Film Review--Blood Shack

Blood Shack
directed by Ray Dennis Steckler
written by Roy Haydock and Ray Dennis Steckler
starring Carol Brandt, Ron Haydock, Jason Wayne, Laurel Spring, John Bats, Steve Edwards, Linda Steckler, Laura Steckler

Ah, the great Ray Dennis Steckler. His films are certainly an acquired taste but they go down fairly easily once you have adjusted your digestive track by being kicked multiple times in the stomach. This film comes half way through his maniacal career and it’s truly one of his best/worst. It’s really hard to tell with Steckler because he’s definitely going after a particular aesthetic in his films. The acting has to be as unnatural as possible and there has to be scenes that have absolutely nothing to do with whatever loose plot is hanging about. In this one there are numerous scenes of a rodeo that seem only to have been injected into the film because Steckler likes rodeos. They mean nothing otherwise and only manage to drag the film down. It’s only 55 minutes long anyway and the rodeo kills ten minutes so that leaves even less time to convincingly tell a story.

The story as far as it goes involves a creepy house/shack that is over 150 years old and apparently whenever anyone goes into it they are attacked by something called the Trooper, I believe, although it could just as easily been the Terper. Regardless, it’s just a crazed man in a sort of ninja outfit who attacks those who wander into the building by mistake. As the film opens a pretty girl named Connie (Spring) is for some odd, goddamn reason that is never explained supposed to spend the night in the house. She does and is naturally attacked and killed in a ridiculous fashion that comes from a director who never could kill someone convincingly. Then her husband Charlie (Bats) shows up and he too gets slaughtered. A constable (Edwards) shows up to investigate the disappearance of the two kids and he gets killed. That’s pretty much it for plot.

There is also two little girls (Steckler’s real live daughters Linda and Laura) and they seem to have no purpose other than to play on things and run about hysterically when they are being chased out of the house by Daniel (Wayne) who has warned them about the house time and time again. They go in and one would expect the Trooper to butcher them but of course being kids and therefore protected from such an act they merely run out of the house and shriek. Naturally they are adorable as hell and do add that special something cute kids add to all horror films which is simply a counterpoint to all the terror and bloodshed that is going on. The kiddies almost always escape the hearty blade or axe of the maniac because he never sees them as much of a challenge. It’s all too easy to bag a tot although one would imagine the pleasure would be even more pronounced than usual because the wee ones are so valuable. They are simply worth more than adults and subsequently their sad little deaths might have more currency in hell.

The Trooper in this film is a silly little man. He appears out of nowhere to kill and then leave. Daniel is left to clean up after the act and buries the bodies somewhere out in the desert.

The sexy quotient of the film is filled by the exquisite Carol Brandt, Steckler’s real life wife. She plays Carol and is indeed the heart of the film as she always leaves a permanent mark in whatever Steckler production she appears in. She slinks about, looking awkward and a bit confused and she doesn’t do much of anything. In fact nobody does much of anything in this film except the rodeo participants who do some mean riding but that’s about it. Otherwise, nothing gets done and people just stand around waiting for something that is never going to happen. One would at least expect an utterly pointless sex scene between Daniel and Carol but that never happens. Maybe one of the girls could get caught in barbed wire. That would certainly be terribly fun in an Edward Gorey sort of way. But, there’s nothing at all. Just a wicked house and a man in a wacky costume snuffing whoever goes into it.

The Trooper has to be Steckler. Who ever would be able to play such a significant part in this film? It’s not easy playing psychotic. It takes a special kind of person to mimic actual psychosis and I think Steckler does a fairly good job at it. As good as anyone on no budget could do.

The acting in this film is inspired in a classically terrible sort of way. It’s often hysterical, far too over the top, especially and mostly by Wayne as Daniel. The others are flat except for Carol Brandt but she’s the only actor in the lot. In fact, except for Roy Hadock (Tim) the rest of them never acted in another film. So, it’s not fair to judge them. Actually, they are only considered “bad” when compared to those who have gained a certain amount of artificiality with their presentation. In fact, these “actors” are quite natural after a fashion. They have what used to be called “spunk” which is a nasty word with an entirely different meaning these days.

Overall, these kids put on a helluva show here in this little film. It isn’t exactly entertaining or interesting or even particularly fun. But it does have a real Manson Family vibe which makes it considerably more thrilling in the end. One expects Charlie to show up to groove on, man, with ten or twelve young girls for his infinite pleasure. Charlie don’t need seventy virgins, he’s already had them and they were as good as advertised. In this film, it’s all about waiting for the Trooper to come in and do his dastardly thing on the flesh of some unsuspecting idiot. That’s it for suspense and it just doesn’t come enough. It’s such a filthy shack and poor Connie had to sleep on a filthy mattress that looked like some ghastly things were done on it. Who knows how much fluid has soaked into its material. It’s not that pleasant at all to consider but it’s so clear that there’s been a whole lot of it. It would have been even better if the Trooper was a sexual sadist or something equally cliched. Or if he wore a smashing tutu and a funny bowler hat when he did them all in. Or a President Millard Filmore face mask.

Ultimately, it’s a laugh riot all the way through. The kids give the film much needed energy and their movements are certainly enjoyable throughout. Still, they are kids and therefore become a bit less grand after a while. The film has a definite look that is difficult to come by when you put too much effort into it. It certainly feels like a desert as the thick clouds of dust are very palpable. It’s sort of greasy and dirty and one feels as if they have spent the night on that wretched mattress by the end of it. So, indeed, it’s successful in creating a mood of despair and disease. One can’t wait to wash it all off by the time it’s over. This film manages to do what few films are able to do. It creates an actual physical response in its audience although that response is one of great discomfort and it has nothing to do with the subject matter. The killings are easily maneuvered around but the look of the film is impossible to ignore and it is quite enough to make a person feel ill for a short while. Maybe not full on sick but certainly a bit nauseous with clammy skin and stomach cramps. If any film can create spontaneous boils, it is this film.