Reviews & Ratings for
Bad Blood More at IMDbPro »

7 out of 7 people found the following review useful:
One of the great performances of the 1980s, 4 June 2006

Author: TrevorAclea from London, England

Before Lord of the Rings came along, most New Zealand films acted as keep out notices to tourists: Utu, Shaker Run, Goodbye Pork Pie, Tongan Ninja all paint it as either constantly raining or just about to. Bad Blood is no exception – it's all too easy to see why the place drives Jack Thompson's grouchy and paranoid farmer mad enough to kill several policemen when they come to take his gun for the war effort in this true story about New Zealand's biggest manhunt back in 1942.

Almost completely forgotten and barely seen even on its first release in 1981, it's a powerful and convincing drama that's more concerned with character than action. There's always a tendency to romanticise in this kind of film, but this makes no excuses and presents its pair of well-matched outsiders as pathetic but human - these are the kind of unglamourous, none too bright people most Bonnie and Clydes are rather than the movie image, probably the reason the film was so little seen. Thompson's Stan Graham isn't demonised or caricatured: while he's unable to cope with outsiders, he's genuinely happy when left alone with his family (there's a beautiful scene where he and his wife dance to the faintly heard music of a dance across the road). It's a remarkable performance from Thompson, resisting any temptation to go over the top or add bluster to the role, instead opting for restraint and confusion and misdirected anger, and he's well matched by Carol Burns as his equally unstable wife.

Well worth making the effort to track down, this only appears to be available on an Australian DVD that comes with a brief interview with Thompson at the moment.

7 out of 7 people found the following review useful:
disturbing study of small town alienation, 23 November 1999

Author: shaun j from auckland, new zealand

Bad Blood is the true story of West Coast (New Zealand) Eric Stanley Graham who, during the 1940's shot dead several people in the small village of Kowhitirangi, and sparked NZ's biggest manhunt in history. The film is both atmospheric and disturbing, and is well focussed on Graham and his family, and their gradual alienation from the small community. The bush setting only amplifies this claustrophobia. Both well acted and scripted, Bad Blood is worth more than a look.

7 out of 10 people found the following review useful:
Won't Be Endorsed by the National Rifle Association, 17 July 2005

Author: Sturgeon54 from United States

Don't let the badly chosen B-movie-ish title fool you, this film is better than that. Set in rural New Zealand during the early stages of WWII in the 1940s, this film portrays the true story of Stanley Graham, a poor farmer with a wife and two kids. Unable to connect with the more well-bred surrounding community, and treated as outcasts (part of that being their own fault), he and his wife become increasingly paranoid about the bank and mortgage companies foreclosing on their small plot of land because of their ever-increasing debts. Making matters worse, the local police chief confiscates Graham's best firearm for use in the war, further enraging him and convincing him that the whole town is out to get him and his family. When the police finally do come to confiscate his land, he cracks up - killing the officers, fleeing, and becoming a fugitive in what became the biggest manhunt in New Zealand history.

The best thing about this film is its topicality, which extends far beyond the specific time and place portrayed here. There are parallels here to the cases of David Koresh and Randy Weaver here in the U.S. - two other crazed rural isolationists obsessed with firearms and perpetuators of violence when confronted by government officials. In fact, director Newell does a fine job of setting up in the beginning just how central a role firearms play in the daily life of this isolated community - they seem to be everywhere in the first few scenes, and even children play with toy guns intensely. A film like this pokes holes in the rhetoric of the NRA which says defiantly, "Guns don't kill people, people kill people." Well, yes, Graham is slightly nuts from the beginning, but how likely would the massacre he creates have been had he not had such easy access to the rifles, which play such a central part in his psychology? Also, it is interesting to note that Graham seems to be the kind of competent professional with a firearm that the NRA so often endorses as its core consituency, yet we don't seem him using it for any legitimate hunting purposes at all - only to kill other human beings.

Australian veteran actor Jack Thompson, as always, turns in a fine performance as Graham - totally immersing himself in the role of a cloistered-up nutcase with the us-versus-them mentality which would lead to an inevitable standoff with the outside world. Not surprisingly, he is much more adept at using his rifles than his pursuers, killing and wounding just about everyone he fires at, and creating an intense hatred in the posse organized to catch him.

Newell has done an excellent job of creating the small period details of the setting, from showing the organized women's war production to the local dance and rationing for the war in this community. Additionally, Gary Hansen's cinematography and camera-work has an exquisite feel for the New Zealand Landscape.

The major flaw is that here is a film which has traces of further ambitions beyond itself, but unfortunately did not capitalize upon them. The build-up of Graham and his wife's paranoia following real and imagined humiliations from the community in the first half is riveting. Unfortunately, the second half loses steam, as the organization of the posse and manhunt seems rather inconsequential and pedestrian. Graham supposedly became something of a folk hero to the country, but this is only hinted at by one or two lines from peripheral characters. Newell would have been wiser to expand this theme further: the pathology of Graham is definitely universal, and there are likely traces of it in any isolated rural community. That is much more interesting than an obligatory chase. However, these flaws owe more to the script than Newell's direction, which is very accomplished. Throughout the entire film, Newell's direction retains the conviction that we are witnessing important historical events unfolding. It is too bad that the script does not delve much deeper than the superficial storyline of a nutcase who kills several people and get chased by the police. Still worthwhile, though.

4 out of 5 people found the following review useful:
Gritty and harrowing drama from New Zealand, 20 January 2008

Author: Coventry from the Draconian Swamp of Unholy Souls

Admittedly the title sounds like it's stolen from a lousy and cheesy 80's B-slasher movie, but "Bad Blood" is one of the most hauntingly dramatic depictions of a real-life human tragedy ever made. Set in New Zealand in 1938 and revolving on painful facts as they occurred there, "Bad Blood" tells the story of Stanley Graham and his wife Dorothy. They're outcasts in the small village community because of their rude and asocial behavior and the accumulation of financial problems slowly drives them to insanity. Stanley nearly has to go to prison for refusing to turn in his riffles and the woeful regards of the townsfolk become more and more hostile when the Grahams accuse them of poisoning their cattle. The script slowly and atmospherically builds up towards the inevitable tragedy of Stanley going irreversibly berserk and butchering seven people during a nightmarish rampage. This beautiful period piece, with marvelous costumes and set pieces, draws a mesmerizing portrait of human paranoia and despair. It also frighteningly illustrates how quickly a chain of little and seemingly insignificant events can escalate into a bloodbath, and that's truly disturbing to say the least. The sober music and gloomy photography epitomize the depressing tone of the film and Jack Thompson gives away one of the most perplexing performances I've ever seen. He should have received awards for his role, and the film in general as well for that matter. Carol Burns is equally amazing as his Dot, who may not have killed anyone but who's at least as dangerous as her husband, if not more. The climax sequences, revolving on the extended manhunt for Stanley after he fled into the open country, are also very gripping and effectively revealing the monstrous nature of people. Suddenly, the little town is overrun with people carrying riffles, most of them even unaware of the details of what happened exactly, simply to join the vigilante hunt for Stanley. No less than Mike Newell directed this sadly obscure little gem back in 1981. Nowadays he's an acclaimed director of slightly more light-headed films, like "Four Weddings and a Funeral", "Love in the Times of Cholera" and "Mona Lisa Smile". The fact that Newell was born and raised in England makes it even more admirable how he's capable of reflecting the typical New Zealand characters, culture and WWII background. I'm not aware of "Bad Blood" being available on DVD now, but the day it comes out make sure you grab a copy of this tense masterpiece. I certainly will.

2 out of 2 people found the following review useful:
You will take my gun from me when you pry it from my cold dead fingers!, 13 December 2009

Author: Raegan Butcher from Rain City, Pacific Northwest

Angry that authorities want to confiscate his gun collection, New Zealand farmer Stan Graham goes on a rampage, killing seven men and triggering a nationwide manhunt in this docudrama based on a true 1941 incident. Jack Thompson gives a compelling performance as the muttering, paranoid, put-upon Stanley Graham. But it is Carol Burns who really goes for broke with her incredibly shrewish and aggressive turn as Graham's equally paranoid wife. This is a slow moving but very perceptive film where nothing is black & white and a fair amount of sympathy is generated for the Grahams. Fantastic character study.Very well done.

3 out of 4 people found the following review useful:
Intense, Amazing...., 13 November 2005

Author: ving_tsun_ from Australia

Good Day to all the fine people on IMDb, I'd like to comment on the totally amazing movie that was written with such intensity and powerfully dramatic scenes.

This movie is one that not too many know of, and is truly a "hidden Jem" of Australian/NZ cinema.

The assortment of fine actors in this movie is truly compelling, from the talents of Jack Thompson (Star Wars) to the stunning Michael Teen (amazing!!), I cant believe Michael Teen was un-credited ...the skill brought to this part was INTENSE!!!...to say the least.

The scenery is very well shot, excellent camera angles from Mike Newell, brilliant direction.

0 out of 14 people found the following review useful:
Boring as all get out, 16 March 2003
Author: Geoff from Kowhitirangi, NZ

This movie is boring and dumb. It is boring because they didn't take their time making it. They weren't thinking clearly. Nothing happens for the first hour. And then the wife shouts "POISONDOG" and then nothing happens for the rest of the movie. If you're a fan of the phrase "POISONDOG" or other phrases like that, or Jack Thompson II films, then check out the glory that is... Bad Blood! Otherwise avoid like plague. International. 2000.

Add another review

Related Links