By JOSHUA ANDERSON
Starring Tuesday Knight, Lisa Wilcox and Sam Hadden
Directed by Daniel Benedict
Written by Casi Clark and Daniel Benedict
Wild Eye Releasing
Eighties nostalgia will never die, and that’s 100 percent okay. We’ve been treated to some nice treats that exude that nostalgia. Daniel Benedict’s THE BLOODY MAN takes that nostalgia, and throws it in your face, but to what result?
Set in the 1980s, THE BLOODY MAN centers on a family that loses their mother (Lisa Wilcox). Their new stepmother (Tuesday Knight) doesn’t quite fit in with the three children. Using a spell from the insert of an action figure belonging to the youngest sibling, Michael (Sam Hadden), an entity is brought forth that sends the family into a battle for their lives and for their love.
When you want to hit horror fans right in the ’80s nostalgia cortex of the brain, you cast two performers from a beloved entry of a favorite franchise. THE BLOODY MAN features the reunion of Lisa Wilcox and Tuesday Knight – 24 years after appearing together in 1988’s A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master. Add a plethora of nods to ’80s pop culture in the form of movie posters, toys, and home decor, and you’ve settled right into the era of parachute pants and big hair.
Nostalgia isn’t all that THE BLOODY MAN has going for it. There’s a definite love for the genre in the events that occur. Sprinkles of The Monster Squad, the aforementioned Nightmare on Elm Street franchise, Goosebumps and Are You Afraid of the Dark occur during the film. The latter two properties are mentioned specifically because THE BLOODY MAN feels like a film version of an episode from those two classic kids’ horror TV shows.
This is where THE BLOODY MAN’s strength lies. It isn’t a terrifying journey deep into the psyche of the trauma of the loss of a loved one. It skims over that with a light touch in the same way that Goosebumps or AYAotD would. This creates the perfect aura for THE BLOODY MAN to be a gateway horror film for young kids. There are moments of dismemberment and blood that neither of those properties would delve into, but aside from that, it’s a story of three kids battling a bad nasty to protect their family and home. They also learn lessons of acceptance and love along the way.
The film does reach a runtime of exactly 2 hours, which could cause a kid to lose attention. (Hell, it caused me to lose attention.) The first half focuses strictly on the dynamics of the family and the story of the loss of their mother. Dialogue that hits or misses brings about laughter or groans. The inclusion of a combination of animated and live-action segments that tell the story of THE BLOODY MAN seem out of place given that they’re introduced at awkward times. The animated bits are neatly done, but the lack of rhyme and reason as to why some of the backstory is animated gets a bit confusing. Depending on the viewer, those bits can be distracting or an interesting addition.
Subtracting those who don’t find enjoyment in low-budget fare that lasts 2 hours, THE BLOODY MAN will satisfy horror fans bitten by the ’80s nostalgia bug that’s currently sweeping pop culture. And it just might become a budding horrorphile’s gateway film that helps ignite their love of the genre.
See where you stand with THE BLOODY MAN when it debuts on VOD on Tuesday, July 12th.
