REVIEW: Lights Camera Blood!

Published May 5, 2015 | By The Blue Took

- By @TheBlueTook

Gritty, saturated and grindhouse-esque, LIGHTS CAMERA BLOOD! slings us a struggling horror director named Mandalor (Alan MacKenzie) and his dim-witted, Igor-like subordinate Rodney (Dan Baker-Moor). Rebuked after delivering a uninspiring film to their boss, Mandalor and Rodney take a more unorthodox approach to get back on track. Jumping to the wacky conclusion that creating snuff films is the way forward, they begin to murder unsuspecting actors on celluloid, but as bodies and reputations begin to stack up - Mandalor’s films soon becoming the toast of Tinsel-Town – our director & co manage to bag themselves the leading roles in a criminal investigation.

LIGHTS CAMERA BLOOD! is the latest feature from THE JOGGER creator Kevin Doherty (reviewed here), and is a surprisingly effective throwback, celebrating gorefests of yesteryear. Self-deprecating and crazy, the film is full of ludicrous characters and a cast who all seem comfortable completely committing to the OTT onscreen absurdity - the aforementioned MacKenzie and Baker-Moor particular stand-outs.

Doherty isn’t shy with the claret, delivering loads of the stuff (but not for the sheer sake of it I must add), and the effects are surprisingly commendable given the size of the budget. There are some genuinely revolting moments: slashed throats, gouged eyes, and (a first for me) death-by-telescope - amid much maniacal laughter from Mandalor - extremely reminiscent of the straight-to-video-nasties of the ‘70s and ‘80s. Yes, you’ve probably already guessed the humour is preposterous, divisive, and only some hits its mark, but the bits that do sit nicely with the overall retro tone.

True, after a brilliantly executed title sequence, some of the early scenes may suffer from fluctuating audio quality, the odd acting glitch beyond the intentional quirkiness, and limited resources mean the same set pops up on several occasions, but all this is excusable with everything considered.

ALSO, factor in a visible fictitious film poster for a ‘Gorrific Pictures’ production called RABID BABIES FROM OUTER SPACE and what MORE do you fuckers want?!!