With us finally getting the long awaited (for more than 16 years!!!) Eli Roth’s Thanksgiving it’s also a good time to look back at the other crazy and entertaining Thanksgiving slasher, made long before that awesome Grindhouse trailer.
Of course I’m talking about the Blood Rage, originally shot in 1983 and unreleased for years movie has the equal measure of over the top performances, gory effects and f’d up family relationships (that lead to the said gore) so you know you’re in for a wild ride with this one.
Movie starts at the Drive-In. Twin boys bored by their mother latest hook-up sneak out of the car. One of them finds a hatchet and then freaking destroys some random shirtless dude making out with a girl in his car with it. You’d expect him to put up more of a fight against a 8 year old but nope. Then he does what any brother would do and blames it on his twin by giving him a hatchet. Todd is too shocked by what he just saw to say anything.
Kid may be a murdering psycho but he’s got a nice swing!
10 years later Todd is finally out of his catatonic state and starts remembering what happened. His psychologist tries to explain the new situation to Mrs. Maddy but it doesn’t go all that great. Tom is yelling “Get me out of here, I never killed anybody” but also throwing stuff, so it doesn’t look that good for him.
Terry in the meantime is living his best life in collage, that’s until at the Thanksgiving table his mother declares that she is getting married again- to her new man Brad. Terry is looses his mind right away and the evil music plays while he congratulates them both. And then- the impossible happens, mom gets a phone call from the insane asylum informing her that Tom has escaped. All hope she had of a nice, peaceful Thanksgiving seems to go up in flames. At least the turkey was good.
His murderous urge fully restored Terry starts killing again, and of course his stepfather to be (and owner of the whole Shadow Woods apartment complex) Brad is the first on the chopping block. He chops his hand with a machete and then splits his head open. He will of course blame it all on Todd (like in the good old days).
Never let go of your drink no matter what!
Dr. Berman (female Dr. Loomis of this movie if you will) and her assistant Jackie arrive soon to search for Todd but they are unfortunately both quickly disposed off by Terry. Then he just changes his bloody clothes and joins his neighbor Andrea who’s babysiting. Todd finally finds his way home but he bumps into Karen (Terry’s friend), she of course mistakes him for his brother but the upon learning the truth starts running like crazy. She tells Terry and the rest of the gang what happened and Terry goes out looking for his brother while the rest of gang all stay at Andrea’s house party (teenagers will teenage no matter what).
Todd finds Doctor’s lifeless body and has enough of his wits about him to take the gun from her. Terry continues racking up a body count, he kills Julie‘s parents then murders Gregg and Andrea by the pool. Artie then finds those bodies but with Todd who tries to explain that he is innocent. That doesn’t go great as Terry goes after him with Artie joining him just to get stabbed in the neck by a fork! This guy just can’t catch a break.
Left to her own devices Maddy gets progressively more drunk as the movie goes on and when she’s finally completely plastered she actually remembers to call the police. It seems some people really do function better when they’re drunk.
Despite her name, Karen is the one who finally figures out who’s the good brother and who’s the evil twin but Terry is doing his damnedest to kill her too.
Of course it all devolves into a brother VS brother confrontation. Mother, Maddy shows up with a gun and shoots Terry. Then realizing that she killed Terry, not Todd she loses her mind completely. (Louise Lasser, a soap actor by day is really giving her 110% in this one.)
Maddy then takes the gun to herself and blows her head off while the good son Todd is watching– just as police sirens are heard in the background.
Conclusion: if there’s something we should be thankful about it’s crazy ass movies like Blood Rage– with it’s over the top acting, bloody kills and ultra– 80s synth soundtrack blasting all the way it’s impossible not to be entertained. Happy Thanksgiving everybody!
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