Editorials
‘Blood Rage’: The Insane, Gory ’80s Slasher You Need to Watch This Thanksgiving
“That’s not cranberry sauce!”
It’s Thanksgiving season again, which means it’s time to watch Thanksgiving horror movies… right? Well, unfortunately for us horror fans, there are only a few watchable movies that include the holiday, such as the Thankskilling movies and of course, Eli Roth’s faux Thanksgiving trailer in Grindhouse.
But that’s not all.
Thanks to the wonderful Arrow Video, we have the best Thanksgiving horror movie in beautiful 2K, Blood Rage, which was released a couple years back.
Filmed in 1983, but not released until 1987, Blood Rage revolves around twin brothers, Todd and Terry. As kids, Terry murders a teen at a drive-in and Todd takes the blame. Ten years later, Todd escapes and murders start happening again.
Blood Rage is a wonderful movie, filled with over the top insanity, great Thanksgiving scenes, strange performances, and amazing gore. I could call it a “so bad its good” movie, but it goes beyond that for me. What I enjoy about the movie is while they’re trying to cash in on the slasher craze, the movie also brings in new ideas and an over the top tone that makes the movie feel a bit fresher than your standard Halloween ripoff. While we wait for Eli Roth to make Thanksgiving, I highly recommend Blood Rage for a Thanksgiving watch if you haven’t already.
Mind you, Blood Rage isn’t exactly in your face that it’s a Thanksgiving movie (certainly not as much as Trick ‘r Treat is for Halloween, for example), but you have to appreciate what we’ve got. For instance, every once in a while, the murderer will see blood and say, “It’s not cranberry sauce.” It’s a hilarious line that reminds that yes, this is indeed a Thanksgiving slasher.
As per usual, the movie does have the cliched characters that come with many cheap slasher movies, including the final girl, goofy idiots, a frat type jock, and the promiscuous young woman. But this movie also has some fairly strange, but entertaining performances from Louise Lasser and Mark Soper. Now, they aren’t exactly well-acted performances, but they allow for much more colorful characters than you usually found in ’80s slasher movies.
Louise Lasser, who plays the mother of the twins, gets a lot of focus in the movie. Lasser brings an over-the-top seriousness to the movie that somewhat fits in perfectly with the insanity. I wouldn’t really say its a bad performance, but I also wouldn’t say it was good. The way she portrays Maddy on the brink of a nervous breakdown after learning that Todd has escaped the mental institution is entertaining to watch. She spends a lot of the movie cleaning, drinking wine, sleeping, worrying, and calling a phone operator so she can reach her fiancé. One scene has Maddy sitting on the kitchen floor, grabbing handfuls of Thanksgiving leftovers and shoving them in her mouth. It’s all very weird and surreal. And you can’t help but love it.
Mark Soper’s dual performance as both Todd and Terry can be awkward at times, but Soper does do a great job separating the twin’s personalities and portraying two completely different characters. He has weird moments, such as putting lots of unnecessary emphasis on lines like, “You play tennis?”, and giving shoddy delivery on important lines such as, “He’s got to be stopped!” His performance is truly based on whether or not he’s trying at any given moment. But Soper looks like he’s having a great time, and that’s what counts for a movie such as this.
The best thing Blood Rage has to offer is unquestionably the phenomenal gore and realistic looking effects. Ed French, who also plays Bill in the film, did a great job with the kills. 90% of the deaths were impressively creative and had more to them than being simple wounds. I have to admit, I was shocked to see how realistic it all looked. They almost feel out of place in the movie, because the effects artists are the only ones who gave their 100% to the project – but I suppose that’s often the case when it comes to slashers, huh?
Blood Rage is not perfect, or even very well made, but I can’t help but love the movie. I can’t even call it a guilty pleasure. The movie is so remarkably insane that I can’t help but feel it deserves a much bigger following.
Currently, Blood Rage is available on Amazon Prime and Shudder, and you can also buy the Arrow Blu-Ray, which includes some great interviews from some of the cast, including Louise Lasser, Mark Soper, Ed French, and even Ted Raimi, who makes a small cameo in the opening.
Editorials
‘The Vampire Lestat’ Concert Event Launches New Season With The Ultimate Expression Of Fandom
There are thousands of passionate fans decked out in gothic chic and champing at the bit like feral creatures. They’re screaming for Lestat, a legendary vampire-turned-rock star, as if the entire crowd has been glamored into submission.
The entire experience is magic, but not because some supernatural thrall has been activated. What’s going on is even more special. It’s the power of the effusive fandom that’s been authentically assembled by AMC’s sublime Immortal Universe, namely Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire, now, The Vampire Lestat.
The Vampire Lestat is far from the first Anne Rice adaptation, and it’s not as if there’s been a lack of erotic vampire material for audiences to sink their teeth into. On June 2nd, during a one-night-only spectacle, New York City’s prestigious Beacon Theatre shook from Sam Reid’s bravado performance and an audience full of adoring fans who had already memorized Lestat’s songs.
It’s clear that The Vampire Lestat just hits differently than its predecessors. It’s become more than just a TV series at this point, and this opulent display of ego, swagger, and pure sex is the perfect way to premiere the new season and give back to the fans who helped make Interview with the Vampire/The Vampire Lestat such a breakout success. It’s exactly the sort of hyperbolized hedonism that would make Lestat cackle.
For all intents and purposes, AMC has successfully created the illusion that this concert/premiere is just one of the many destinations on Lestat and his band’s 54-stop tour that is simultaneously playing out on this season of television. It’s such a sophisticated and thorough level of interactive fan engagement that the audience doesn’t just understand, but also manages to accentuate through its involvement.
It’s a level of seamless synergy that’s not unlike the give-and-take relationship of vampire and victim.
Before the concert started, “LeStans” were sitting in the Beacon and flipping through a fake Rolling Stone issue with Lestat emblazoned on the cover, complete with interviews with the undead frontman inside. Other fans were admiring the vinyl pressing of Lestat’s EP as they walked past a section of undead band merch. Fandom and fantasy blur together, and it all becomes this elaborate, immersive experience. Fan celebration, erotic gothic fantasy, and a lavish rock concert transform into one beautiful thing.
To this point, AMC Global Media’s Chief Content Officer and President of AMC Studios, Dan McDermott, introduced the event by reiterating to fans, “You are the heartbeat of the series.” That’s abundantly clear on nights like this as that heartbeat collectively pulses to this performance. In terms of how AMC engages with The Vampire Lestat’s fans, it’s as bold a reinvention as the season itself.
This intuitive gamble speaks to AMC’s creativity in this department and a fandom that is eager to seize such opportunities. It’s the same innovation that led to zombie walks for The Walking Dead and real-life Los Pollos Hermanos restaurant pop-ups from Breaking Bad. It’s a great way to pump up the audience for The Vampire Lestat and then maintain that enthusiasm for the whole season.
For most series, a rock ‘n’ roll concert just doesn’t make any sense as a promotional tool. The Vampire Lestat finds itself in a very unique position where it can deliver an excellent concert at an iconic theater, but also use it to showcase The Vampire Lestat’s music by Daniel Hart (who was shredding on stage alongside Reid and the rest of their band) and, more than anything, Sam Reid’s endless charisma.
The way in which Reid feeds off of the crowd’s energy, modulating his performance and giving different sections of the Beacon life, is a perfect distillation of the series’ thoughtful relationship with its audience and how it’s become such a breakout success for AMC. AMC Studios President Dan McDermott emphasized that the fans are the reason that the show is still here and why an event like this is even possible. It’s rare to see a series in which every single cog in the machine is so perfectly attuned to its fans. Reid’s fans already cheer whenever they see him, so why not translate that to a concert setting?
It’s clear in this season of television that Reid was born to be a rock star, but it’s surreal to see him effortlessly command the stage — and the audience — at every step of the concert. He recites Shakespeare monologues and bitches out Armand between songs, all while the audience screams in support. For the duration of this concert, Reid is Lestat, and he’s given thousands of fans a memory that’s as immortal as any vampire.
Now bring on the encore and get this show on the road!
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