Bloodlines. 2007. ThinkFilm. Reviewed by Brian Kirst
“This here’s the rules. There ain’t none. Y’all fight to the death. Entertain me!” – Billy Bob
Bloodlines is not a film for those whose country memories are defined by the sweet sound of their grandparents’ voices chiming “Y’all come back now, ya’ hear!” Nope. This is a film for those who thrill to the knowledge that the rural experience can provide rampant bloodshed as chronicled in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Wrong Turn, The Hills Have Eyes, Deliverance and Walter Hill’s Southern Comfort. A mild sense of humor might be a good requirement for enjoyment here, also. From the get go director/writer Stephen Durham and cohorts let us know that this bloodily backwoods tale will take place “in the sticks of Kentucky” and that those with a strong sense of Southern pride and a hatred for stereotypical down home character assassinations may have to look elsewhere for their entertainment jollies.
Bloodlines‘ over-the-top humor is actually nicely down played by an attractive cast (well -except for those playing the mutant inbred members of the clan) who take their characters seriously. This allows this film to amuse and provide some genuine shocks and scares at the same time.
Durham and co-writer Tricia Liebegott craft the twisted tale of college bound Amber Strickland (a resourceful, determined Grace Johnston). After her car stalls on a side road, Amber finds herself kidnapped and held hostage by an inbred, sadistic family with sexually atrocious activities in mind. What the family, led by proud son Billy Bob Hackford (a convincing, entitled Jason Padgett), doesn’t count on is that Amber was raised with the motto “the strength is in the Strickland”. As her alarmed brothers (nicely determined Douglas Tait and Dorian Kingi) race to save her, Amber plans her own escape with a haunted, fellow prisoner. When she and the hysterical Jenny (a beautiful, compellingly distraught Tracy Kay) are found out, Amber soon discovers that things are worse than she imagined. The female prisoners are paired up in a makeshift arena in the family barn and forced to fight to the death. The survivor is then given the entitled position of Hackford family breeder and forced to mate with the drunken, savage Billy Bob. A jealous sister (the snappish, forceful Molly Berg), psychotic fellow prisoner (the wild eyed, crazily effective Lesa Mason) and flesh loving half crazed mutant kin also provide stumbling blocks to Amber’s ultimate goal of revenge filled escape.
On top of their rollicking seductive pace and nicely underplayed broad humor, Durham and co-director Masao Kingi also deliver all the blood licking, cranial impaling, neck snapping, gut slitting action one could wish for. While the prosthetics worn by the actors playing the physically mauled Hackford brothers are obviously masks, they are also surprising effective and occasionally stomach churning. Durham and Liebegott do stumble a bit with an overly earnest ending proclamation from the strengthened Jenny, but overall this is an enjoyable time waster and should have backwoods horror freaks clinking their beer glasses and dancing in their jean cut-offs with pure pleasure and delight.
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