Yay! Another totally obscure early 80's slasher no one has ever heard of! I often wonder where they keep coming from. Are the 80's still going on in some kind of alternate dimension or something? How else would you explain the never-ending upstream of long lost slashers? Anyway, this one isn't very good, but I can honestly state that I've struggled myself through 80's slashers that are much worse and yet somehow enjoy a mild cult reputation. "Blood Song" only enjoys the status of obscurity, but at least it offers a couple of ingenious gimmicks, an occasionally unsettling atmosphere, some nasty killings, a handful of likable characters and not to forget a unique member in the cast of nobodies! Ladies and gentlemen: washed up 50's and early 60's crooner Frankie Avalon! And in all fairness, I also have to admit that the script of "Blood Song" attempts to be slightly more than just a random slasher. The plot tries to spiritually link the female protagonist Marion to a fugitive killer through a blood transfusion, nightmarish POV visions and
flute music! "Blood Song" opens with a typically clichéd horror scene, yet with an unexpected twist at the end of it. A young boy witnesses his father killing the unfaithful wife, her lover and himself. What's a poor kid to do at such a traumatizing and future-determining point in life? Well, play the wooden flute his daddy hand-made for him of course! More than 20 years later he escapes from a mental asylum, still holding on to his wooden flute, and goes on a rampage where he kills everyone who negatively criticizes the music he produces. Meanwhile, Marion witnesses all of his vile acts in visions because the killer once anonymously donated blood to her when she was involved in a car accident. A confrontation between the two is inevitable, but not before the musical killer eliminates some more random victims first! Like often the case in this genre, "Blood Song" is a lot more enjoyable if you don't ask too many questions regarding the plot's plausibility and don't bother about the multiple giant holes. All the ingenious aspects of the plot sadly vanish when the girl and the killer first stand face to face and "Blood Song" then reverts to an ordinary stalk-n-slash flick, albeit with an odd father-daughter relationship sub plot. Frankie Avalon isn't too bad, but he hasn't got many lines and what he says doesn't always make much sense. Funny detail is how the script never explains why they sent little Pauly to a mental institution in the first place. Okay, he witnessed a triple murder and suicide but he didn't commit any acts of insanity at young age himself, at least nothing hints in that direction. Since when is it customary to send traumatized kids to an asylum instead of to foster parents or orphanages? Because now it seems that he only really lost his sanity whilst being committed. A-ah, (unintentional?) food for thought in a mediocre & insignificant 80's horror movie!
Review of Blood Song
