Weekly Review -- Halloween happenin'

Blood Trails (2006) -- I discovered this film by running into the link to its official site, and I am glad I did. In the era when torture is often the core of a horror story and sadism actually pens "scripts", it is refreshing to see a horror film which puts an emphasis on atmosphere and places all events in context of the on-screen slaughter. Bike messenger Anne (Rebecca R. Palmer) leaves the city with her boyfriend Michael (Tom Frederic) for a romantic mountain trip, partly to reignite their relationship and partly due to guilt -- a few days back, she had a one night stand with Chris (Ben Price), a stranger who also happened to introduce himself as a police officer. However, their getaway turns gruesome when Chris shows up and starts a killing spree... I loved the use of the hand-held camera, which provided that much more realism, and the grey, steely anguish of the proceedings reminded me of the equally moody High Tension. Palmer is fantastic as Anne, who attempts to survive an against-all-odds situation. Her agony is not only seen in her expressive face, but also felt in her broken voice and tense body language. Price is very threatening as Chris; with one single line of dialogue, he manages to establish the character as a seriously disturbed individual. His neutral facial expressions only serve to further show Chris's psychotic persona. Some of the scenes are hard to stomach, but they are not there only for the sake of violence; rather, they are there to emphasize the ultimate battle of wills. The screenplay is relatively good, but does contain some illogical gaps. I could not understand why the first driver Anne encountered was in disbelief about Chris following her -- she was not exactly ranting and raving -- and I still do not know where that emergency helicopter ended up. Also, while her predicament elicits sympathy, Anne is not the smartest of characters -- without spoiling anything, I will say that I found myself yelling the clichéd 'don't do that' and 'don't go there' quite often at the screen. What Blood Trails lacks in logic, though, it makes up for in the psychological terror of its grim intensity, which makes it a true gem. Watch it if you have the chance.

7/10