Blood Relatives (1978)

Homicide detective Steve Carella is trying to solve the brutal murder of 17-year-old Muriel Stark. Her younger cousin Patricia, who saw the killer and barely escaped with her life, helps him. However, the case soon takes a bizarre turn.

Director:

Claude Chabrol

Writers:

Sydney Banks (screenplay), Claude Chabrol (screenplay)

Stars:

Donald Sutherland, Aude Landry, Lisa Langlois

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Donald Sutherland	...	Steve Carella
Aude Landry	...	Patricia Lowery
Lisa Langlois	...	Muriel Stark
Laurent Malet	...	Andrew Lowery
Stéphane Audran	...	Mrs. Lowery
Walter Massey	...	Mr. Lowery
Micheline Lanctôt	...	Mrs. Carella
Donald Pleasence	...	James Doniac
David Hemmings	...	Armstrong
Kenny Ireland	...	Bert Klinger (as Ian Ireland)
Guy Hoffmann	...	Priest
Marguerite Lemir	...	Helene Beck
Gregory Giannis	...	Sully
Jan Chamberlain	...	Grandmother
Tim Henry	...	Captain Marriott

Storyline

Montreal: Late at night the teenage Patricia flees into a police department, covered all over with blood. She states together with her cousin she took shelter from rain in an entry way on their way home from a party, when an unknown man threatened them, forced her cousin to perform oral sex and then killed her. Patricia could barely escape. The police starts searching among the known sex criminals - but then Patricia changes her statement and states her brother Andrew, who had an affair with his cousin, was the murderer. Inspector Carella doesn't quite believe both the statements.

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Plot Keywords:

murder of a teenage girl | sex | brutal murder | homicide detective | murder | 

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Taglines:

The Most Intimate Act Of All Is... ...Murder!

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

Canada France

Language:

English

Release Date:

October 1981 (USA)

Also Known As:

Blood Relatives

Filming Locations:

Montréal, Québec, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

CAD1,450,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Classic Film Industries, Cinévidéo, Filmel

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

First English language film of French director Claude Chabrol. Though filmed in Canada which hosts both French and English as native languages, French director Claude Chabrol chose to shoot the film in English rather than French as he felt the story would work better on film in the native language of its novel.

User Reviews

continues to ooze a rather unpleasant odour

Considered by many to be a strangely overlooked Chabrol it seems to me the reason it has been cold shouldered is its sleaze factor. Not as overtly sexy, violent or gory as many films of this period it nevertheless starts rather startlingly and although becoming more measured continues to ooze a rather unpleasant odour. Ms Audran, not here the ice maiden but a drunken mother, Donald Pleasence does a cameo as a child molester, David Hemmings has his eyes on underage sex and the central theme involves the relationship between a brother, sister and niece. No not very nice at all and Chabrol treats it all as if it is very normal (like it might be in some small French village!) instead of Ed McBain's New York City. Had this been treated in a more sensational manner then it would have been a more acceptable but lesser film. Here we really have to choose between the likelihood of various unpleasant options before the final denouement. Very watchable