An interesting beast, Cold Blood is. Made on an incredibly low budget, it is a commendable effort, if not wholly effective. There is an effectively creepy mood developed through most of the film, mostly due to the effective use of music and sound effects. Where it fails is in the story development. But I'm getting ahead of myself.
The movie opens with a bang, quite literally as a woman struck, and killed, with a blow from a baseball bat. We get quick flashbacks to a moment of infidelity, followed by an insane moment of unfortunate rage. Once that blow is struck, there is no turning back and our lead is sent into a downward spiral that you must know will not end well.
JM is the man with the rage problem, and the woman lying in a bloody pool is his wife, Andrea. Racked with guilt, JM cannot bring himself to dispose of the body. Instead, he loads her into his car and takes off for his sisters old farmhouse, the same place he got had gotten married just a year before.
He is looking to just get away and find a way to deal with the shock that is setting in. But before long he meets the farms caretaker and his wife, one is slightly weird, in a Southern kind of way, and the other is always complaining about her husband. Then there are the hallucinations JM is having of his dearly departed. And we cannot forget the all important freezer, which teaches us to be careful of who knows the combination.
Cold Blood is successful at creating an aura of suspense and dread by slowly building up to the intensity of the climax. The music and the methodical pacing build our expectations for what is yet to come.
Sadly, where the film falters is in the way the story is told. It effectively builds suspense, but the connection between JM and Andrea is never fully developed. The viewer has to guess at the reasoning for JM's reluctance to get rid of her. We never get to see them in happier times, outside of a wedding video. This brings down the drama level, and hurts the film in the long run.
Being a low(no?) budget affair, this is an impressive film. The core of the story is very good. The acting is sub par on the whole, but there are a few good moments. The kills are also pretty good.
Video. The film is presented in non-anamorphic 1.85:1 widescreen. It was shot on 16mm film and looks pretty good, sharp colors and good blacks. The budget constraints hold it back from looking better.
Audio. The audio is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1. It does the music justice, but the dialogue has an odd, layered affect that is a little awkward. Ahh, the pitfalls of zero budget cinema.
Extras. There is a decent selection considering the nature of the film.
-Commentary. The track features writer/director Brian Avenet-Bradley, Cinematographer/Actor Laurence Avenet-Bradley, and star Barnes Walker III. It is a decent track, they always have something to say about the production and how they did certain shots and such.
-Making of Featurette. There is a 15 minute featurette which has some interesting information on how they developed the practical effects used.
-Songs Behind the Story. This was initially conceived as black comedy with a number of songs, they are all represented here. Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, the songs are pretty bad rockabilly numbers.
-Deleted Scene. There is a single deleted scene, it's excision did not change anything.
-Cast and Crew Bios.
-6 Easter Eggs, I have not looked for these yet.
Bottomline. This was a pretty good watch, nothing outstanding, but proves that an interesting tale can be told even without a budget.
Mildly Recommended.
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