Monday, January 18, 2010

Blood Night: The Legend of Mary Hatchet Falls Flat on its Face: A Movie Review


Director: Frank Sabatella.

Writer: Elke Blasi, and Frank Sabatella

Have you ever seen a movie about pre-menstrual dysmorphic disorder? If you said no then this review will hopefully keep you on that lucky streak. PMDD, for short, is a new mental illness, which will be in the DSM V, that involves severe mood swings and depression. Mary Hatchet from Blood Night: The Legend of Mary Hatchet suffers from PMDD and guess who gets to deal with her disorder. Yes, some high schoolers just out to have a good time on Blood Night. Not only is the plot missing from Blood Night, but the lighting, acting, and conclusion each leave something to be desired. Suspiria sums up Blood Night from Horror-movies.ca succinctly with "I had very high hopes for Blood Night but I must say I'm kind of disappointed (Horror-movies)."

Hopefully, you are getting the tone of this review 'cause here comes the plot or lack of one in thirty-five words or less. Mary lands in the psych' hospital after killing her parents during a PMDD episode. After a rape in the ward, Mary kills indiscriminately throughout the film with help from her fully grown bastard child.

Blood night: The Legend of Mary would have been best served as a ten minute short, with the death of Mary, in one of the first scenes, closing out the film. Yet, the film adds in thirty minutes of fluff at a party, which serves no purpose, is boring, and destroys the earlier frenetic pacing of the film. Unfortunately, the film does not improve from here.

Add to that some lighting, which disappears through some important climactic scenes and viewers will not be able to see why PMDD is such a serious disorder. Danielle Harris as Alyssa does her best to act as a fearsome antagonist through the second half of the film, but even her intensity and Bill Moseley's maturing showmanship cannot save an already sinking ship.

In conclusion, the conclusion of Blood Night is a blessing and despite the inclusion of an almost unknown mental illness, Blood Night: The Legend of Mary Hatchet does not offer an important message nor a reason to watch the film again. For film students wanting to know what not to do in horror a location of the film is found on Amazon.ca. For others wanting escapism or something intelligent then check out one of several higher quality and smarter films out there i.e. Bio-Dead, Edges of Darkness, The Objective, Eden Lake, and Body of Work. -Finito-

Acting/believability/characters: 5.
Plot/story/writing: 5.
Directing techniques/ use of camera: 6.5.
Lighting/cinematography/setting: 4.

Overall: 5.1.



*Also, I am curious of what other people thought of this film, as the reviews are a mixed bag, right now. Post your comments.

Sources:

Blood Night Review on Horror-Movies.ca

Blood Night Review on DVD Talk

Blood Night at DVD Verdict

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