Alright, you sick puppies, gather ’round for a tale of family bonding, teenage angst, and good old-fashioned murder. “Bloody Axe Wound” is here to tickle your funny bone and possibly remove a few other bones while it’s at it.

The Gist: Serial Killing as a Family Business

Picture this: a video store that’s actually a front for some seriously messed up snuff films. The twist? The owner’s a serial killer who’s been slicing and dicing teens faster than you can say “late fees.” But wait, there’s more! His daughter, Abby Blake Cut (yeah, that’s her name, deal with it), wants in on the family business. Talk about bring-your-daughter-to-work day gone horribly wrong!

“Bloody Axe Wound” is like “90210” decided to do a crossover with “Halloween” – Jim Phoenix, HauntedMTL

Daddy’s Little Monster

So, Daddy Dearest isn’t too keen on his baby girl following in his bloody footsteps. I mean, come on, it’s 2024 – girls can be anything they want, even psychopathic murderers! But our guy’s stuck in the past, probably still thinks women belong in the kitchen (chopping vegetables, not people).

Jennifer’s Body [Blu-ray]

• Factory sealed DVD
• Megan Fox, Amanda Seyfried, Johnny Simmons (Actors)
• Karyn Kusama (Director) – Diablo Cody (Writer) – Mason Novick (Producer)

$11.95

Buy on Amazon

Last update on 2025-01-07 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

A Feminist Slasher? You Bet Your Ass!

Abby’s not just fighting for her right to party (and by party, I mean brutally murder people). She’s breaking down barriers in the male-dominated field of serial killing. Move over, Jason and Freddy – there’s a new blade in town (no, not Mahershala Ali…only one real Blade…), and she’s got a point to prove (several points, actually, all of them sharp).

Horror Tropes Galore

This flick’s got more tropes than a teenager’s got hormones:

• Awkward sexual exploration? Check.
• That one friend who’s way too old to be hanging with high schoolers? You betcha.
• A cursed town where everyone’s oblivious to the killer in their midst? Oh, honey, it’s all here.

It’s like “90210” decided to do a crossover with “Halloween,” and somehow it works!

Sale

Ginger Snaps (Collector’s Edition) [Blu-ray]

• Factory sealed DVD
• Kristopher Lemche, Emily Perkins, Katharine Isabelle (Actors)
• John Fawcett (Director) – Steven Hoban (Producer)

$19.99

Buy on Amazon

Last update on 2025-01-07 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

The Verdict: 4.5 out of 5 Bloody Thumbs Up

Look, I’m not saying “Bloody Axe Wound” is gonna win any Oscars (unless they finally add that “Best Dismemberment” category I’ve been lobbying for). But hot damn, it’s a fun ride. It’s got laughs, it’s got gore, it’s got a weirdly heartwarming father-daughter story if you squint hard enough. This one is a rewatchable movie and probably a cult classic for many of us.

So, grab your popcorn, leave your sensitivity at the door, and get ready for a movie that’ll make you laugh, cringe, and possibly reconsider your family dynamics. Just remember: the family that slays together, stays together!

(4.5 / 5)

P.S. Don’t bring the kids. Unless you want them to have a very awkward conversation with their school counselor.

P.P.S. Sorry, once again, for killing your name in our podcast…

“Lives coil within lives. Dreams coil within dreams.”

First and foremost, I would like to thank Lucretia Grindle for providing me with an ARC of This Work of Darkness. Being immersed in 17th-century Salem Massachusetts was just what I needed to escape the insanity of the holiday season. With a planned publication date of January 16, 2025, This Work of Darkness is Book 2 of Grindle’s Salem duology. For anyone who has not read The Devil’s Glove, Book 1 of this series, please see my review here.

The Plot.

In the opening chapters of This Work of Darkness, we meet back up with Resolve Hammond. Now a young woman of means, living comfortably within the English family home in the heart of Salem, Massachusetts. Her days are filled with the rhythms of life in the bustling town – tending to the English family store and interacting with the townsfolk.
However, beneath this veneer of contentment lies a deep-seated guilt. Years ago, Resolve made a solemn promise to Thaddeus and Abigail Hobbs: she would always protect and care for Abigail as a sister. Driven by a conscience burdened by her broken promise, Resolve seeks out Abigail. The stark contrast between her own privileged existence and the abject poverty and despair she witnesses at the Hobbs farm does nothing to alleviate her guilt. Abigail’s deteriorating mental state serves as a painful reminder of Resolve’s failings.
As Resolve grapples with her guilt and the haunting memories of her past, a sinister undercurrent begins to stir within Salem. Accusations of spectral visitations and inexplicable afflictions erupt within the community, casting a pall of fear and suspicion over the townsfolk. One by one, the women in Resolve’s life – her friends, her confidantes, the very fabric of her social circle – are swept away by the hysteria, accused of witchcraft, and dragged before the court.

Highlights.

A key highlight of This Work of Darkness lies in Grindle’s masterful weaving of historical figures and events with her compelling fictional characters. This is historical fiction at its finest. The novel is rich with recognizable names and occurrences from the Salem Witch Trials, prompting me to frequently delve into further research, eagerly verifying the historical accuracy of characters I didn’t immediately recognize. To my delight, many of these were indeed real figures, and the book itself served as a fascinating gateway to deeper historical exploration. Grindle deserves significant praise for her poignant portrayal of the human suffering that unfolded during this period. Unlike many novels on the Salem Witch Trials, This Work of Darkness delves deeply into the individual experiences of its characters, meticulously exploring their motivations, relationships, and the profound impact of the hysteria on their lives.

Drawbacks.

This Work of Darkness is a sequel and as such of course must make references to the first work as a way to join the two together. However, I found that Grindle spent a lot of time in the first half of this novel recounting and rehashing the events of The Devil’s Glove. This can feel somewhat repetitive for readers experiencing this book as a sequel, and overwhelming for those approaching the novel as a standalone work.

As I mentioned in my review of The Devil’s Glove, Grindle is a wordsmith. This has not changed. However, while the phrase “Mother Gossip” (not a character but the gossip trending through the social circles of the story) initially adds a unique flavor to the novel’s language, its frequent recurrence throughout the narrative detracts from the overall reading experience. This repetitive use of the phrase, despite its initial charm, becomes somewhat tedious and disrupts the flow of the otherwise creatively written story.

The Final Take.

This Work of Darkness had me digging through the back of my bookshelf and rediscovering the joy that is Henry Miller’s, The Crucible. While the complete truth of the Salem Witch Trials may forever remain shrouded in mystery, Grindle’s exploration of the social and psychological factors that fueled the accusations was particularly insightful and entertaining.

As with its predecessor, I found myself captivated by the narrative, marking numerous passages and quotes. Perhaps my favorite from the entire series, is found in Chapter 29:

‘Truth, I would remind him, had little to do with anything these days. What mattered was what people chose to believe. That was what turned the jail keys.”

Pretty profound if you ask me.

Episode five of Original Sin was surprisingly light. At least, as light as a show can be when it involves murder, teenage drug use, and the anniversary of the death of a beloved parent.

The story

We begin this episode right where the last one left off. Mad Dog, Dexter’s latest victim, is hit by a car and killed. This leaves Dexter with the unpleasant chore of cleaning up a crime scene but not being able to actually kill someone.

Meanwhile, Harry is getting ready for the trial of Levi Reed. This trial seems like it will be a slam dunk, except for one terrible surprise. Turns out Harry messed up and hid what probably wouldn’t have been evidence strong enough to dismiss the case until he hid it.

What worked

One of the reasons why Dexter is so popular is that it’s funny. While it is a show that deals with very heavy subject matter, it’s also managed to be funny most of the time.

This episode is funny. It starts with Dex cursing over and over while he frantically and meticulously cleans up his crime scene, then hiding in a corner with a bag of incriminating trash. We later see him eat way too many pot brownies and get high as a kite, then eat two pizzas while laughing at I Love Lucy with Deb.

These are funny scenes that fit into the heaviness of the show. It doesn’t feel like emotional whiplash when we go from the kids getting high to Harry having a mental breakdown because that makes sense. Rather than forcing humor where it doesn’t belong, the writers made this comedy make sense.

I also loved that we’re seeing Dexter become who he will be. He’s terrified of losing control. He’s always learning how to kill more efficiently. And for someone who claims to not have regular human emotions, he already seems to understand a lot more about how the people around him are likely to act.

At least, he gets how Harry’s going to respond.

I like that he’s not just a teen version of the same character. I like that we’re seeing how this young mentally ill man changed into the adult mentally ill man we all know and love.

Finally, we are really seeing the depths of how bad of a cop, and frankly a person, Harry is. Because Harry isn’t a good person.

He withheld evidence in a murder trial because he just didn’t consider it valid.

He ignored his kids, especially Deb when they needed him.

He’s having an affair with his CI, which is not only bad because he’s a married man, but because he’s taking advantage of a huge power imbalance between the two of them.

And finally, when he singlehandedly lost a murder trial, he got drunk and almost shot a man. When he couldn’t do it himself, he let Dexter off the leash.

Harry is a bad person. And that’s kind of awesome. That’s the sort of villain origin story that I love to see. He is a more interesting character because of this. And Dexter is more understandable because of what we understand about the man who raised him.

What didn’t work

It took me a while to look over this episode of Dexter Original Sin and find something to complain about. And honestly, there’s one part of this season that’s been bothering me.

I don’t love that Harry is spending so much time with little Dexter. It just doesn’t make sense to me. At least, not with the story of the original show.

Especially in the first season, it’s clear that Dexter doesn’t remember anything before the death of his mother. That makes sense, as he was very very small. But this little Dexter feels like he would have been old enough to remember some of this.

But, you might say, he was traumatized. He watched his mother be brutally slaughtered and was left for days in a shipping crate with his mother’s body. And yeah, it does make sense that he would forget a lot.

But would he never have the slightest inkling that he was now being raised by the man who suddenly showed up in his life, babysat him, and tucked him lovingly into bed?

Overall, this was a great episode. It was funny, touching, and moved along several storylines. I’m excited to see what comes next. (4 / 5)