This subversion of slasher films is a bloody fun time balancing a modern world with an 80s aesthetic.
PLOT: In the small town of Clover Falls, Abbie’s father, Roger Bladecut, has built an infamous legacy by capturing real-life killings on tape and selling them to eager customers, but as Abbie delves deeper into the grisly family business, she begins to wonder if it’s time to take the family tradition in a new direction.
REVIEW: Ever since Scream, one of the only ways to really do an interesting slasher is to break it down to its simplest elements and subvert them. Most of the standard tales have been done before so adding a little creativity is really the only way to stand out. But there’s a balance that must be struck in order to stick out and not fall into common pitfalls. Bloody Axe Wound does a great job of paying homage to the 80s while still providing a modern take. Does it come together in the end or does the knife only go surface level? Well…
Bloody Axe Wound follows Abbie Bladecut, the adopted daughter of a killer who wants to take after her old man. They exist in this world where not only are slasher villains real, their exploits are filmed and then sold/rented to the public. Don’t think too hard on it, as it goes more for a satirical bend than anything else. There’s even a bit of unexplained magic But she starts to question whether she has a place in the family business when she starts to develop empathy for her would-be victims. Sari Arambulo has been impressive since AP Bio so it’s great to see her flourish in a lead role. It’s not easy to walk this tight rope of satirical violence, and she does a great job with it. Abbie wants to follow in her father’s footsteps while simultaneously making friends with his would be victims. While I don’t think that element entirely works because of the disposable nature of all the friends, it’s interesting to see the moral dilemma.
High School romance is hard to pull off but they do a good job of setting up Abbie and Sam in a believable way. It’s nice to see a gay romance not treated as some kind of “gotcha” moment. I don’t tend to like characters like Sam because they feel overly written to be cool, having the exact opposite effect. Molly Brown is affable, even with the “too cool for school” quality to her. She and Sari have good chemistry and make the underdeveloped relationship on the page, really live on the screen.
Billy Burke is great as the surprisingly understated Roger Bladecut. He’s in full makeup and makes the most of it, getting his annoyance conveyed through the makeup. The design of the killer feels very Town That Dreaded Sundown and it works well enough. I liked Abbie’s Werewolf mask more as, oddly enough, it felt more original and unexpected. And despite it being a very brief cameo, Jeffrey Dean Morgan is having an absolute blast as one of the town’s other killers. If anything, I wanted more of a glimpse at some of the other killers that exist in this world, with some overlap in victims or territory or something. It was a little odd how he drops out of the narrative entirely and we don’t see more crossover killers.
This features the greatest hits of slasher settings with a high school, suburban house, and cabin, among others. The budget shows a little bit when it comes to populating the world, but it works for the story. The school feels very light on people but this could easily be attributed to the many teenage deaths that the town is known for. Speaking of kills, it’s honestly shocking how BLOODY the kills can get. They get into “how does a human body hold so much blood” territory, but if anything, that just makes it more fun. This can conflict a bit with the moments that it’s trying to go for an emotional gut punch so it can feel a bit unbalanced.
I won’t lie, the narrative didn’t come together quite how I wanted. The film feels hastily wrapped up and elements are glossed over that I felt needed more attention. If you’re not into slashers then Bloody Axe Wound is going to be a tough sell because it’s still firmly a slasher. Characters are killed unceremoniously and there’s a lot of blood. But I also see a lot of heart here too. The messaging could have been a bit better (the revelation of “they’re just like us!” falls a bit flat) but that’s not really the point of a film like this. At a light 82 minutes, it’s easy to recommend to those who are even on the fence. Because this is a smart and fun slasher
BLOODY AXE WOUND RELEASES IN SELECT THEATERS ON DECEMBER 27TH, 2024.
