Images courtesy of Shudder Films
Abbie Bladecut (Sari Arambulo) seems like the average teenager. She goes to high school, works a part-time job at a local video store, and has a complicated relationship with her dad. However, the more you learn about her, the more you realize Abbie is anything but typical. While many teenage girls argue with their parents about their curfew or wardrobe choices, Abbie has an unusual gripe with her adopted father: he won’t let her take over for him as the town’s local serial killer. He’s Roger Bladecut (Billy Burke), who’s notorious for killing teens and selling VHS tapes of the grisly murders at the video store where Abbie’s employed. After he begrudgingly lets Abbie take the axe, Abbie realizes it’s more than she bargained for when Roger starts ordering her to kill her friends—including her huge crush, Sam (Molly Brown). Does this coming-of-age film meets Friday the 13th actually “slay?” It depends on your expectations going into Bloody Axe Wound.
As a high school comedy, it somewhat succeeds. Abbie’s interactions with Sam are charming to watch as they both navigate the awkwardness of teenage love, punctuated by the uncomfortableness of Abbie’s predicament with her dad. While they’re mostly surface-level characters, they emanate a “forbidden love” vibe that’s fun to watch, albeit not deep. The supporting cast also has its own appeal; Abbie’s friends are equally two-dimensional, but add the most personality to the film. In particular, Glenn (Eddie Leavy) is stellar comedic relief as Abbie’s coworker, confidante, and overly enthusiastic friend. That said, while the film has its funny moments, humor is never its priority, leading to some missed opportunities.
As a horror film, Bloody Axe Wound has a self-reflexive approach, paying homage to the modern slasher film in fairly overt ways. Roger’s character is a hybrid of many of the most iconic slashers at once: He has the summer camp origin story of Jason Vorhees, the disfigurement of Freddy Krueger, and the dead mom complex of Norman Bates—all with a smattering of Leatherface strewn about. Nevertheless, this amalgamation of “everything horror” somehow amounts to nothing; Roger’s ultimately a run-of-the-mill killer with nothing unique to contribute. In the film’s opening, the ever-charismatic Jeffrey Dean Morgan makes a cameo as the slasher Butch Slater, and it’s a shame how under-utilized he is. Morgan’s few moments of screen time are more interesting than anything Burke brings to the table in an unfortunate combination of bland dialogue, uninspired acting, and boring aesthetic choices.
Equally disinteresting is Bloody Axe Wound’s half-hearted attempt at world-building. The film tries to convey the city in which it takes place as slightly separate from reality, with its own set of rules. The problem, however, is that it never clearly defines the rules. For instance, what is inspiring Roger to make certain high schoolers that he finds in the yearbook his next victim? Traditionally, slashers tend to take out teens with loose morals first, but that unspoken rule doesn’t seem to fly in this world and his selections seem random. This wouldn’t be an issue, except for the fact that Roger keeps imploring Abbie to “obey the rules,” which begs the question to anyone watching it, “what rules?” Sure, they establish that a slasher’s identity should always be hidden, but it seems like it’s more than that.
Bloody Axe Wound is both mediocre as a comedy and a horror film. Had there been more character development and bolder choices made, it might have been a more entertaining film. Instead, it coasts along as a just-okay, forgettable horror film with aspirations larger than itself. At times, it has the essence of young adult horror films like the Fear Street trilogy, except those have a stylish approach and tight execution that this film lacks. It’s entertaining enough to pass the time, but could have been far better.
- Andrea Riley