Wednesday, March 14, 2007

Blood Trails


While most of us Americans got over "extreme sports" about ten years ago, these Mountain Dew-inspired activities must just be catching on with horror fans in Europe. Last year's stateside release of the UK's vastly overrated "The Descent" featured extreme spelunkers fighting eunuch-bat creatures. Now Germany has dropped "Blood Trails" on us, a boring slasher film revolving around extreme mountain bikers. I can't wait for Denmark's upcoming zombie flick, "Rollerbalderz: Skate and Die!"

"Blood Trails" is a confused film that revolves around Anne (Rebecca Palmer), who may or may not have been raped by Chris (Ben Price), a guy she meets in a bar, who might be a police officer. The incident occurs while Anne was possibly attempting to cheat on Michael (Tom Frederic), a man who might be her boyfriend. I use words like "might," possibly," and "may" because "Blood Trails" never really explains any of the relationships among the characters in the film. Anne never refers to Michael as her boyfriend; she leaves with Chris with the intention of sex, although the flashbacks make it seem more like she is getting raped. And while Chris introduces himself as a cop, that angle is never established. Although I hate movies that explain every little nuance, this film leaves too much out to come to a complete solution as to what is going on in the first twenty minutes alone. "Trails" feels less like a film with a cohesive script and more like thumbing through a stranger's photo album and trying to make up stories for the unfamiliar faces within.

While mountain biking through a forest, Anne and Michael are cut off by a man covered head to toe in BMX gear, complete with helmet. But without being able to see even an ounce of his flesh, Anne somehow identifies the stranger as Chris. Immediately, Chris flies through the air on his bicycle and slits Michael's throat open with his bike's derailleur, which is so ridiculous that it's not even worth explaining why it's impossible. Then for the remainder of the film Anne rides her bicycle through the forest screaming like a maniac while managing to knock herself unconscious repeatedly and endangering the lives of anyone else she comes across.

"Blood Trails' is a very basic paint-by-the-numbers slasher film. While the cinematography has moments of unbridled excellence, it can't make up for the uninventive script. It's hard to root for a protagonist who makes so many wrong moves that it´s almost like she wants to be captured. Which could have been an ingenious plot device and would have been one of the multiple ways to have made this a better film. It's also hard to pay attention to a movie featuring a woman tearing through a forest constantly screaming at the top of her lungs without pause, only to stop during the multiple times she thankfully knocks herself out. While the filmmakers attempt to create an enigmatic villain with Chris, they could have given him more character by having him keep his helmet on. This way, there might have been the possibility of inducing a little suspense so clearly missing from this film.

While most of us Americans got over "extreme sports" about ten years ago, these Mountain Dew-inspired activities must just be catching on with horror fans in Europe. Last year's stateside release of the UK's vastly overrated "The Descent" featured extreme spelunkers fighting eunuch-bat creatures. Now Germany has dropped "Blood Trails" on us, a boring slasher film revolving around extreme mountain bikers. I can't wait for Denmark's upcoming zombie flick, "Rollerbalderz: Skate and Die!"

"Blood Trails" is a confused film that revolves around Anne (Rebecca Palmer), who may or may not have been raped by Chris (Ben Price), a guy she meets in a bar, who might be a police officer. The incident occurs while Anne was possibly attempting to cheat on Michael (Tom Frederic), a man who might be her boyfriend. I use words like "might," possibly," and "may" because "Blood Trails" never really explains any of the relationships among the characters in the film. Anne never refers to Michael as her boyfriend; she leaves with Chris with the intention of sex, although the flashbacks make it seem more like she is getting raped. And while Chris introduces himself as a cop, that angle is never established. Although I hate movies that explain every little nuance, this film leaves too much out to come to a complete solution as to what is going on in the first twenty minutes alone. "Trails" feels less like a film with a cohesive script and more like thumbing through a stranger's photo album and trying to make up stories for the unfamiliar faces within.

While mountain biking through a forest, Anne and Michael are cut off by a man covered head to toe in BMX gear, complete with helmet. But without being able to see even an ounce of his flesh, Anne somehow identifies the stranger as Chris. Immediately, Chris flies through the air on his bicycle and slits Michael's throat open with his bike's derailleur, which is so ridiculous that it's not even worth explaining why it's impossible. Then for the remainder of the film Anne rides her bicycle through the forest screaming like a maniac while managing to knock herself unconscious repeatedly and endangering the lives of anyone else she comes across.

"Blood Trails' is a very basic paint-by-the-numbers slasher film. While the cinematography has moments of unbridled excellence, it can't make up for the uninventive script. It's hard to root for a protagonist who makes so many wrong moves that it´s almost like she wants to be captured. Which could have been an ingenious plot device and would have been one of the multiple ways to have made this a better film. It's also hard to pay attention to a movie featuring a woman tearing through a forest constantly screaming at the top of her lungs without pause, only to stop during the multiple times she thankfully knocks herself out. While the filmmakers attempt to create an enigmatic villain with Chris, they could have given him more character by having him keep his helmet on. This way, there might have been the possibility of inducing a little suspense so clearly missing from this film.

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