Legacy of Blood Reviews

Blood Legacy explores the hoariest of horror stories and uncovers nothing new, but the cast of faded Hollywood types adds a sleazy air of defeat that makes it a passable late-night thriller; still, anyone who can't figure out who the killer is within the first ten minutes should be ashamed of themselves. Director Carl Monson's other films were primarily softcore porn exercises with loose plots (A Scream in the Streets, The Takers, Please Don't Eat My Mother), but with Blood Legacy he plays it straight, eschewing skin for bitter family feuding and cheap shocks. His veteran cast members meet gruesome ends by decapitation, electrocution, and piranha attack, but not before endless suspicion, brandy-swilling, and the murder of a yapping puppy. John Carradine picks up another quick paycheck with what amounts to a cameo as the vengeful father whose spiteful children gather to bury him and claim their inheritance (he gleefully opens his testament-on-tape with "Greetings from beyond the grave"). John Russell glowers incessantly as a mysterious chauffeur whose bedroom is full of souvenirs from his tour of duty during WWII, including a lampshade made from a Nazi soldier's flayed skin. Character actor Buck Kartalian has a hard time keeping a straight face as the masochistic butler Igor, but his presence is always welcome. Monson tosses in a final throwaway gag as the credits roll; it isn't funny, but it fits the tone of this ridiculous Ten Little Indians imitation and caps things off with a knowing wink.