As horror fans we put up with a lot; plot holes, unlikely story developments and twists, poor characterisation, to name a few. If, like me, you are a big fan of the low-budget, indie end of the genre, you are frequently far more forgiving and will wade through hours of distinctly sub-par fare to find that one indie gem, the one glimmer of creativity that keeps you coming back for more. Sadly for the producers of ‘Blood Runs Cold’, this is not that gem.
The plot is typical slasher stuff. Successful artist Winona (Hanna Oldenburg) arranges a stay at an isolated, snow-bound cabin to help her focus on her next piece. After meeting up with some friends they all head back to the cabin for a party, unaware of the axe-wielding maniac stalking their every move.
Apparently filmed on a budget in the region of five thousand dollars, ‘Blood Runs Cold’ follows the same template as almost every other slasher movie. Whilst this is not necessarily a bad thing – you don’t seek out a slasher movie for its narrative complexity – a number of strange decisions crush much of the enjoyment to be found here.
First of all, the director uses a number of arty camera angles and close-ups. Any production made on such a miniscule budget deserves kudos for its dedication to the cause but there are many similar films that are not as badly framed and shot as this. Many scenes are badly lit even in daylight, there are many lingering off-centre shots of random things that make no narrative sense, and even shots of the Swedish wilderness (which is undeniably beautiful) are out of focus and blurred; when even the most poorly trained photographer can successfully capture such stunning landscapes, this is unforgiveable.
Secondly, the production is an entirely Swedish affair yet the story is established early on as taking place in the US. Why? The cast are all Swedish, the location clearly is Scandinavian in origin, and even the cars used are European. Horror audiences are accepting of productions from all nations and there are an increasing number of films flying the flag for Scandinavian horror so it seems a very strange decision to make. The dialogue is entirely in English but only one character even attempts an American accent and even he cannot hide the Swedish pronunciation. It’s largely arbitrary to set it in America at all; it is never referenced after the opening scene and it seems that zero attempt has been made to make it appear so.
Thirdly, and perhaps most serious of all, the script is awfully weak. Dialogue is stilted and highly unrealistic with characters reacting in ways that make little sense. The continuity is shockingly poor too: cars left with doors open are mysteriously locked tight minutes later; night turns to day as characters go through doors; two different characters clearly see the killer but forget about it immediately; one character discovers a huge trail of blood and gore in the house and responds by simply mopping the floor; the list goes on. It feels at points like director Sonny Laguna knows he doesn’t really have enough material to make a complete movie and, even at one hour fifteen minutes, it feels baggy and stretched – there are three different scenes, adding up to a screen time just under five minutes, of male members of the cast going to the toilet outside!
In amongst the flab and the tedium, there are some glimmers of a good idea. The killer is suitably creepy and well designed; leading lady Oldenburg is a reasonably engaging presence, even if she does struggle with the necessary last-act histrionics. The rest of the cast are hampered by distinctly one-note characters although Karl (Andreas Rylander) is the most oily and irritating character I have seen for a very long time. Some of the VFX are impressive despite the tiny budget – one death involving a beheading is extremely well realised, and the fact that any injury creates a brief plume of steam in the frozen conditions is a nice touch.
As a horror fan I feel genuinely bad about giving ‘Blood Runs Cold’ the panning it deserves. The killer warrants a better vehicle, as does the film’s leading lady. It has small budget and I applaud Laguna and his team for managing to get their film to the screen at all. However, there can be no doubt that their concept needed more gestation time, more preparation and a lot more post-shoot quality control. Horror movies, slashers especially, are often subject to plot holes big enough for a truck to pass through, but ‘Blood Runs Cold’ just feels lazy and rushed. Whatever charitable feelings I have towards this micro-budget horror, there simply can be no excuses; an increasing number of horror directors are doing far more within similar budgets. If you desperately want low budget horror, seek out the impressive ‘Sweatshop’. If you desperately want Scandinavian horror, seek out the vastly superior ‘Cold Prey’ or ‘Dead Snow’. Only if you are desperate should you seek out ‘Blood Runs Cold’. Sorry guys – better luck next time.
1.5 / 5
Dr_Catsu – (Follow me on Twitter @Dr_Catsu)
