“Some town you got here, Officer.”
In a lesson on how to open a Horror movie effectively, Blood Star weaves its morbid tale about a psychopathic sheriff with stunning strength. The opening is a haunting masteract in establishing tone. It’s a brief showdown during the midnight hours but - as one lone female faces down an approaching car hellbent on running her over - the pathos and the violence are established with a firm and assured grip by the filmmakers behind the wheel. The rest of the rampage and the roadkill is, well, quite a dark, dark journey into the heart of morbidity in the desert.
Low in budget but high in creativity and suspense, Blood Star is a blood-soaked thriller with a lot on its mind. From speed traps along a lone highway to strange encounters at gas stations with the local law, there’s a familiarity here that most of us can relate to. This is an advantage for the audience as the film takes a sharp turn fairly quickly once Bobbi (Britni Camacho), traveling back to her abusive boyfriend, is repeatedly targeted by a small-town Sheriff. This definitely has something to say about the abuse of power by men.
The film is twisted in its handling of the brutality Bobbi receives at the hands of this mad misogynist and it delivers on the mystery, too, providing minimal reasons for the abuse until we, the audience, are at the breaking point due to all the diabolical behavior on the screen.
Blood Star is a well shot thriller and creates an atmosphere populated with strange characters alongside road side stops. It is full of strong performances as Camacho takes on John Schwab as Sheriff Bilstein in this demented survival thriller from Plaion Pictures. Directed by Lawrence Jacomelli and featuring performances from Sydney Brumfield, Travis Lincoln Cox, Felix Merback & Wyomi Reed, Blood Star is not for the faint of heart . . . especially if you have a road trip on your agenda in the coming months.
This one - and its message about the abuse of power - will haunt you long after the credits roll by.
Written by Lawrence Jacomelli, George Kelly, and Victoria Hinks Taylor, Blood Star explores the cat-and-mouse trope of horror with a smoothness that is to be applauded and rewards its audience with a believable central character who finds herself the target of a madman with a whole lot of malice and torture on his mind. Perhaps it's the deadness of the desert atmosphere surrounding him. Perhaps it's his own demons, birthed amongst the bones and the bleached out sand he walks on. Whatever it is that drives this man, well, it’s not about to quit.
Blood Star is now available on all streaming platforms. Check it out and find out if Bobbi has the street smarts to outfox this badge-wearing psychopath!
MPAA Rating: Unrated.
Runtime: 97 mins
Director: Lawrence Jacomelli
Writer: Lawrence Jacomelli; George Kelly; Victoria Hinks Taylor
Cast: Britni Camacho; John Schwab; Sydney Brumfield
Genre: Horror
Tagline: There's Just One Law. Run.
Memorable Movie Quote: “Some town you got here, Officer.”
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Synopsis: A young Latina petty thief driving through New Mexico finds herself the target of a psychopathic small town sheriff who views his badge as a license to prey on vulnerable young women. She must use all of her street-smarts to survive.