Blood Trails
Seville
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To atone for cheating, Anne takes her boyfriend, Michael, on a wilderness trip to rekindle their romance. But their happiness--and Michael's life--is short-lived when her one-time lover shows up, and he isn't willing to let Anne be happy with anyone else.

Few films have genuinely scared me. Alien is one. The Hand That Rocks the Cradle is two. There might be a couple more have, but they don't stand out. Except one – The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. Although gruesome and horrifying, it was the constant chasing and screaming that got under my skin unlike any film ever has.

Robert Krause's Blood Trails follows a similar format. A loose but plausible plot is the backdrop for a bloody pursuit. Set in the desolate locale of the mountains, there's a couple of bloody scenes and a whole lot of screaming. Whereas The Texas Chain Saw Massacre left me unable to turn away out of fear, Blood Trails bored me. The experience I had with Tobe Hooper's film can never be duplicated. Therefore there wasn't much else for me to hang onto.

Krause does a good job of moving in and out of time to leave a trail of breadcrumbs that formally piece together the film's important back story. However even that is somewhat contrived as there's nothing overly shocking with the revelations as they unravel.

Blood Trails is a chilling film that I'm sure will affect some. It's creepy in parts and downright horrific in others. If I hadn't seen something similar, I might have felt more strongly about it.

Video: How's it look?
Blood Trails has an artifact-free widescreen transfer, however the picture is hindered greatly by a blurry picture. Even still, there's a lot of mood conveyed through the excellent colours and lighting.

Audio: How's it sound?
The 5.1 Surround audio track plays an important role in establishing the film's tone. Thankfully, the sound is strong, capturing every scream and piece of chase frenzy.

Extras: What additional goodies are included?

• This DVD is relegated to the film only.

Closing Thoughts
Blood Trails is the kind of film that might work best being viewed with a crowd. That way the mood can be better fueled by a collective tension. Watching it alone it's pretty easy to pick some of its parts apart. Watching it in a group and the quiet chit chat might be just distracting enough to make it scarier. Unfortunately the DVD is about as light as it gets as far as extras go.


Review brought to you by our friend Ryan @ Movie-Views.com