Blood Trails

Though it boasts the kind of premise that would seem to lend itself naturally to a kick-ass horror flick, Blood Trails remains oddly uninvolving throughout the duration of its bloated running time – with the aggressively spare storyline resulting in a repetitive and downright tedious moviegoing experience. After engaging in a one night stand with a mysterious stranger (Ben Price’s Chris), Anne (Rebecca Palmer) embarks upon a weekend of cycling in the woods with her oblivious boyfriend (Tom Frederic’s Michael). Problems ensue as Chris follows the couple on their jaunt and quickly makes his murderous intentions known, with the bulk of the proceedings subsequently detailing the deadly game of cat and mouse that inevitably commences between Anne and Chris. Director Robert Krause, along with cinematographer Ralf Noack, has infused Blood Trails with an almost unreasonably ostentatious sense of style that effectively holds the viewer at arm’s length right from the get-go, with the overuse of various visual tricks ultimately exacerbating the less-than-eventful nature of the screenplay. Krause’s efforts at evoking an atmosphere of creepiness generally fall flat, while the progressively surreal atmosphere will undoubtedly test the patience of even the sturdiest horror-movie veteran (ie how did Anne not notice that crucified body inches above her head?) Blood Trails‘ increasingly interminable midsection, devoted almost entirely to long, dialogue-free stretches, ensures that the viewer has lost interest long before the admittedly intriguing finale rolls around, which effectively cements the film’s place as an entirely misguided endeavor that could only have worked as a five-minute short (maybe).

* out of ****