Census Bloodbath: From A To Zito

Year:
1981
Director:
Joseph Zito
Cast:
Ian Scott, James Johnson, Judith-Marie Bergan
Run Time:
1 hour 18 minutes

Plot: Bloodrage follows Richard (Ian Scott), a young man who moves to New York City to follow his dream of murdering sex workers. On his tail is renegade cop Johnny Ryan (James Johnson), the boyfriend of Richard's first victim, Bev (Judith-Marie Bergan).

Analysis: Bloodrage is one of those early '80s slashers that had a circuitous enough route to the screen that it was actually completed in 1979, though it didn't arrive at the Cannes market until 1980, in theaters anywhere until 1981, and on video in the U.S. until 1983. So while this is technically a 1980s slasher, it comes from that pre-Friday the 13th period where we were still figuring out what the hell the genre was going to be. 

At the time, one of the proposed answers to that question was "a sleazy post-grindhouse hangover." This is the sentiment that gave us movies like Maniac and Don't Answer the Phone. Not my favorite slasher subgenre. But at least Bloodrage provides an additional point of interest in that it was directed by Joseph Zito, who went on to helm the iconic slashers The Prowler and Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter.

Unfortunately, a more inexperienced Zito without makeup maestro Tom Savini giving him something good to shoot makes for a real slog. Bloodrage evokes the crushing boredom of the third act of The Prowler rather than any of the superb gore-thriller elements of its first act or the sublime slasher filmmaking of The Final Chapter. 

That said, there is at least one glimmer here. The opening sequence in Indiana is very special, showing us a regular degular day in Bev's life that is interrupted by her sudden, brutal death when Richard pushes her through a window and her neck is cut open on the broken glass (in the film's only proper gore moment). What follows is a tightly wound thriller sequence where Richard tries to clean up and hide her body before he's discovered by Johnny. The whole introduction is genuinely shocking and cleanly sets up all three characters, putting you in their heads for better or for worse.

Unfortunately, not a single scene that follows comes remotely close to hitting those heights (except maybe the final 15 seconds, which see Richard's reign of terror end in a charmingly perfunctory manner). Once Richard moves to the city, the movie gently oscillates between sequences that are tedious, irritating, or both. He's also a dismayingly passive character, just resentfully drifting through scenes like he'd really rather be anywhere else. Dude, get in line!

At least the movie effectively delivers its thesis that New York City is a grimy cesspit. Plus, the local color that spills around Richard at least offers some interesting texture (particularly the old lady in curlers who calmly stares out her window, watching as he peeps on the sex worker across the street). 

And the very best thing that I can say is that the movie is slightly less misogynistic than it could have been. While it's rough to sit through Richard monotonously monologuing while he stalks and brutalizes women, his victims aren't nameless sheep lined up for him to slaughter. The women he targets are treated with the smallest glimmer of respect by the screenplay. They all have names, lives, and personalities, which makes the horror they go through feel sharper in a way that is admittedly effective.

But "it could have been sleazier" is hardly a ringing endorsement. Bloodrage is an ineptly made motion picture, for the most part. Consider the looooooong elevator scene, where Zito can't find a place to put lights, so he doesn't bother, just slathering the frame in impenetrable shadows. This is compounded by his inability to properly photograph people of color, so the two Black characters in the scene just look like floating hats.

The filmmakers also clearly failed to shoot the entire script, because a vital scene (Richard being recognized by Johnny on the street, which kicks off a brawl) takes place entirely offscreen. Fun!

Killer: Richard (Ian Scott)

Final Girl: Nancy (Betsy Ranlow)

Best Kill: The opening kill - Bev falling through the window - is by far the best, both in terms of gore and execution.

Sign of the Times: Bev writes down all her sex appointments in this cute little flipbook.

Scariest Moment: A long sequence shows Richard working at a Yoo-hoo factory and really gets across the grinding monotony involved in that job.

Weirdest Moment: Richard paints his door, carefully painting around the knob before manically spreading paint all over the knob itself.

Champion Dialogue: “You don't have anything better to do with your time, like jerk off or something?"

Body Count: 6

1. Bev is pushed through a window, and the glass cuts her neck open.
2. Man is stabbed by a mugger.
3. Lucy is strangled with a telephone cord.
4. Ruby the Dog has her neck snapped and is thrown out the window.
5. Candice is choked out with an elbow.
6. Richard is thrown out a window.

TL;DR: Bloodrage could be more misogynistic than it is, but it's a sleazy chore that is tedious and annoying.

Rating: 3/10