Blood Salvage (1990)

Director:

Tucker Johnston

Writers:

Tucker Johnston (writer)
Ken Sanders (writer)

Release Date:

14 September 1990 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Horror

Tagline:

If Jake can't fix it... its been dead too long

Plot:

Twisted tale about a crazy, preaching redneck named Jake who kidnaps people off the highway and performs sick medical experiments on them...

Plot Keywords:

Psychotronic | B Movie | Cult Comedy | Wheelchair | Mad Scientist

Cast

Danny Nelson	...	Jake Pruitt
Lori Birdsong	...	April Evans
Christian Hesler	...	Hiram
Ralph Pruitt Vaughn	...	Roy
John Saxon	...	Clifford Evans
Laura Whyte	...	Pat Evans
Ray Walston	...	Mr. Stone
Andy Greenway	...	Bobby Evans
Dan Albright	...	Sheriff Reynolds
Gil Roper	...	Emcee
Lonnie R. Smith	...	Policeman
Byron Cherry	...	Newlywed Man
P.J. Shinall	...	Newlywed Woman
Evander Holyfield	...	Boxer
Lou Duva	...	Trainer

Also Known As:

Mad Jake

Runtime:

98 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Finland:K-18 | Australia:M | Germany:18 | USA:R | Iceland:(Banned)

Filming Locations:

Georgia, USA

Company:

Blood Salvage

It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad... JAKE!

Crazy & obscure little early 90's horror gem, this "Mad Jake" (a.k.a. "Blood Salvage). It's definitely better than I expected although severely lacking originality and a little too long for its own good. Tucker Johnston's script almost seems to be a tribute to Tobe Hooper's earliest horror classics, with a family of demented rednecks terrorizing innocent road travelers ("The Texas Chainsaw Massacre") whilst their pet-alligator (remember "Death Trap"?) carelessly wanders around the estate for no real reason. Father Jake is a genius yet totally deranged surgeon/religion freak who, with the help of his two sons Hiram and Roy, removes the healthy organs of innocent people and sells them to a sleazy elderly guy on the black market. Pretending to own a towing-service, Jake picks up the happy Evans family on their way home from a beauty contest where the gorgeous but crippled daughter April *almost* won. He takes an interest in April, as he thinks he can cure her damaged spine, but the young girl is tougher than she looks and fights back. "Mad Jake" contains quite a lot of grisly images, as these weirdos keep all their victims hanging more dead then alive in a barn, and April's desperate attempts to escape result in the occasional flashes of sheer suspense. The villain-characters are rather interesting, especially the oldest son Hiram who wears shirts of Lynyrd Skynyrd and claims all women are dirty whores. He also drives a truck with nasty spikes attached to the front and spontaneously starts fights with heavyweight boxing champions (a cameo by Evander Holyfield). So, you see, there's even a fair share of effective humor in this sadly forgotten horror movie! The acting performances are more than adequate with enthusiast lead players and respectable names in the supportive cast. John Saxon, a personal favorite of mine, stars as April's loving father and Ray Walston briefly appears as the organ dealer, eerily dressed in black. Highly recommended to fans of solid B-horror, if you can find it somewhere.