles developing Disney entertainment. They wanted to make a movie of their own and for it to be a departure. They met the cast in New Zealand while filming a season of the Power Rangers. A group collaboration from the beginning, Guzelian wrote the story with input from Paxson, specifically for their New Zealand friends. Filmed in three locations around Los Angeles, the film has an indy feel, limited budget but professionally produced with substance (story and characters) over flash. Tennet plays Skyler with layers of subtlety, and Cawthorne portrays Milton's evolving confusion convincingly, a nerd who's made bad life decisions. Boyland can't quite portray Russell to be as deeply psychotic as he's supposed to be; the actor seems like just too nice of a guy. Special mention to Holloway who took the over-the-top Archer and even went beyond that.

I had various friends and blogs recommend this movie to me, but I kept avoiding it, mostly because the title and poster made me certain that I would be getting just another brain-dead horror movie gore-fest. Boy, was I wrong.

What I got instead was one of the best low-budget indie movies that I've seen in years. I know, I know. It feels weird to be lumping those kind of lavish praises on a movie like this, but what can I say? This movie took a somewhat bitter and skeptical viewer like me and converted me into a believer with an incredibly ambitious and clever script, three really solid performances from the lead actors, and a fun sense of style that somehow made the movie feel both classic and modern at the same time.

I really don't want to give away anything specific when it comes to the plot and story. It's much better going into it cold and knowing as little as possible. It's a blend of film noir, horror, science fiction, and black comedy and yet somehow comes together almost perfectly, blending and juggling all these familiar genres into its' own incredibly unique and distinctive vision. I watch a lot of movies and often feel like I've seen it all and know where most stories are headed, but this is a movie that really keeps you on your toes. The script was always one step ahead of me and had me guessing right up until the very end.

In general, the look and production values are quite good, but you could definitely feel some of the movie's lack of budget and resources in some areas. But I found myself way too swept up in the story to ever really mind or care. And the three main leads, who are playing very familiar and almost cartoonish archetype characters, do an incredible job of making these characters come across as totally believable and real human beings.

This is an amazingly underrated and totally overlooked little movie. I highly recommend it.