slayrrr666
"The Legend of Bloody Jack" is an incredibly entertaining if mildly flawed slasher.**SPOILERS**Going on a camping trip, friends Ray, (Travis Quentin Young) George, (Jon Kowalski) Dawn, (Erica Hoag) Tom, (Josh Evans) Shelly, (Alicia Klein) Nick, (Craig Bonacorsi) and Lisa, (Jessica Szabo) head out into the woods in order to celebrate all of their anniversaries as well as carry on about where they're going. As they stay together longer and begin to see that there's a whole series of problems between the couples that is about to ruin their friendships. While they are going on, they start to realize that something is off about the trip, and noticing that several of them have gone missing, it becomes apparent that a strange serial killer is out in the woods hunting and killing them one-by-one, forcing them to have to work together to get out of the woods alive before they're completely killed off.The Good News: There was a lot of good stuff in this one. One of the biggest pluses is the fact that this one employs a large amount of stalking scenes that the killer has, making for a very well-paced film in the middle segments and towards the end, as it continuously moves forward and has a lot going on in it. The opening in the woods, where the killer is resurrected, is one of the best examples, due to the ritual employed, as well as the manner of the killer who smartly has one of the creepiest character traits ever since he uses a rock to sharpen his blade while off-screen with the screeching strike being the only sound of his advancement, and it's a fantastic tool. It's done often to build suspense, and is a great idea on its own, so it works twice as effectively. Other big forest-set stalking scenes include a great one where he stalks after a witness to a murder, coming close on several occasions and allowing for some nice chasing to occur through the surroundings, the stalking of a forest ranger after the discovery of a previous victim's remains strewn about, and the superb scene where, upon venturing into the line of fire to retrieve a gun, have to navigate the area carefully due to the killer's presence there. These are all absolutely great stalking scenes that are really much better than expected and make it all that much more enjoyable. When it gets into the action mix, it's just as good. From a great confrontation with a victim bound-and-tied up to a tree as well as one of the victims being caught in a bear-trap, complete with close-ups of the wound, manage to get really exciting with the mixture of action and suspense into the proceedings, and along with a great brawl near the end on and around a car, there's some big scenes in here to perk things up. Even better, though, is the main highlight sequence where he attacks them in the cabin, from a series of brawling and chasing through the bathroom into the bedroom, a tense searching through the room with a victim hiding under the bed, and then the big chase back outside that result in several deaths at once. The film's high body count means a lot of kills, and since most are quite gory, it's another big plus. From decapitations to a series of limbs hacked off, axes impaled in the back, stomach, chest and shoulders, plus several sharp impalings and the rather bloody bear-trap mentioned above, it has its fair share for the gorehounds. The last plus, which could also be said to be its biggest flaw, is the ending twist. Some might call it creative and genius, while others can say it's lazy and stupid, and depending on where you fall, both are right. It's a personal choice, not one based on the film's virtues, so the others are its good points.The Bad News: There weren't a whole lot of problems here. One of the biggest ones is that the film gives absolutely nothing about the killer at all. Early on, there's mention of an individual that supposedly is raised through the incantations, but not is a name given, how he came about being cursed, or what his purpose is at all. Even the name is merely an assumption based on the film's title, and that's the most information we have on him beyond his behavior tactics and weapon-of-choice mentioned above. We basically know nothing, and beyond that, having a turtleneck come up to cover his mouth is the zenith of his identification-hiding, making him a completely clueless and entirely non-threatening villain, a major flaw in a slasher film. The film manages to get a little tedious in the beginning with all of the relationship woes that the couples are going through, which aren't all that interesting and manage to make it a chore to get into, another problem that such films shouldn't have. Another one is a sequence where a motorist stops and sarcastically implies that they're such is a joke, commenting on it in a jokey manner that completely neutralizes the entire situation from the get-go and doesn't generate anything at all. The last issue could be the big one, the finale. Some might like it, some might hate it, but regardless, it's still something to get over in this one, but since it's not a universal issue and rather a personal one, the other flaws here are the biggest ones.The Final Verdict: While some may be up-in-arms over certain parts of this, it's still one of the better entries in the genre and is very watchable. Give this one a shot if you're into low-budget slashers or have an affinity for those that dare to be different, while those who are more traditional should heed caution.Rated R: Graphic Violence, Graphic Language, Nudity and a mild Sex Scene
curt_seavers
Starring an unknown cast which seem likely to remain that way, this "film" is yet another cheap slasher flick which amazes me how this was released. I have no problem with horrors and slasher flicks in particular, in fact they are my favourites. But when they are done THIS BAD, it really does take the monkey and its no wonder the genre has such a hard time. The story is as clichéd and without imagination as possible with a bunch of people in a cabin out in the woods being slashed and hacked up by this zombie/ghost guy. Its not the story that sucks the most, its the atrocious acting and dialouge, home made directing quality and an awful soundtrack. Not to mention laughable effects and some incredibly lazy film making - these morons are outside in clear daylight yet we are meant to believe it's night?? What the hell was the director thinking with this move? What, he had only one day to film all this in? He was scared of the dark? ( Is hilarious seeing a cop walking around in pure daylight with a torch acting as if its pitch black, though)I guess the positive side for the actors is they look like people who work in the local supermarket so at least they could possibly escape from this film without ever being noticed. Im sure one of the "teens" plays bingo down the local pub - but she's 40-45.Anyway, good for a laugh but just another waste of film and time.
hottdogg1974
The Legend of Bloody Jack was exactly what we were looking for! A weekend midnight movie to have a party with. Don't get me wrong this was not a Hollywood big budget horror movie starring one of the handful of horror actors we always see in these movies. This is akin to the drive in movies I went to see when I was a kid, the sorority slasher films or the walls are bleeding films...I loved those movies, they were the perfect combination of scares, a psycho killer, blood, women and not taking themselves so seriously that they become pretentious. I, and I believe others, like just being entertained and Legend comes through. There were a couple of plot points that seemed to not pay off, like the legend didn't really come across or the ending that seems like an after thought, but I thought the acting was better that most of the bottom shelf horror movies and there is a decapitation that we must have looked at ten times to see how they did it...it was great! I will definitely check out more movies from this company. If you are looking for a fun movie, a great party movie, check it out.
