Blood Trails (2006)

Director:

Robert Krause

Writers:

Robert Krause &
Florian Puchert ...
(more)

Release Date:

2006 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

"You can't outride death."

Plot:

Bike messenger Anne never imagined the horrific events that would unfold after her one-night-stand with stranger Chris.

Plot Keywords:

Mountain | One Night Stand | Impersonating A Police Officer | Female Nudity | Bicycle Messenger

Cast

Rebecca Palmer	...	Anne
Ben Price	...	Chris
Tom Frederic	...	Michael
J.J. Straub	...	Ranger
Kurt Rauscher	...	Forest Worker 1
Johann Daiminger	...	Forest Worker 2
Christian Heiner Wolf	...	Policeman 1
Maximilian Boxrucker	...	Policeman 2

Directed by
Robert Krause

Writing credits
Robert Krause		&
Florian Puchert
Kai Schneppel		(idea) &
Robert Krause		(idea)

Produced by
Florian Puchert	....	junior producer
Oliver Simon	....	producer

Original Music by
Ben Bartlett		(music by)

Cinematography by
Ralf Noack		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Wolfgang Böhm
Richard Krause

Casting by
Carrie Hilton
Tamara Notcutt		(as Tamara-Lee Notcutt)

Production Design by
Kurt Rauscher

Costume Design by
Ines Burisch

Makeup Department
Birgit Neumaier	....	makeup artist
Thommy Opatz	....	special makeup effects artist

Production Management
Rüdiger Dill	....	production manager
Kirstin Kullik	....	post-production supervisor
Julia Schöning	....	assistant production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Sabine Kargesmeier	....	first assistant director

Art Department
Benjamin Kniebe	....	storyboard artist

Sound Department
Hubert Bartholomae	....	re-recording
Hubert Bartholomae	....	sound editor
Pit Kuhlmann	....	sound editor
Daniel Szymanski	....	sound assistant
Alexander Theodossiadis	....	foley artist
Alexander Theodossiadis	....	production sound mixer
Alexander Theodossiadis	....	sound editor

Visual Effects by
Holger Wenzel	....	animation
Holger Wenzel	....	digital matte painting

Stunts
Ferdinand Fischer	....	stunts
Valerija Korez	....	stunts: mountainbike
Gernot Merkel	....	additional stunts: mountainbike
Julian Mothes	....	additional stunts: mountainbike
Markus Pütterich	....	stunt coordinator
Markus Reiser	....	additional stunts: mountainbike
Patrick Tschigg	....	stunts: mountainbike

Camera and Electrical Department
Joel Andrade	....	photographer
Yenner Arikan	....	gaffer (as Yener Arikan)
Klaus Hackl	....	still photographer
Florian Langanke	....	gaffer
Stefan Preilowski	....	gaffer
Neil Schulte	....	camera assistant

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Patricia Royo	....	costume consultant

Editorial Department
Peter Deinas	....	color grading
Peter Deinas	....	post-production
Christina Schulz	....	assistant editor

Transportation Department
Johann Daiminger	....	driver
Klaus Hackl	....	driver
Anton Hanselbauer	....	motorcycle driver
Andreas Hertle	....	motorcycle driver

Other crew
Sabine Bentenrieder	....	assistant to producer
Karoline Gallasz	....	script consultant: Freex
Sebastian Geissler	....	set manager
Benedikt Greiner	....	set runner
Melanie Hahndorf	....	first location manager
Christian Holzner	....	location coordinator
Christian Holzner	....	making-of
Ines Kardetzky	....	assistant set manager
Elisabeth Karsten	....	script consultant: Storydocs Berlin
Lars Klemm	....	bike model: poster
Thorsten Kuegler	....	title designer (as Thorsten Kügler)
Walter Költsch	....	location scout
Ben Lucchesi	....	production coordinator
Morlind Pohlmann	....	second location manager
Romana Schick	....	production accountant
Julia Schöning	....	making-of
Sebastian Voppmann	....	assistant production office
Verena Weese	....	script consultant: Storydocs Berlin

Production Companies

• Abnormal Pictures
• K5 Film

Distributors

• Lionsgate (2006) (USA) (theatrical)
• Blue Sky Media (2006) (Czech Republic) (all media)
• Free Dolphin Entertainment (2007) (France) (DVD)
• Indies Home Entertainment (2006) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Lionsgate Home Entertainment (2006) (UK) (DVD)
• Lionsgate Home Entertainment (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• MTV Netherlands (2007) (Netherlands) (TV)
• Movie Bank (2006) (Netherlands) (DVD) (rental)
• Starz Home Entertainment (2007) (Australia) (DVD)

Special Effects

• Chris Creatures

Other Companies

• Intex Digital Sound  post-production sound services

Also Known As:

MPAA:

Rated R for bloody violence, language and some sexuality

Runtime:

87 min

Country:

Germany

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R | Australia:MA (2007) | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:R18 | Portugal:M/16 | UK:18

Filming Locations:

Austria

Company:

Abnormal Pictures

Goofs:

Continuity: Anne's face is half covered with blood before plunging into the river. She emerges from the river and her face is mostly clear of blood. In the very next scene as she carries her bike through the woods, her face is again half covered with blood. In the next cut, it's mostly clear again.

The Torturous German Mountain Bike Massacre

"Blood Trails" is truly a mixed bag and I honestly can't decide whether I should be harsh or mild in my user comment. On one hand, it's an admirably tense nowadays horror flick with brutal gore, lovely filming locations and identifiable main characters, but on the other hand it serves cliché after cliché as well as a banquet of stupid & illogical twists. I liked the realism of the character drawings. Anne and Michael are going through a severe relationship crises and decide to head out to their favorite holiday resort; a cabin surrounded by thick woods where they can practice their common hobby of mountain biking. But there's more. Brief flashbacks indicate that Anne had a one-night-stand with a rude cop, and when he suddenly appears on his mountain bike as well, a cruel & bloody chase through the woods begins. The first half hour of "Blood Trails" is really good, showing Anne struggling with her inner demons and the flashbacks gradually revealing what psycho her one night lover was. The film also features the extremely vile and presumably unique murder-by-bike sequence! Just in case you always wondered how you can slice someone's carotid artery using only a bike, this is your movie! Okay, so far we had amiable characters and impressive bloodshed, but unfortunately the movie then becomes pretty bad & irritating. How the deranged killer managed to exactly trace the couple, I'm still prepared to overlook, but Anne then makes so many stupid decisions that she almost deserves to die. Why didn't she at least try to wait wait for her rescuers atop the mountain, since they were just a couple of minutes away? Doesn't she realize she's the one acting like an escaped crazy woman when she meets the woodchoppers? Why stop and thoroughly study the road map when you can drive far away from the forest? The last twenty minutes are dreadfully boring, and a very shameless attempt to cash in on the success of torture-porn highlights like "Saw" and "Hostel", with the demented killer patiently explaining to Anne why exactly he's so looking forward to kill her. "Blood Trails" was shot and produced in Germany, but promoted for the international market. Director Robert Krause is a German as well, and this film is his long-feature debut after two acclaimed short movies. The make-up effects are quite impressive and definitely not intended for the eyes of squeamish, but a slightly more coherent narrative and more logical twists would still have been better.