Blood Cult (1985) * (out of 4) This film is best remembered for being the first film produced in order to go straight to VHS, which we all know became a very profitable venue for producers. In the film, sorority girls are being chopped up all over a small town so the sheriff must try and figure out what's going on. After some research he finally realizes that a Satanic cult is behind the murders. Outside the historic claims to the film there's really not too much here, although I must say that the movie, while pretty bad, never got too boring. The low budget (apparently 27-thousand) adds a certain charm to the film but the screenplay is still rather weak and we get some incredibly bad performances that don't help matters. There are several childish death scenes with all sorts of blood and guts but even the special effects aren't that special. After reading a few interviews with the director and producer it's clear that they were interested in making money and I think that's easy to see here. This really comes off as the type of film where people are wanting to make cash and there's no real effort to make anything really good. I will admit that the movie is certainly a lot better than a lot of direct to VHS titles but that's still not saying much.

**SPOILERS** The killer in the movie doesn't wait a second as we see him sneaking into a girls shower and hacking her to death taking her severed and bloodied arm as he makes his getaway. We then get this official looking prologue, as if were watching a true story, stating that a number of gruesome murders were committed in the late fall of 1985 in a small mid-western collage.Grandfatherly looking, and hearing impaired, Sheriff Ron Delboys is baffled by this murder and later when the murders of local collage students, all women, continues his run for state senator is in jeopardy with him bumbling the investigation at every turn. There's at least two times when Delboys says that they'll never be another murder as long as he's on the case and within minutes another murder happens.Finding a golden amulet at the scene of each murder the sheriff's daughter, the collage librarian, Tina finds this reference book about Withcraft indicating that the amulet is a symbol of a witches cult that originated in the early 1700 just after the Salem Witch Trials. This cult was out to avenge the 19 accused witches hung by the local townspeople back in 1692 and they went out at night killing men and women of authority and taking off with a body part. When the body parts would form a complete person they would be burned in an occult midnight bonfire ritual.You never get a handle to what's exactly happening in the movie "Blood Cult" not just because it's totally disjointed story but it's ever more outrageous and grad-school level acting especially by Charles Ellis playing the butterfingered sheriff Ron Delboys. With him getting himself into more trouble then even the on the loose killer could have gotten him into. The bumbling Sheriff Delboys ends up with his head busted his coffee spiked as well as almost being burned alive after almost being dismembered. The only reason he wasn't is because he seemed to have dreamed it all up while under the influence of some strong and unnamed drug.There's a weird dream sequence in the movie suggesting that a number of highly respected members of the community are members of the Witches Cult that's responsible for the sorority murders. The movie doesn't bother to explain at all if the dream, that the drugged Sheriff Delboys had, was a dream or actually a real experience on his part by dropping the whole thing as if it were cut out of the movie!Getting out of the hospital and staking out the collage sorority house, while munching down a bag full of McDonald cheeseburgers, Sheriff Delboys finally comes face to face with the killer. Shefiff Delboys find out to his shock and amazement that not only does he know who he, or she, is but he's also willing to let the killer escape!The very first straight to video motion picture and it shows. Not only would no one it their right mind be crazy enough to pay admission, at least with the video you can tape over it Thank God, to see this disaster but no movie-house owner would dare play it on their screen without the danger of the outraged patrons, in a justifiable show of righteous indignation, tear the place apart!

I've been reading a book by screenwriter John Russo called "Making Movies," and that's the main reason why I was curious about checking this movie out in the first place. I read a chapter talking about how this was the first direct-to-video movie ever made, and the budget was extremely small. Being an aspiring filmmaker, I'm more intrigued by the small-budget films than those with big budgets. I don't visualize myself making the next summer blockbuster in 2 or 3 years, but I do visualize myself making a small-budget independent film or, to be more realistic, a small-budget student film. And it always fascinates me how filmmakers are able to make movies on such low budgets, using just the bare essentials and sometimes less.Some have complained about the movie being shot on video. I happened to appreciate the look of the movie. Though it could've been much better, by watching "Blood Cult" I realized that shooting a feature-length movie on regular video equipment is not a bad idea. We almost never see a movie shot on video, but there are many TV shows (sitcoms, soap operas, reality shows, etc.) that are shot on video, and it doesn't exactly break the fourth wall. As long as you don't frame shots like you're framing your aunt in a home video, the movie can look quite cool. So I definitely felt Christopher Lewis (the director) came up with a fine concept. Hey, it's better to watch old video footage than grainy old film footage. Film shows its age much more.I've seen a lot of bad horror movies, and I've seen much worse. "BC" is not completely awful, considering its standards. I tried to think of it as a student film. When you watch a student film, you're not expecting "The Godfather." So I took it with a grain of salt, accepting the movie for what it is and keeping its microscopic budget in mind. First of all, the acting is fairly good. Of course, I'm discounting the women who played the victims, whose screams were so unconvincing. I don't know anybody who flaps their arms like a bird when they scream. The now-deceased actor who plays the sheriff is pretty good, and it's obvious that he was a veteran of stage. However, there are a couple of scenes where he's obviously looking down at his lines on a cheat sheet. He could've been a little more subtle. Most of the performances are one-dimensional, but so are the characters. So what can you do? Plus, I've heard much worse dialogue in horror movies as well. The special f/x are beyond cheesy, with body parts that look they were purchased from Party City on Halloween. But you just have to laugh at stuff like that. The story is not bad, and gets better as it goes along. As I've said, there are much cheesier horror movies out there, and "BC" is mildly impressive for its budget. Not a great film, not even a good film, but worth a look. My score: 5 (out of 10)

Let me see...I've seen every film Lou Ferrigno has made. I've seen Batman & Robin...twice. I've memorized the dances in Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo...I've watched unfinished Blade Runner rip-off student films...yet this film is the most painful thing I've ever seen.This was the first movie for the "straight to video market." So you can thank Blood Cult for all of those mysterious Michael Dudikoff films at your local Blockbuster. You should know that this isn't even high quality video. This is consumer grade. This is you father's video camera he never uses. This is what you have to look at for 90 minutes.I won't bore you with plot details since I'm getting sleepy just thinking about it, but I will tell you that watching this movie is a form of torture. I only watch this movie when I am angry at myself. So I recommend this film if you are suicidal, or if you are up for a mighty challenge.If you happen to rent this film (God have mercy) you will know what you are in for from the first 10 minutes. This is when you are hit by the usual horror film intro. You know the drill. There's a lot of suspense and build up before some girl dies. Yes, you've seen it before, but not like this. This is the most boring intro I've ever seen. I honestly believe that you could get a camera off ebay for ten dollars, grab the bum that most smells like gin and candy, and tell him to film your mom cooking dinner and it would be more interesting than this intro. It bored me to tears. I cried like a baby.Another one of the things that makes this film so unbelievably painful is its actors. Yes, I've seen bad acting. TRUST ME. I've seen 4th grade productions of Oliver Twist with more realistic dialog. The lead actor makes me ill. The "supporting" actress is a train-wreck of a human.I will not even comment on the boyfriend. True horror.So, rent this movie if you can find it. You'll never be more depressed that you spent 3 dollars on anything else.