'Blood Creek'

Ence1981

Not sure how a filmmaker as prolific as Joel "Lost Boys" Schumacher could make his return, in essence, to the vampire horror subgenre only to find his finished product, "Blood Creek," tossed into second-run theaters in a handful of locations with virtually no heads up to the popluace. (As of this writing, the IMDb listing is still "Town Creek," and not "Blood Creek.") Lionsgate apparently thought they had a marketing nightmare on their hands... which may indeed be the case.

This imperfect yet original thriller deals with such batshit insane subject matter as undead Nazis, demonic horses, Viking runestones, suits of bone armor, human sacrifice, and the beginning of an occult war that Germany began back in the 1930s. So okay, perhaps it's easy to see, at least on the surface, why this might have been a hard sell. It's just too bad most horror fans won't get a chance to see this one-of-a-kind original in the wake of so many remakes, reboots, and sequels. At least somebody had their thinking cap on when conceiving this thing... or at the very least were taking some heavy duty crazy pills. I mean, did I mention that a Nazi "vampire" (for lack of a better word) possesses a horse that nearly kills our protagonists like some kind of man-eating beast? Or that he later hammers a hole in his forehead before tearing off his face and growing a third eye? WTF?!

True, "Blood Creek" isn't for everyone, which probably explains why it will find its audience primarily on the DVD circuit even had its release not been as top secret as Germany's occult activities during WWII. The concept is so insane, so bereft of screaming teenagers, so utterly lacking in irony despite the absolute insanity splashed upon the screen, it's bound to turn a lot of viewers off. To make matters worse, a tedious black and white prologue complete with unnecessary voice-over stains the beginning of the film, hinting too much at the later goings-on when it would have been more fun to learn the truth as the film surges forward. This seems like a studio afterthought, tacked on gracelessly before an otherwise inspired and fast-moving siege flick.

If you want a fresh take on "vampires" and aren't yet tired of evil Germans circa 2009, this promotionless horror flick should fit the bill despite its issues. Once the pace kicks up, it never relents, and the mythology it creates is interesting albeit completely daft. What's here certainly falls into the "Night of the Living Dead" formula (a house under siege by supernatural forces), but with an off-the-reservation twist. Check it out... if you can find it.

score 7/10

Ence1981 20 September 2009

Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw2130249/