Bloodrage (1979)

User Rating:

4.4/10   

Director:

Joseph Zito

Writer:

Robert Jahn (writer)

Genre:

Crime | Thriller | Horror

Tagline:

If he wants you.... he'll get you

Plot:

A sexually frustrated young man kills hookers.

Plot Keywords:

Murder | 42nd Street | Psychopath | Prostitution | Independent Film

Cast

James Johnson	...	Ryan
Judith-Marie Bergan	...	Beverly
Jerry McGee	...	Charlie
Ian Scott	...	Richard
Patrick Hines	...	Gus
Buddy Basch	...	Motor Inn Desk Clerk
Harry Linton	...	Times Square Desk Clerk
Pelati Pons	...	Street Murder Victim
Jimi Keys	...	Killer
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Barry Bernstein	...	2nd Cop at Street Murder
Erle Bjornstad	...	Eastside Bar Patron
Clee Burtonya	...	Pimp in Hallway
Copper Cunningham	...	Prostitute in Elevator
Tony DeCarlo	...	Cop in Police Station
Ed DeLeo	...	Karl
Susan Doukas	...	Myrna
Rachel Dunn	...	Richard's Dance Partner
Rita Ebenhart	...	Candice
Henry Ferrentino	...	Cab Driver
Lee Ford	...	Eastside Bar Patron
Bernie Friedman	...	Abe
Barbara Grace	...	Madeline
Shanton Granger	...	Hometown Police Captain
Jerome Greene	...	1st Cop at Street Murder (as Jerome Green)
Jery Hewitt	...	Junkie in Police Station
Jessie Hill	...	Prostitute in Police Station
Wally Hughes	...	Cowboy
Mario Jensen	...	2nd Bartender
Irwin Keyes	...	Pimp in Hallway
Molly King	...	Hostess
Carol Kosma	...	Eastside Bar Patron
Susan Lawrence	...	Go-Go Dancer
Billy Longo	...	Super in West Side Bar
Ray Martucci	...	Cop in Police Station
Ralph Monaco	...	1st Bartender
Jon Oppenheim	...	Eastside Bar Patron
Eve Packer	...	Eastside Bar Patron
Christine Pedricaro	...	Go-Go Dancer
Tom Pierce	...	Byron
Carl Pistilli	...	Cop in Police Station
Ramon Rafuir	...	Bones
Betsy Ranlow	...	Nancy
Daniel Revusky	...	Tenant
William Richardone	...	Freddy
Larry Ridell	...	Eastside Bar Patron
Raynor Scheine	...	Fred
Dan Seymore	...	Pimp in Elevator
Kristen Steen	...	Stevie
Wally Stern	...	News Dealer
Leo Tepp	...	Joe Monroe
Ruth Terner	...	Eastside Bar Patron
Lawrence Tierney	...	Malone
Blair Trigg	...	Lucy
Richard Triggs	...	Cop in Police Station

Also Known As:

Never Pick Up a Stranger (video title)

Runtime:

UK:78 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

Norway:18 (1982)

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Picture Company of America

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The American Nightmare (2000)

More like raging hormones.

A psychotic young man heads to New York after murdering a prostitute of a small town. Thinking that he has escaped the police, he tries to live a normal life, but he encounters the very sleazy life of the city and goes about fixing up the problems, like knocking more prostitutes. On his trail is a town cop who's looking for him in the hope he can find out what had happened to the first prostitute that he secretly killed off.

I'm so baffled. I went in expecting something of a horror story cross vigilante action piece like it seems to advertise. Um instead, the picture on my video case never seemed to appear in the film. Nor did the folks on it! Also the title is very misleading. With the name like Joseph Zito tagged to the project, you'll be expecting something passionately wild and out going (think of Red Scorpion, Missing in Action and Invasion U.S.A) and gruesomely unpleasant (The Prowler and Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter), but what a glum character study on a insane killer that tries to be thoughtful, but it just doesn't work when it's going for this aspect. I guess he learnt later on from this effort, as this was just his second feature.

This immensely sleazy slasher is strictly average and too slow. It only goes for about 75 minutes and it still lulls about in monotonous scenes that feel like fillers. I didn't find it boring because it was oddly hypnotic. Thanks to its stone-cold approach, inspired visions and gritty locations, but it could have used a whole lot more verve in its execution. The deaths and the lead up to them are rather bloodless, but still quite misogynistic. Just wait around for the dog scene. Blood might be little, but sex and nudity (a lot of window peeping) isn't discarded. Far from it actually. The 70's New York atmosphere generated a circuit that was scummy, filthy and dreadfully corrupt. Zito filtered this into the flick superbly.

The clueless story has some unbelievable developments (an unfulfilled and sudden conclusion) and very little structure to it, as it plays many cards like a psycho serial killer to soft porn and then a look through the damaged mind created by a forsaken society (ala Taxi Driver). Even the husky voice-overs that the film begins off with have a familiar ring to it. But in all it's basic.

Surprisingly the performances are acceptably fair. The spaced out Ian Scott plays the uptight young lad Richard in a very disquieting temperament. Legendary hard-boiled actor Lawrence Tierney is in a minor thankless role that asks very little off him. James Johnson, Rita Ebenhart and Blair Trigg chime in with some solid performances too.

Flat pacing can kill it at times, but this raw project has its moments. Not a bad early effort by Zito.