The offerings of the considerably small niche of horror movies set during a war or another are always welcome in my world, despite most of them being lacklusters - "Blood Vessel", for the most part, is exactly that. Coming from Justin Dix, a special effects aficionado turned writer and director, "Blood Vessel" offers entertainment in the form of 80's best aesthetical traditions, and very little besides that. For extra bonus points, one must take this shlock horror not seriously.
It is 1945 and the middle of the ocean. A real ragtag team - including a tough but righteous Russian sniper, a moronic Englishman, an American cook, an Australian soldier, a useless captain, an all-motherly Alyssa Sutherland, and more - are hopelessly drifting on a raft to a certain death, but a chance at survival presents itself in a form of an eerie, silently drifting German minesweeper. As we tag along our indubitably stereotypical team of heroes on the mysterious Nazi ship, the excursion takes us through ~40 minutes of slow building of a shallow story that has frequent issues, before it kicks the gear into ~40 minutes of a tad bit more entertaining horror feast - none of which is scary. Frankly, "Blood Vessel" is almost entirely void of tension, and the turns of the plot are more likely to elicit a dry response rather than a surprising one.
One thing that "Blood Vessel" has going for it, is the fact that its maker knows and loves practical special effects. Though a low budget feature and playing out as such, among a little confusing action scenes there are mildly satisfying 80's kind of gore and make-up galore. Set designs are also quite fine, but cinematography's uneven and the original score - a highly typical one, not counting the chanting Nazi occult jingles. However, perhaps the most awesome part of "Blood Vessel" is comedy value. Some of it is intentional, some is not, but either way Teplov (Alex Cooke), Sinclair (Nathan Philipps), and even the villain will make up for some amusement, especially if You're not watching it alone.
The lovers of modern shlocks reminiscent of the 80's, and fans of horror movies set in wartimes, such as myself, can try and find some fun in "Blood Vessel", preferably with a friend and a beer. My rating: 4/10.
It is 1945 and the middle of the ocean. A real ragtag team - including a tough but righteous Russian sniper, a moronic Englishman, an American cook, an Australian soldier, a useless captain, an all-motherly Alyssa Sutherland, and more - are hopelessly drifting on a raft to a certain death, but a chance at survival presents itself in a form of an eerie, silently drifting German minesweeper. As we tag along our indubitably stereotypical team of heroes on the mysterious Nazi ship, the excursion takes us through ~40 minutes of slow building of a shallow story that has frequent issues, before it kicks the gear into ~40 minutes of a tad bit more entertaining horror feast - none of which is scary. Frankly, "Blood Vessel" is almost entirely void of tension, and the turns of the plot are more likely to elicit a dry response rather than a surprising one.
One thing that "Blood Vessel" has going for it, is the fact that its maker knows and loves practical special effects. Though a low budget feature and playing out as such, among a little confusing action scenes there are mildly satisfying 80's kind of gore and make-up galore. Set designs are also quite fine, but cinematography's uneven and the original score - a highly typical one, not counting the chanting Nazi occult jingles. However, perhaps the most awesome part of "Blood Vessel" is comedy value. Some of it is intentional, some is not, but either way Teplov (Alex Cooke), Sinclair (Nathan Philipps), and even the villain will make up for some amusement, especially if You're not watching it alone.
The lovers of modern shlocks reminiscent of the 80's, and fans of horror movies set in wartimes, such as myself, can try and find some fun in "Blood Vessel", preferably with a friend and a beer. My rating: 4/10.