Tags:
Film: Blood Creek
Year: 2009
Director: Joel Schumacher
Writer: David Kajganich
Starring: Henry Cavill, Dominic Purcell and Emma Booth
Review:
Now this was a film I think I randomly added to my Netflix list back when I was still in college. I finally got it and decided to give it a viewing. That was about the extent of what I knew about it. The synopsis is a man and his brother are on a mission for revenge become trapped in a harrowing occult experiment dating back to the Third Reich.
We start this film off in West Virginia back in the late 1936. There’s German family that is living off of the land. The family is made of Otto Wollner (Rainer Winkelvoss), Karl (László Mátray), Mrs. Wollner (Joy McBrinn) and Liese. They are struggling and they receive a letter stating that Richard Wirth is a historian and he is coming there to look for an item. He is played by Michael Fassbender. The item is a stone that was left behind by the Vikings and he thinks there is a power in it. As the Nazis were into the occult, they are going to use it to win the war.
The film then shifts to the present. We see Evan Marshall (Henry Cavill) who is an EMT. The person he’s trying to help dies and he heads home. He lives near his father who has Alzheimer’s. Through their interactions we see that Evan had a brother who was a soldier, Victor (Dominic Purcell). He disappeared in the woods after returning from the military and he hasn’t been found.
That all changes though when he visits Evan. Victor is disheveled and has a long beard. He asks for Evan’s help and he does so without question. They don’t tell anyone else that he is back. The two of them go into the woods. He states that he was held hostage and they are going back to get revenge. They go to the farm and it is the one that belongs to the Wollner’s. Even after all of these years, they are the same age aside form Liese who is played by Emma Booth. She is now 17, but somehow has been for 70 years.
It all starts to make sense when we learn that Richard is still alive as well. He is able to bring things back from the dead and also can keep this family the same age. Victor has marks all over his back and the blood is used for magic. The family wants to defeat him, but he’s too powerful. Evan and Victor are there to do just that, but how do you kill someone with the power that Richard has.
As I started off this, I said that I had never really heard about this film and didn’t know much about it. When I saw the cast I was actually quite shocked. Purcell was popular at the time with Cavill and Fassbender really hadn’t broken out yet. The other thing as well as that Joel Schumacher was the director of the film, which also really shocked me to see.
With that out of the way, if you know my tastes, I’m a big fan of films that involve the Nazis doing experiments with the occult. I also found it interesting that the power they end up finding here dates back to the Vikings. This would be around the time that Stonehedge and other things were constructed, so I like the idea.
What Richard is doing is something else that I found interesting. It is really plausible that with the abilities that he has here, he could do what he is. The family being stuck in time was good as well. There is a funny conversation that is had, asking how the old truck the father is driving stays in the shape that it is in. Now his magic couldn’t extend to that I’m sure, but it is aware of itself.
The film does pretty well at establishing the mythology as well. To my knowledge, this is all made up things for this film. They aren’t playing off historical ideas so they are really just making it up as they went. I’m fine here, but the film also kind of was a bit off due to this as well. It doesn’t ruin the film, but being that they kind of just running with it especially since the things that are brought back don’t seem to have a limit on their and this goes for Richard.
It is paced really well though. It doesn’t waste any time getting into it and moving through the story at a good pace. I think it does pretty well at building tension. Richard is quite powerful, so that really contributes to it as well. There are some wider implications as well as it could also have a sequel if they wanted. I do think one thing done was a bit convenient in the ending, but it doesn’t hurt the film at all.
To the acting of the film, I thought it was fine. Cavill was pretty solid in his role. I do like that he is an EMT, as it helps for things during the siege scene in the farmhouse. He feels a bit guilty in that he wanted to go into the military, but Victor did it first. I thought that added a bit of a dimension to the film. Purcell was also fine in his role. He isn’t a great actor, but a lot of it is his look. Booth was fine in the film as well. I thought she added an interesting dynamic in that she does most of the research to help defeat Richard. Speaking of which, we don’t get a lot of Fassbender, but I thought he played a good villain when we got him. The rest of the cast rounded out the film for what was needed.
The effects of the film were mostly positive for me. I thought the look of Richard in the present was great. I like that those that are brought back aren’t the same, much like in the way of Pet Semetary. I like what they did with their eyes to signify this. The blood and gore that we get looks good. The only time it didn’t is when the film decided to use CGI. I did have some issues there as it didn’t look good. This is blood and fire were the two that really stood out as not looking as good as it could.
Now with that said, I enjoyed this film. I’m a sucker for films that use Nazis and their search for the occult. I thought the concept and the story of this film were solid. It does bring up some interesting aspects there. The acting was pretty solid as was the pacing. The ending was good for what the film was doing aside from this one aspect that was a bit much. The practical effects looked good while the CGI not so much. The soundtrack of the film really didn’t stand out either, but it also doesn’t hurt the film. Overall I’d say this film is above average and if this sounds interesting, give it a viewing.
My Rating: 7 out of 10