Rubber Monster Reviews Gets A 'Bloody Axe Wound'
'Tis but a scratch! Plus: The latest on Bear Skin, Charlotte and the Clockwork Heart & Roseblood Manor!
Hey there, Bad Bugs! Are you ready for more B-movie goodies? Super! Keep on scrollin’, then…
Bloody Axe Wound (2024)
This one has been on my radar for a while now, and it recently dropped on AMC+/Shudder. I went in mostly blind, only knowing: 1. That it was from the same folks that made Uncle Peckerhead, which was another amazeballs horror comedy, and 2. They used Jeffrey Dean Morgan (Supernatural, The Walking Dead, The Boys) to promote it. For those of you hoping to say “Yes, Daddy!” to Papa Negan Winchester throughout, though - he’s not in it for long. ;)
Still, the flick does just fine without him. To set your expectations, as I hinted at above, this is more of a meta horror comedy than a proper slasher film. The shtick? The town of Clover Falls is home to Bladecut (played, under all that latex, by Billy Burke - Revolution, Zoo), a slasher who’s been chopping up the town’s teens for decades. He’s ALSO the owner of Real To Reel, the local video shop…which features film versions of all of his kills. Does it all make sense? No. But we’re not here for the logic, kids.
We quickly find out that his victims are chosen by circles that magically appear around kids’ yearbook pictures, and business has been booming for years. But now, the video store is on the verge of extinction. While Bladecut has a plan for handing off the franchise to new blood, his daughter Abbie (played by Sari Arambulo - A.P. Bio, The L Word: Generation Q) has other ideas. She wants in on the family biz as the ‘Spawn of Bladecut’, complete with her own signature wolf mask. When she decides to go undercover at the high school, slasher tropes meet coming-of-age antics in a delightful way - especially when she starts falling for one of her intended victims, a rocker grrrl drummer named Sam (played by Molly Brown - Dexter Original Sin, Evil). Needless to say, Daddy Bladecut was NOT impressed.
This flick was a ton of fun, due in no small part to its fantastic supporting cast. Glenn (played by Eddie Leavy - A.P. Bio), a Bladecut family friend, worked hard as the “extra” in all the plotlines, from his takes on Ducky from Pretty In Pink to the crazy old fella warning kids of danger in Friday The 13th. And it was nice to see the familiar faces of the Uncle Peckerhead cast in the intro scene with Jeffrey Dean Morgan - Chet Siegel, David Littleton and Jeff Riddle all had cameos. And the fact that their fictional band from Uncle Peckerhead, DUH, are also featured on a band flyer? A golden Easter Egg if ever there was one…
This thing wore its love for slasher films on its sleeve, and the addition of the high school dramedy angle worked surprisingly well. Plus, the blood and gore were over the top, just as you’d want them to be. I’d give it a solid 4/5 axe wounds!
For Music Nerds: Much like the aforementioned Uncle Peckerhead, this thing had a phenomenal soundtrack. Jeff Riddle is in the band Five Hundred Bucks, and helped write songs for both movies. I’d highly recommend checking out their new album, Pest Sounds, due out April 25th!
WHAT’S KICKIN’ ON KICKSTARTER
Bear Skin: Keep a light on for Mrs. Kern’s Boy - Jason Pell’s dark and moody series about a deranged lunatic in a nasty bear costume continues on Kickstarter! Art by Jok.
COMING SOON
Roseblood Manor #5 - Bad Bug’s horror anthology series returns later this week with more tales of the macabre! Stories written and illustrated by some of our most acclaimed interior artists: Alessandro Amoruso (AstroWitch, Dead End Moon), Zoran Jovicic (Vanya: The Lost Warrior, Pirates of Miskatonia), and Cari Salviejo (HyperGeist, XenoGeist, Lady of the Black Fan). Click here to follow along!
Charlotte and the Clockwork Heart #1 - A life-sized mechanical doll, brought to life by a magical clockwork heart, lives under the control of her cruel inventor. but when she hears tales of a fabled utopian city—a haven of hedonism and pleasure—her hope is ignited. Defiant, she sets out on a daring quest to forge her own destiny. • Created and written by Saskia Kelly, illustrated by Daniel Mainé, colored by CF Lum, and lettered by Dave Lentz. PRE-LAUNCH SIGNUP IS HERE.
That’s it for this round! See ya soon…
Bugs and Kisses,
John and the Bad Bug crew
