One of the main reasons we here at MovieBuzzers love attending film festivals is due to the cinematic diversity between genre films. There are quite a number of people who think of “horror” as the slasher, torture porn, big breasted woman running away from their killer. But, that is not what all of us horror fans are looking for. We are looking for an amazing storyline that piques our suspenseful interest and creates a sense of dread for the film’s protagonists. Last year’s MHHFF had quite the plethora of gross films (I’m talking to you Septic Man), but also had some wonderful ones too (winking at you Cheap Thrills). However, this year’s MHHFF brought some phenomenal movies with some of the best storylines I personally have ever seen. Blood Punch is most definitely one of those films and with a run time of only 104 minutes, this was a great opening film for me to delve into.
It would be unfair to spoil this film’s quirkiness. And it is, in fact, quirky. Horrifically quirky. Sitting in the theater and realizing this film was written by the man who wrote The Tigger Movie, Cinderella III: A Twist in Time, and Lilo & Stitch 2: Stitch has a Glitch, I have to think there is some awesomely angry tension that built up in Eddie Guzelian‘s head. But this is a very good thing and the craziness of Blood Punch is something to admire (we all go a little mad sometimes, right Eddie?). A few of the critics who have seen Blood Punch have compared this film as combination of Groundhog Day and Blood Simple. Although this comparison led me to watch Blood Punch, after viewing this film, I feel quite differently. Blood Punch isn’t a mesh of those two films: it’s in a separate category of it’s own.
When the film first opens up, we meet Milton, played by Milo Cawthorne (Power Rangers RPM). He wakes up, sick to his stomach and, after vomiting in the toilet, finds something a bit peculiar in the tub: a video player with a note saying “Play Me Now.” After viewing it, Milton begins to question how he even got here and the film flashes back to the beginning of his adventure. The viewer sees how brilliant Milton is with chemistry; however, he does have his own issues like being a meth addict. He’s in a rehab facility and one day is approached by a beautiful girl named Skyler (Olivia Tennent, LotR: The Two Towers). This tough cookie of a girl lets eveyone know what her plan is: find the best methamphetamine cook in the facility, have her boyfriend Russell (Ari Boyland, Power Rangers RPM) break the two of them out, cook 85 lbs of the stuff, and deliver it to a dangerous drug dealer. Milton would rather not go along with this plan, but Skyler is far too beautiful not to follow her down this rabbit hole. It’s when they arrive at a cabin far into the woods that our story turns from a drama to a supernatural black comedy.
I don’t want to spoil too much of the story, so we will leave it at that for now. I can say that I haven’t laugh this hard at a neo noir film in quite some time and I would give part of the credit to Mr. Boyland’s comedic reactions as Skyler and Milton put Russell through hell. From what I understand, the scenes were not shot in order, so kudos to these talented actors remembering which scene came next during production. Combine this and add in how wonderful director Madellaine Paxson (Lilo & Stitch: The Series) handles the camera work (for an indie film, stellar picture angles), this film surprised me by miles. It’s independent films like these that make attendance at film festivals very important so, if you guys out there ever get a chance, check this one out for sure.
Rating: A hilarious black comedy with enough gory quirks to keep you guessing, Blood Punch socked me right in my horrified funny bone (7.5/10)
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