- editor rating
-
1
- user rating
- flags
-
- Violence
- Not For Children
- genres
- sub-genres
- category
- Feature
- directed by
- countries
- USA
- released
- 1976
- run time
- 90 min.
(1976)
1
Paul Gaita
A quartet of New Yorkers (among them former AIP player Kenny Miller of I Was a Teenage Werewolf fame) travels to a small town in the Florida Everglades to spend their vacation in a remote cabin. Their R&R is threatened by a trio of gun-toting thugs, as well as rumors of ape-like creatures called "bloodstalkers" haunting the swampland around the cabin. Tensions reach a boiling point when the creatures attempt to invade the cabin, and one of the vacationers (Jerry Albert) must make a desperate run through the swamp to find help.
Largely unseen during two brief theatrical runs (once under its original title, then again under the more grindhouse-friendly Bloodstalkers), this 16 mm, Florida-lensed obscurity is an uneven but occasionally effective horror thriller. Writer/director Robert W. Morgan (who also plays Jarvis the bald thug) shows flashes of inspiration in several scenes, most notably a long sequence which intercuts between slow-motion footage of Albert running through the swamp, the "bloodstalkers" breaking into the cabin, and a rural gospel chorus in full cry. He also fleshes out his characters beyond the usual exploitation stereotypes, though much of the credit must be shared with his cast, especially Miller. Morgan is less successful with his script; the gory finale, in particular, is a hamfisted and downbeat conclusion that negates much of the earlier, more believable moments. Straight-ahead horror fans might find this one easy to dismiss; however, students of '70s exploitation and Bigfoot cineastes are encouraged to seek out this diverting curiosity. Morgan, a Florida-based gun enthusiast and self-proclaimed monster hunter, once headed an expedition to locate the "American Yeti," and also contributed to The Mysterious Monsters, a low-budget speculative documentary about cryptozoology, directed by Robert Guenette.
Bloodstalkers on AllMovie
Bloodstalkers (1976)
