Wednesday 14 September 2011

E-Film News: Blood Runs Cold

A snowy retreat turns into a fight for survival in Swedish horror Blood Runs Cold (2011)

You'd think that beautiful twenty-somethings would have learned to stop visiting dark, creaky houses in the middle of the night by now, but as a horror fan I'm glad they haven't. In fact, they're at it again in Blood Runs Cold, a new Swedish slasher in the classic mould of Carpenter's Halloween (1978). The last blood-soaked Swedish export to reach UK shores was Tomas Alfredson's Let The Right One In (2008), a beautiful coming-of-age vampire movie, but this looks like more of a full-on limb-lopping affair, and y'know what? I can't wait. According to the press notes, the story goes like this...

Following a busy year of relative success in the record business, Winona heads back to her tiny hometown in the remote outskirts of Stockholm to stay at a house her manager has rented where she can relax alone and hopefully find inspiration to write some new songs. As a snowstorm brews and night begins to fall, she manages to find the house but is disappointed to discover it's not the luxurious retreat she was expecting.
Shortly after settling in, Winona becomes unsettled by the creepy creaking sounds of the old house and decides to head to a bar in town for refreshments and some company. There, she bumps into a former boyfriend and a couple he knows and invites them back to the house for a few drinks. At the end of the night, with everyone either too drunk or too tired to drive home, they decide to crash until morning. But as the four friends prepare to sleep, an unknown presence stirs within the house, one that has been watching and waiting for the moment to strike.

What's obvious from the trailer (viewable below) is that director Sonny Laguna is pulling no punches. The trailer indicates a healthy blend of dread-filled atmosphere and bloody axe murders, and both seem to come at a pretty unrelenting pace! Indeed, at a brief 80 minutes this looks to be a return to the classic slasher formula, but with added (frost)bite for good measure. Shot on a shoestring $5,000 budget, Laguna is clearly realising a passion project here, and he seems to have pulled off a rip-roaring success. The film is available to buy on DVD from October 3rd, and I should have a review coming for you soon. Stay tuned...

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