Blood Punch

Last updated
Blood Punch
Blood Punch poster.jpg
Film poster
Directed byMadellaine Paxson
Written byEddie Guzelian
Produced by Fred Schaefer
Fleur Saville
Ethan Pines
Rose McIver
Starring Milo Cawthorne
Olivia Tennet
Ari Boyland
Adelaide Kane
CinematographyNeil Cervin
Edited bySean Stack
Music byAdam Berry
Production
company
Bluff Road Productions
Release date
  • October 26, 2013 (2013-10-26)(Austin Film Festival)
Running time
104 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Blood Punch is a 2013 horror thriller film directed by Madellaine Paxson in her directorial debut, and starring Milo Cawthorne, Olivia Tennet, Ari Boyland. and Adelaide Kane. [1] The film had its world premiere on 26 October 2013 at the Austin Film Festival, where it won the Dark Matters Audience Award. [2] The film had a positive critical reception.

Contents

Synopsis

When Milton (Milo Cawthorne) is caught cooking meth, he is sent to a rehab center where he meets the beautiful Skyler (Olivia Tennet). He is wildly attracted to her, so much so that they have sex shortly after meeting. Milton also agrees to break out of rehab with her and travel to the woods, where he will make a large amount of meth for an exorbitant sum of money. He is ill-prepared for her psychotic boyfriend Russell (Ari Boyland), who tells him that he knows about Milton's fling with Skyler. Unknown to Milton, the cabin is set in the middle of a land that has been forever psychically tainted by a massive and bloody Native American war.

Cast

Production

Screenwriter Eddie Guzelian came up with the idea for the film from an incident where he left a note for himself one night, only to later find another note he had left for himself the night before that he had no memory of writing. Milo Cawthorne freely admits to the story's resemblance to the 2000 film Memento . [3]

The film in many ways serves as a reunion of cast and crew for the 2009 series Power Rangers RPM : the film was scripted by Eddie Guzelian, the head writer and executive producer for said-show; Cawthorne, Tennet, Boyland, Kane, Ginn, and producer McIver previously co-starred on RPM; and director Paxson was a writer on RPM.

Reception

Critical and viewer reception for Blood Punch was positive. [4] [5] The Austin Chronicle and Bloody Disgusting both praised the film, [6] and Bloody Disgusting favorably compared it to the 1948 film Road House . [7]

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes , 89% of 9 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 8/10.

Awards

Related Research Articles

<i>Society</i> (film) 1989 film by Brian Yuzna

Society is a 1989 body horror comedy film directed by Brian Yuzna and starring Billy Warlock, Devin DeVasquez, Evan Richards, and Ben Meyerson. Its plot follows a Beverly Hills teenager who begins to suspect that his wealthy parents are part of a gruesome cult for the social elite.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Larry Fessenden</span> American actor and filmmaker

Laurence T. Fessenden is an American actor, producer, writer, director, film editor, and cinematographer. He is the founder of the New York based independent production outfit Glass Eye Pix. His writer/director credits include No Telling, Habit (1997), Wendigo (2001), and The Last Winter, which is in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art. He has also directed the television feature Beneath (2013), an episode of the NBC TV series Fear Itself (2008) entitled "Skin and Bones", and a segment of the anthology horror-comedy film The ABCs of Death 2 (2014). He is the writer, with Graham Reznick, of the BAFTA Award-winning Sony PlayStation video game Until Dawn. He has acted in numerous films including Bringing Out the Dead (1999), Broken Flowers (2005), I Sell the Dead (2009), Jug Face (2012), We Are Still Here (2015), In a Valley of Violence (2016), Like Me (2017), and The Dead Don't Die (2019), Brooklyn 45 (2023), and Killers of the Flower Moon (2023)

<i>Hatchet</i> (film) 2006 American film

Hatchet is a 2006 American slasher film written and directed by Adam Green. The film has an ensemble cast, including Joel David Moore, Tamara Feldman, Deon Richmond, Mercedes McNab, Parry Shen, Joleigh Fioreavanti, Joel Murray, Richard Riehle, Patrika Darbo, Joshua Leonard, Tony Todd, Robert Englund, and Kane Hodder. The plot follows a group of tourists on a New Orleans haunted swamp tour, who accidentally get stranded in the wilderness, only to be hunted by a vengeful, supernatural deformed man who kills anyone that enters the swamp.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toronto After Dark Film Festival</span> Film festival

Toronto After Dark Film Festival is a showcase of horror, sci-fi, action and cult cinema held annually in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The festival premieres a diverse selection of feature-length and short-films from around the world including new works from Asia, Europe and North America.

Ari Boyland is a New Zealand film, television and stage actor. As a child, he had a breakout role in the New Zealand cult hit science fiction drama series, The Tribe. He also played the role of Brodie Kemp in Shortland Street. He currently stars in the TVNZ drama, Testify.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Olivia Tennet</span> New Zealand actress, dancer and choreographer

Olivia Tennet is a New Zealand actress and dancer best known in her home country for her role as Tuesday Warner on the nightly medical drama Shortland Street, along with several roles in television and theatre. Outside of New Zealand, she is best known for her roles in The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002), Power Rangers RPM (2009), and the independent film Blood Punch (2013).

<i>Rec</i> (film) 2007 film by Jaume Balagueró and Paco Plaza

Rec is a 2007 Spanish found footage horror film co-written and directed by Jaume Balagueró and Paco Plaza. The film stars Manuela Velasco as a reporter who, with her cameraman, accompany a group of firefighters on an emergency call to an apartment building to discover an infection spreading inside, with the building being sealed up and all occupants ordered to follow a strict quarantine.

Brad Miska is an American film producer and founder of Bloody Disgusting, a horror genre website known for covering horror films, video games, comics, and music. His films include the V/H/S franchise, Under the Bed, A Horrible Way to Die and Southbound.

<i>Donkey Punch</i> (2008 film) 2008 British film by Olly Blackburn

Donkey Punch is a 2008 British horror thriller film directed by Olly Blackburn and written by Blackburn and David Bloom. Starring Nichola Burley, Sian Breckin, Tom Burke, Jaime Winstone and Julian Morris, it follows a group of English people on holiday in Spain who end up fighting for their lives.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brea Grant</span> American actress

Brea Grant is an American actress, writer, and director. She played the character of Daphne Millbrook in the NBC television series Heroes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adam Wingard</span> American filmmaker (born 1982)

Adam Wingard is an American filmmaker. He has served as a film director, producer, screenwriter, editor, cinematographer, actor, and composer on numerous American films.

Milo Cawthorne is a New Zealand actor who played Ziggy Grover from the television series Power Rangers RPM.

<i>A Serbian Film</i> 2010 Serbian horror-thriller film by Srđan Spasojević

A Serbian Film is a 2010 Serbian exploitation horror film produced and directed by Srđan Spasojević in his feature directorial debut, with Aleksandar Radivojević co-writing. It tells the experience of a financially struggling pornstar who agrees to participate in an "art film", only to discover that he has been drafted into a snuff film with pedophilic and necrophilic themes. The film stars Serbian actors Srđan Todorović, Sergej Trifunović, and Jelena Gavrilović.

<i>Starry Eyes</i> 2014 American horror film

Starry Eyes is a 2014 American horror film written and directed by Kevin Kölsch and Dennis Widmyer. The film had its world premiere on March 8, 2014 at South by Southwest and features Alexandra Essoe as a hopeful young starlet who finds that fame's price is not always easily paid. Funding for the movie was partially raised through a successful Kickstarter campaign.

<i>Truth or Dare</i> (2013 film) 2013 American film

Truth or Dare is a 2013 American horror film and the directorial debut of Jessica Cameron, who also starred in, wrote, and produced the film. The movie had its world premiere on 13 September 2013 at the Arizona Underground Film Festival, where it also won Best Horror Feature. Truth or Dare centers upon a group of college students that publish YouTube videos that gain them not only worldwide infamy but also an obsessed fan turned deadly stalker.

<i>Deathgasm</i> 2015 New Zealand film

Deathgasm is a 2015 New Zealand comedy horror film written and directed by Jason Lei Howden in his feature directorial debut. The film follows the title teenage heavy metal band who acquire an ancient piece of sheet music and unwittingly summon an evil entity known as "The Blind One".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Clarke (filmmaker)</span>

George Clarke is a film director from Northern Ireland and the founder of Yellow Fever Productions. He is known for creating low-budget horror films; his 2011 film The Last Light was filmed on a budget of £200.

<i>La Llorona</i> (2019 film) 2019 Guatemalan horror film by Jayro Bustamante.

La Llorona, also known as The Weeping Woman, is a 2019 Guatemalan horror film directed by Jayro Bustamante.

Justin M. Seaman is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and editor. He is known for writing and directing the 2016 horror film The Barn and its sequel, The Barn Part II, and for directing segments of the anthology films Volumes of Blood: Horror Stories (2016) and 10/31 (2017). He is serving as a producer and director on the film Cryptids.

Butcher Boys is a 2012 American horror cannibal film written and produced by Kim Henkel, who co-created 1974's The Texas Chain Saw Massacre with Tobe Hooper. The film was directed by Duane Graves and Justin Meeks. It was originally titled Boneboys.

References

  1. Donnell, Hayden. "Kiwi actors go from Power Rangers to blood fest". NZ Herald. Retrieved 18 November 2014.
  2. 1 2 Riese, Monica. "Austin Film Festival Announces Audience Awards". Austin Chronicle. Retrieved 18 November 2014.
  3. Interview with Milo Cawthorne
  4. 1 2 3 Gupta, Shipra. "Indie Horror 'Blood Punch' Wows Fans and Wins Big at Dances With Films Closing Night Awards". IndieWire. Retrieved 18 November 2014.
  5. Myers, Randy. "Cinequest 2014: 10 films for your must-see list". Mercury News. Retrieved 18 November 2014.
  6. Chen, Josette. "A Drink to 'Blood Punch'". Austin Chronicle. Retrieved 18 November 2014.
  7. Cooper, Patrick. "[MHHFF Review] 'Blood Punch' Is a Supernatural Film Noir on Meth". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved 18 November 2014.
  8. 1 2 3 Shaw, Michael. "Independent 'Blood Punch' winning big". Screen Casting NZ. Archived from the original on January 14, 2015. Retrieved 18 November 2014.
  9. "NOHFF". New Orleans Horror Film Festival. Retrieved 18 November 2014.
  10. "OFF winners". Omaha Film Festival. Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 18 November 2014.