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Horror comedy isn’t a new invention but it seems that lately every new film that combines the two has a hunger to be more, reaching above both genres in an attempt to grab something that has yet to be explored. More often than not, the thing they are searching for is a way to make their movie stand out, trying so hard to be different that neither the horror nor the comedy are very effective, leaving us wondering what exactly the filmmakers were attempting to do. It appears that nobody these days can (or maybe they simply aren’t willing) to embrace the glorious absurdity of the horror comedy for what it is and in an attempt to do more, it ends up doing less. Gone are the days of Shawn Of The Dead or The Cabin In The Woods, two films who knew what they were and easily exceeded expectations.
source: RLJE Films
Written and directed by Matthew John Lawrence (Uncle Peckerhead), Bloody Axe Wound is an attempt at a horror comedy that not only pays homage to the slasher films of the 80’s (the killer wears a mask to hide his scarred face, does murder with a machete, and has a horrible summer camp origin story), it also tries to inject a family dynamic where the daughter wants to take over her father’s work and he isn’t having it. Leading the cast is Sari Arambulo as Abbie Bladecut (the aforementioned daughter, yes that’s her character’s real name), Billy Burke as Roger Bladecut (the serial killer father who probably misses having to deal with all those sparkling Twilight vampires), and Molly Brown as Sam Crane (Abbie’s love interest and all around rebellious teen drummer of a local punk band). We also get the smallest of cameos from Jeffrey Dean Morgan (who produced the film) as Butch Slater, the new horror killer on the block).
It Is Possible To Try Too Hard
As the film starts we get to see Butch (Morgan) putting in work with an axe as Abbie (Arambulo) watches on wearing a wolf mask. The 80’s slasher vibes are strong in this scene but the overtone of comedy they tried to inject just seemed like a miss. We quickly learn that the murder was being watched on a VHS (for you youngsters out there, that is how we used to consume our movies at home) and that the family business is packaging their real life kills as entertainment. It’s never made clear whether or not the people who buy them know that it’s real or if they just think they are watching a horror movie but it really doesn’t matter in the end, it was the least appealing part of the entire endeavor. Dad Roger (Burke) catches a glimpse of the wolf mask on the tape and stresses to Abbie he doesn’t want her doing that and she takes that opportunity to let him know she wants in on the family business. From there on it’s basically her trying to prove herself while he disapproves of her every move.
source: RLJE Films
Arambulo did a great job as an angsty teen trying to find her way in the world while striving to impress her father at the same time she’s discovering things about herself. Her performance was believable among the madness that was this horror comedy even if some of the dialogue was hard to swallow as coming from a child. Molly Brown as Sam (Abbie’s love interest and all around rebel) did an equally good job bringing her character to life. She always seemed to have the answers and her journey was probably my favorite. Again, they put words in her mouth that no self-respecting teen musician would say but hey, that’s okay. The movie really could have used more Jeffrey Dean Morgan, he only had two quick cameos and of course in that time he was the most exciting thing on screen. The man was made to play the part of a demented madman. As it were, Billy Burke stole the show. He played everything right down the middle and through all that makeup, it was impressive. He is always solid and this was no different.
Roll The Credits
In the end there were a lot of things going for this movie, the great 80’s vibe, the solid acting, but the best part of it all was the music. The soundtrack is absolutely killer (puns har har) and would be very easy to jam out to on any occasion (if you’re a fan of heavier music). As far as the film itself though, it was a big swing and when you take big swings you often have big misses, this was one of them. The ideas were there but the writing couldn’t back them up or bring them to a place where we could fully care about anything that was happening. That’s the risk of a horror comedy, too much is always too much and takes away from the piece as a whole.
I’m not sorry I gave this movie a watch, it was fun and distractions are always welcome, but as far as being entertained it just didn’t do it for me. The plot was paper thin even with all the layers they tried to pile on and the story just seemed uninspired even though they tried to make it seem like it was. They did too much or maybe not enough but in the end I didn’t care about these people. If they could have gotten me to buy into the lore sooner, then maybe it would have stood a chance and that ending (as great as it actually was) might have landed. If enough people watch, maybe they will make a sequel and learn from what they didn’t do so well here. They did leave it open for more (as most good horror films do) and I for one am always on board for more horror. You can currently stream this on AMC+ and Shudder, so give it a try, just don’t expect too much. That was my mistake.
Bloody Axe Wound is currently streaming on AMC+ and Shudder.
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