Blood Symbol

THE STORY: This is one of those cheap low budget movies that might have been, just might have been kind of good. It was missing a few things that could have helped it....like good acting, a little tension and maybe a better story. Well, the story wasn't too bad...it was typical for a low budget horror flick...but the way it was done made me wish the film would just hurry up and be over.

As the movie begins we see two women being chased through the woods by hooded figures. They are captured, scream and then the introduction begins. Next thing you know, we're watching Tracy, a teenage girl, play baseball. Tracy has nightmares about graveyards and a strange man in a black coat. I wish I could add a little bit more about Tracy, but honestly, that's about it at this point in the movie.

As the movie drones on we have to listen to some of the driest dialogue I can remember. Tracy has a boyfriend Steve, and some friends Brenda and Judy. Brenda and Judy don't figure into this too much, so don't worry about them. Tracy begins to see the man in the black coat following her around, but her friends tell her not to worry about it. We also learn that Tracy's parents are away on a trip and won't be back for more than FIVE weeks! Part of Tracy's nightmares involve a strange symbol. Intrigued by this she does a little research and finds that the symbol is from some wierdass devil cult. The followers of this cult believe that if they drink the blood of a chosen one they will gain immortality. the symbol will appear on the back of the neck of a chosen one. If the chosen person dies before the blood is drunk, the magic is gone. Once again, I wish I could add more detail, but the way this knowledge is presented in the movie makes it so uninteresting I really didn't care.

After another nightmare about the man in black, Tracy calls Steve and asks him to come over to her house to keep her company. Before Steve arrives, Tracy's lights go out and the man in black attacks her. Suprisingly, Tracy puts up a good fight. Steve arrives and together they manage to kill the intruder. Tracy is wounded in the leg and shaken, but otherwise she's okay. Then the movie moves into four weeks later. Tracy still has nightmares about this man in black. Apparently he was the high priest of the devil cult, but that was about a hundred years ago. In her latest nightmare, Tracy sees the murder of the two women from the beginning of the movie. The first one that was sacrificed was not a chosen one. The second woman bore the sign, but died before her blood could be imbibed by the cult members. The high priest guy pours the dead woman's blood into a cup and in it he see a vision of Tracy. Then, still dreaming and in a graveyard, the man in black reaches out and kills Tracy. The end.

Yes, I'm serious! The end! What a freaking waste! I cannot believe that this movie was even released! There's no payoff. That's not suprising since all of the characters are flatter than Aunt Jemima's pancakes! no one has a personality! Tabula Rasa! I should have guessed that when I saw Tracy's room...there's nothing in it except her bed, nightstand, baseball bat, a lamp and a clock. How many teenagers do you know that have such bland rooms? No posters, no pictures? now, this movie was made in Canada and I think the story was meant to have occurred in Canada....and Greywizard warned me that Canadian films aren't the best in the world...but this movie is a downright shame. I don't mind if a movie is bad, but this one broke Dr. Freex's rule to the T..."Never be boring." It was. It also broke one of my rules...."If you're going to make a movie that sucks at least make it entertaining and suck, that way some enjoyment may be derived from it!" (hmmmm...actually that's just a wordy rephrasing of Dr. Freex's rule, isn't it?)

Best Lines: "Yeah, its not as if he grabbed her derriere or something!"- Brenda teases Steve abut the man following Tracy.

1.) Life sure is...orange in this movie. Actually, I think its the cheap film quality, but the opening sequence didn't look bad. Why does the rest of this movie look so fuzzy and orange?

2.) What kind of school is this? Theres like only one teacher and only thirty students! While the man in black follows Tracy through the halls threes not a student, janitor or teacher to be seen! Not to mention that its the darkest school in all creation! The hall lights are on yet it looks like midnight in there! Fast Times at [unwrite]ing Creepy High.

3.) I'm going to have to throw in a big bull[unwrite] penalty on this. After taking Tracy out Steve walks her home but says he has to go because he has to get up in the morning. Dialogue indicated earlier that Tracy's parents are away and won't be back for more than a month! Tracy wants him to come in, yet this guy leaves? Is he mad? What guy wouldn't leap on that chance? Come on, two young high school kids? Right. Odds are they'd be doing the humpty-hump within an hour in real life.

4.) ALL RIGHT! Instead of the normal reaction of movie females when assaulted by a creepy madman, Tracy stabs hers assailant with a pair of scissors and then finding her baseball bat begins to bash his friggin' head in! Even when he stabs her in the leg, injuring her she continues to at least fight back. I don't mean any sissy-girl fighting back, either. Whether she is to win or lose, Tracy at least tried to smash his skull in.

NUDITY AND SEX: None....and there should have been.

HUH?: Doesn't anyone have any parents in this film. Okay, Tracy's parents are away, but Steve's parents? No where to be found. Now, at the very least I would think his parents would show up after he and Tracy kill the weirdo stalking her. The police are there....didn't they contact Steve's folks?

That's it? The end really pissed me off! It just ended!

THE TALLY: If you see this in your local video store there is only one reason to rent it...to see how boring and sucky it really is. The bad part is, with a little rewriting and a more effort from the actors it might have been at least a two devil head movie. how can this be? Making a movie takes more knowledge and skill then I probably have (but I knows what I likes) but I think I could have at least made this fun to watch. Aaaargh...this flick has taken enough of my time!

For ruining what could have at least been a mediocre but fun movie and slapping on a bull[unwrite] ending I now sentence this movie to the pot of Lucifer's ever cooking chitterlings (Chit lin's to you southerners) Where it must soak in the foul smelling intestines of demonic pigs and suck up the toxic fumes for all eternity!