Blood Salvage (1990)

Twisted tale about a crazy, preaching redneck named Jake who kidnaps people off the highway and performs sick medical experiments on them. He then proceeds to sell their organs on the black... See full summary »

Director:

Tucker Johnston

Writers:

Tucker Johnston, Ken Sanders

Stars:

Danny Nelson, Lori Birdsong, Christian Hesler

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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 Jr.	...	Policeman (as Lonnie Smith)
Byron Cherry	...	Newlywed Man
P.J. Shinall	...	Newlywed Woman
Evander Holyfield	...	Boxer
Lou Duva	...	Trainer

Storyline

Twisted tale about a crazy, preaching redneck named Jake who kidnaps people off the highway and performs sick medical experiments on them. He then proceeds to sell their organs on the black market to Mr. Stone. Everything is fine until he kidnaps the handicapped April and finds that she is harder to control than the others.

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Plot Keywords:

wheelchair | psycho | eye gouging | beauty pageant | mother daughter relationship | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Comedy | Horror

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 September 1990 (USA)

Also Known As:

Mad Jake

Filming Locations:

Georgia, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Blood Salvage,High Five Entertainment,Paragon Arts International

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

Last film to be released by Paragon Arts International.

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Goofs

At the 31 minute mark when Mrs Evans is in the kitchen there is a boom mic clearly visible at the top of the shot, from two different angles for almost a minute.

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Quotes

Jake Pruitt: Praise The Lord... Another Convert

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Connections

References The Night of the Hunter (1955)

User Reviews

The Atlanta Highway Massacre.

Blood Salvage is a one-of-a-kind in so far as it is the only horror film (to my knowledge) to be produced by a world heavyweight boxing champion: Evander Holyfield (who also has a cameo as himself, taking on opponents in the ring at a fairground). Thematically, however, the film is far less unique, using Tobe Hooper's oft-mimicked Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and his follow up Eaten Alive, for its template, with just a little bit of Motel Hell for good measure.

Lori Birdsong plays pretty teen April Evans, who doesn't let the fact that she is in a wheelchair stop her from entering beauty contests. Returning home from a pageant, the Evans family lose a wheel on their RV, unaware that it has been tampered with by reprehensible redneck Hiram, who forces vehicles off the road so that his father Jake can farm the organs of the injured occupants to sell on the black market (to the deviant Dr. Stone, played by My Favourite Martian star Ray Walston).

No sooner has the RV skidded to a halt, than Jake shows up to offer a helping hand, towing the family to his home where, one by one, he adds them to his organ farm—with the exception of April, who reminds Jake of his dead wife. By injecting April with spinal fluid taken from her younger brother Bobby (Andy Greenway), Jake hopes to make April walk once more, and then make her his wife. Of course, with April's legs functional, escape is possible, but the hicks' massive pet alligator makes matters more difficult…

Director Tucker Johnston wisely aims for a darkly comic tone, and occasionally hits the target—Jake's victims moaning 'help me' in unison as Mr. Evans (John Saxon) makes a bid for freedom is a wonderfully macabre moment—but with the general predictability of the script and not nearly enough in the way of graphic ghoulishness (despite the nature of the film, gore is kept to a minimum), Blood Salvage isn't quite as entertaining as its morbid premise promises.