Blood Link

1982 "Bound by Blood, Severed by Murder!"
5.5| 1h38m| R| en
Details

A man who has been having psychic visions of himself killing naked women soon discovers that it's not himself he's seeing, it's his Siamese twin. (yes, they've been separated) So he travels to Hamburg, where the things he's seen start to come to pass…

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ada the leading man is my tpye
Yash Wade Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.
Kaydan Christian A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.
Staci Frederick Blistering performances.
lost-in-limbo Doctor Craig Mannings is having visions where he sees himself killing women, but he slowly realises he's actually seeing through the eyes of a killer. What happens to be link? Low-budget psychotic thriller (with a touch of Giallo) that's bizarre and seedy, but not in an exploitative sense… favouring European atmospherics and erotica than all-out crass and graphic exploitation. That's not say there aren't any sleazy and trash elements, but there's a certain style and chic to the production that lifts it up a notch. One thing that sticks with you is Ennio Morricone's layered music score. Emotional, simmering and truly unsettling. This complements Michael Moriarty's dual performance of two extremes. This two-sided turn is a magnificent blend of confidently underplayed and insanely creepy. Moriarty is a joy to watch, especially when he comes face to face with himself. This is where the tension arises, as a viewer we know what might happen while the characters are playing the chase up game. Moriarty playing the evil twin role simply got under my skin and the acts of violence handed out by this character are merciless. The twist when it comes is nightmarish, but the ending paints a very haunting suggestion that gives the film an effective sting because of its convincing performances. Nice touches by director Albert De Martino. Writing-wise there can be some inconsistent patterns (mainly past developments and character motivations), but it feels more like a mood piece with our two central characters (Moriarty superbly at work) interacting. One wanting to help, while the other wants no such thing. There's real solid support by Penelope Milford (who's fantastic in the very final scene), Geraldine Fitzgerald and quick cameo part for Cameron Mitchell.
Bloodwank Seems to me there aren't enough horror films dealing with evil twins. Sure there are some (Dead Ringers springs to mind though I've not seen it) and the concept has made for an amusing twist in a variety of slashers, but there aren't so many films directly based around the concept. Blood Link is one such though, and pretty entertaining stuff albeit no classic. The story follows Dr. Craig Mannings, research psychiatrist having visions of beautiful women getting offed by his hand. He realises soon enough that in fact he is seeing through the eyes of his maniac brother Keith and so without further ado heads off to Hamburg to find him. Though directed by an Italian Blood Link has more in common with glossy yet seedy Hollywood thrillers of the era, the sort of thing in fact inspired at least in part by giallo cinema. There isn't overmuch style on hand, but its a pretty well made affair and there's an understated but fairly pleasing Ennio Morricone score to keep things bubbling along. Perhaps the most typically Italian thing about the film is a script that cares about nothing more than moving the action along, resulting in a succession of plot holes opening up that threaten to engulf the whole experience if one looks back even for a moment to consider them. Like how come neither Craig's girlfriend nor employers have anything to say on the subject of his leaving the country to search for a murderer? Why doesn't he fess up to the Hamburg police straight away (having presumably no prior experience of going after murderers himself)? Why was Keith allowed to get to Hamburg in the first place? There's more, but part of the fun comes from the mounting implausibilities and the pace is sufficiently swift that to say much more would be a spoiler anyway. Of course, none of this would work without some performances up to the task, and happily awesome character actor Michael Moriarty is on the case, playing Craig and Keith. As Craig he does not initially hook, coming across very much low key and befuddled, but grows into the role, taking on determination and a harder edge. As Keith he's a blast throughout though, putting his all into a great show of malevolent camp. Especially fun are scenes with the two together, both tense and bizarrely amusing. The rest of the cast is solid and includes a nice but sad cameo from the great Cameron Mitchell, though mostly notable for its attractive women. Penelope Milford as Craig's girlfriend, Sarah Langenfeld as a vengeful lass on Keith's case and Martha Smith as a local hooker, all fill their roles well and all show their lovely breasts. Moments of death or menace in fact often come after or involve sex or nudity giving a nice sleazy edge, which is helpful as in a shocking turn of events there's only bare minimal bloodshed. The nasty bits are at least pretty mean though, and once or twice even mildly shocking. Altogether this is a smooth ride though not especially memorable, Some longueurs in the final block but a nice suspenseful and twisted finale end things on just the right note, making it overall a worthy venture. Strong 6/10 then I guess.
udar55 Dr. Craig Mannings (Michael Moriarty) believes he has discovered a revolutionary psychology technique and has been using himself as the guinea pig. Unfortunately, these experiments allow Mannings to see through the eyes of someone else and that person is murdering folks. Turns out he is seeing through the eyes of Keith (Moriarty again), his Siamese twin that Craig believed was dead. Using clues from his visions, Craig tracks Keith to Germany but soon finds out that his brother wants him there to create the perfect patsy for his crimes.Alberto De Martino directed this Italian/German co-production. While you won't get anything original with the plot of normal twin/evil twin, it is worth seeing solely for the performances by Moriarty. Moriarty has the "normal" sibling as slightly odd, while the "evil" one is like he is playing Klaus Kinski on a good day. The scenes of them interacting are particularly enjoyable. Also worth mentioning is a scene where the evil Keith gleefully punches an aging boxer (Cameron Mitchell) - who just happened to have been treated by Craig in the States - to death in a park. Moriarty is clearly having fun throughout the picture (or is slightly intoxicated). Sadly, the rest of the film isn't up to the level of Moriarty's enthusiasm. De Martino reveals the twin twist way too early and with all the dazzle of a kid's party magician. Also, the plot is full of holes and silly coincidences (odds of your unknown twin running into a patient you treated in a cafe in Germany?) that, at times, make you feel like a reel was left out. The ending - where Craig's woman is in danger - could have been a suspenseful game of cat-and-mouse but unfolds with a thud. On the plus side, there is some nice location work in Berlin and a nice Morricone score.
lazarillo A man shares a psychic link with his siamese twin brother who he thought perished in a fire but has actually become a serial killer in Berlin, Germany (don't ya hate it when that happens?). This is kind of an interesting movie, not good necessarily but interesting. Basically its a latter-day Italian giallo except that it is a German co-production with American actors, it has a slightly bigger budget than usual, and it was apparently not post-synced. It was also made at a time when big-budget Hollywood films were actually beginning to imitate Italian gialli instead of just the reverse. In fact, the two films it borrows most liberally from--Brian DePalma's "Sisters" and the John Carpenter-scripted "Eyes of Laura Mars"--were themselves very heavily influenced by gialli making this film a kind of trans-Atlantic cinematic feedback.The acting is very good. Michael Moriarity plays dual roles as the protagonist and his psychopathic brother. Cameron Mitchell has a pretty decent cameo as an aging prize fighter. Penelope Milford is also pretty good. The script has Milford and all the other women in this movie generously shedding their clothes, even though doing so often requires their characters to be unbelievably stupid. One woman goes to bed with the identical twin of a man who she has just watched beat her elderly father to death, even though she really only has his own word that he is in fact the twin. Milford herself basically lets the homicidal brother rape her in an ill-conceived effort to save her unfaithful boyfriend from a murder charge. The ending might be an interesting attempt to explore the same psychological and metaphysical ground touched on in "Sisters" or the later David Cronenberg movie "Dead Ringers", or it could be just another sorry excuse to show Milford naked--hard to tell with these kind of movies. An interesting film though, especially for Michael Moriarty and/or giallo fans.