Blood Widow (2014) Review

Blood Widow is a 2014 horror slasher movie that sets itself apart from the normal slasher flick by having a female serial killer being the one doing the butchering. It was directed by Jeremiah Buckhalt, who decided to make his feature film debut with Blood Widow right out of college. His company, Arcani Pictures, has only made one feature film. This one. 

Female killers in slasher movies are nothing new, in fact, the genre was practically born with Jason's mother, Pamela Voorhees, in the original and iconic Friday the 13th film in 1980. Other movies followed in that vein, but even before them we had killer ladies in Giallo films from Italy and some proto-slasher movies like the so-called “Hag horror” or “Psycho-biddy” movies like Strait-Jacket (1964) featured older ladies as serial killers or attackers, and there's some true crime flicks here and there as well, but they are still not necessarily as common in recent horror cinema, so Blood Widow is slightly more interesting than some other slasher movies because of this.

The film is about a couple who just bought a house away from the city. They have parties and invite some people over, but what they don't know is that the neighbor’s house seems to be inhabited by a deadly presence, a psychotic woman with a black full bodysuit and a white mask. Armed with a sickle and other weapons, the deranged killer stalks and mutilates anyone she finds. 

This is nothing more than a serviceable slasher flick with all the faults and trappings of the genre. There's a bunch of young people having parties and looking around a creepy house and they get killed, those are the best moments, predictably.

It’s a well shot and competently executed film in its most general aspects, it's difficult to shake the low budget aura but some might find that charming and likable. Visually, it’s a little crude but I enjoy the rawness and limited resources in B horror movies. It’s also somewhat well lit, with scenes that alternate between well composed and framed, and too darkly shot to make out exactly what’s going on. Part of this gives it a rather creepy vibe at times but other times it just makes you wonder if you are missing out some good gore or maybe it was intentionally kept under the shadows to hide the low production values. 

I did notice how exaggerated the violence was in this movie, every death was way too easy for the killer. I know it's normal for killers to butcher people in a quick manner, people getting their head cut off clean in one swing of an axe is an example of these unreal deaths, but the killer in this movie slices hands and heads with a weapon as small as a sickle, people also get their bones broken with one simple fall in a way that feels too over the top. It's heavily stylized and cartoonish. 

But those are small nitpicks to be honest, it's part of the course when it comes to horror movies like these, it always happens, and the gore effects themselves are top notch, really good work by the FX creators. The prosthetics, fake blood and fake limbs are all solid. So it’s ultimately not a bad thing to show off these effects, even if it slightly messes with the realism.

The look of the serial killer is actually pretty cool, it could have been pretty iconic if they did more sequels and featured the character more in the picture. That's another problem I have, they don't tell us much about the killer in order to make her more interesting, she is kind of generic because of her lack of engaging lore, something that certainly wasn't missing when it came to Freddy, Jason or Michael. She's played by Gabrielle Ann Henry, who has very few other credits, a shame because she did some solid work here with her body language and stunts. 

Gabrielle Ann Henry, the deadly slasher of the picture.

Can't say I cared much about the characters, most of them were either annoying or just flat, but since most of them ended up in the slaughterhouse it was kind of worthwhile to sit through their dialogue scenes and such. It’s barely 80 minutes, so it never overstays its welcome. The ending is brutal, the film is far from positive and doesn't care about softening things up, it’s raw and unforgiving.   

The performances are not the worst, the cinematography looks decent for a low budget picture, the directing is satisfying, the story and characters are not awful or annoying and it delivers the goods as a slasher film. Because of those reasons, I can recommend Blood Widow if you are looking for a fast and cheap picture this Halloween season. A female killer is also always appreciated, so that´s relatively refreshing, we need way more of those.

There are plans for a sequel but nothing has materialized so far. Would it be a good idea to make it ten years after the original’s release? Who knows how it will turn out. I am looking forward to it though.

Batman The Animated Series: Shadow of the Bat (1993) Overview

Batgirl´s debut.

Season one episode fifty-seven of Batman´s prestige animated series introduces one of his most popular sidekicks besides Robin, Batgirl a.k.a Barbara Gordon. Here she is played by Melissa Gilbert who only got to voice her as Batgirl in this two parter and in the episode Batgirl Returns the following season, after that she was replaced by Tara Strong, who continues to play the character to this day. 

Barbara had appeared before in I Am the Night and in Heart of Steel but in Shadow of the Bat she takes the persona of Batgirl for the first time. She is introduced as commissioner Gordon´s athletic daughter, doing gymnastics and talking to her old man.

In the story, the commissioner is framed for taking money from local crime boss Rupert Thorne. Barbara knows this can't be true and asks Batman for help, asking him to show up at the rally being held by new deputy commissioner Gil Mason in support of Gordon. 

When Batman refuses to follow Barbara´s plans in order to solve the case his own way, Barbara decides to take matters into her own hands, dressing up as the hero in order to catch media attention, believing that Batman´s presence there will help make the difference.

Disguised as Batman, Barbara garners the attention she wanted but gangsters try to murder deputy Gil, she fights them along with Robin, who was there to help a disguised Batman solve the mystery. Barbara unmasks one of the thugs and manages to get a look at his face. News Anchor Summer Gleeson records Barbara in her bat costume and "Batgirl" becomes a new sensation.

After the rough night, Barbara visits Gil to tell him about her discovery but finds him with the man she chased and unmasked the night before, realizing that Gil can't be trusted. Because of this, she decides to use the Batgirl costume once more, ending the first part. 

Part 2 shows Robin watching over Gil on a rooftop and encountering Batgirl, Gil talks on the phone with Two Face and agrees to meet with him at an abandoned subway entrance. The sidekicks arrive at the mobster gathering and find Bruce is being held captive by thugs with machine guns and the dreaded villain.  

Batgirl messes up and gives them away, making Bruce fight off his captors and warn Robin. The criminals flee but not before blowing up the subway tunnel, making the heroes drown in river water. Only Batgirl escapes. 

Batgirl learns of Gordon´s whereabouts and manages to disarm Gil (who is about to execute Gordon) with a batarang. Robin and Batman join the fun while Barbara secures her father. Gil is about to drive away in his boat but Batgirl catches up to him and fights him off, leaving him in a coma. The day is saved once again, this time thanks to Batgirl, the new hero of Gotham. 

A good episode of the series, this two parter is a perfect introduction to the character, showing us the beginnings of an amateur Batgirl in a compelling story with personal stakes, but she is kind of overshadowed by a more experienced Robin at some points.

Filled with the intense urban gothic crime atmosphere that characterizes Batman stories, steady and well paced plot development and formidable combat sequences, this impactful and stable story works greatly and finds itself among season one´s highlights. 

Batgirl would later appear in a few more episodes and become part of the Bat Family, but not as often as she should have in the first two seasons of the series. In The New Batman Adventures (the rebranded third season of the show) Batgirl becomes more prominent along with some other sidekicks.

The title Shadow of the Bat will later be referenced in comics later on, some not having much to do with Barbara. Perhaps it´s meaning derives from Barbara dressing up as Batman, but with a title like Shadow of the Bat I can't help but to draw connections to Robert E Howard´s Shadow of the Vulture, both introducing a tough redheaded lady who aids the protagonist (Red Sonya in the short story). Perhaps this is a reference? Who knows.