BLOOD SHACK

A.k.a. BLOOD MONSTER; THE CHOOPER; CURSE OF THE EVIL SPIRIT

Three teenagers pull up in an old car outside an abandoned ranch in the desert. The female tells the two males that the ranch is haunted by an ancient Indian spirit called The Chooper.

The girl dares her boy friends to spend the night in the ranch with her. Instead they throw her out of the car, along with her sleeping bag, and tell her if she's crazy enough to want to sleep over in a haunted house then she can do it alone.

So be it. The girl brushes past topless caretaker Daniel (Jason Wayne), who insists that the Chooper will come and kill her if she sets foot in the house.

Later that evening, after stripping to her smalls and tucking up for bed, the girl hears strange noises and sees eerie shadows on the wall. Suddenly, a tall dark figure pounces into frame and repeatedly stabs the girl with a sword.

The morning after, Daniel returns to the ranch, only to find the girl dead. Annoyed that she never took his advice, Daniel takes the girl's body into the desert and buries it - but not before stealing her cash.

Later that same day, Tim Foster (THE THRILL KILLERS; RAT PFINK A BOO BOO) turns outside the ranch. He's there awaiting the arrival of Carol (Carolyn Brandt, THE THRILL KILLERS; THE SEXORCIST), who has inherited the ranch from her late father.

Tim is desperate to buy the property, and with it the land and precious water supply that comes with it. Carol, however, is not interested in selling - the ranch has been in the family for decades, after all.

Tim warns Carol that for years, anyone who has entered the house has wound up dead at the hands of the notorious Chooper. Carol, being a city girl, isn't about to believe in such nonsense. She sends Tim on his way - but suggests they may meet in future to re-negotiate, should she have a change of heart.

But Tim is persistent and, despite the stubborness of Carol and threats from her right-hand-man Daniel, keeps turning up demanding that the property be sold to him.

Through Carol's echoing narration, we learn that Tim believe's his grandfather's share in the ranch had been robbed from him years ago during a rigged game of poker.

Meanwhile, a couple of curious teens make the mistake of wandering into the decrepit ranch one sunny afternoon. The die. The sheriff later investigates their disappearance, with all leads directing him to the ranch. He dies too.

And this is the way BLOOD SHACK carries on, with Tim turning up to spoil Carol's day at the rodeo, or her playtime with a couple of local kids, or whatever she may be doing. It's either that, or people falling foul of "the Chooper" ...

BLOOD SHACK is a cheap, grainy 16mm affair from 1971. Although the titles credit the film to Wolfgang Schmidt, this actually one of many pseudonyms used by Ray Dennis Steckler (THE THRILL KILLERS; THE INCREDIBLY STRANGE CREATURES WHO STOPPED LIVING AND BECAME MIXED-UP ZOMBIES!!?).

The film works on a basic, crude level. The story is simplistic, and the dialogue straight to the heart of the matter. Okay, the narration is often cringe-worthy, but strangely the film gets away with it. If anything, it ADDS to the endearing tackiness.

Shot mostly outdoors in the daytime, the photography is quite good, making full use of the desert scenery. Unfortunately the lack of budget means natural lighting only, so the indoor scenes (particularly during the first murder) are very dark.

The acting is risible (especially from Wayne, who comes unintentionally comes across as the gayest screen cowboy ever). But, again, it works in a weird way.

FX are minimal, but Steckler manages to create the illusion of the film being more gruesome than it is, mainly by filming the Chooper scenes with an energetic gusto uncommon in this type of cinema.

Oh, then there's the Scooby-Doo-style "twist" ending that can be seen coming from a mile off, and the long drawn-out padding scenes of the kids playing at the rodeo!

But, for all it's flaws, BLOOD SHACK is never less than watchable.

Not a terrible film by any stretch of the imagination, but perhaps a few rungs lower down the ladder than what most people would consider "low budget"!

The full-frame picture is a little soft and grainy, but not bad considering. This is probably the best we're likely to see BLOOD SHACK looking. The mono audio track is very loud and clear - I was peasantly surprised.

The disc from Odeon Entertainment offers no extras whatsoever. The static main menu offers the options of playing the movie, or choosing the Scene Selection with it's 12 chapters. And that's your lot.

One point to consider - the back cover states the film is 90 minutes long. It's not, it's 60 minutes long. Which, to some, may be a blessing!

Review by Stu Willis