Huievest Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

Brendon Jones It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

Claire Dunne One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

Rio Hayward All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

David Marcos For some reason, there aren't all that many Thanksgiving-themed slasher flicks, but Blood Rage will definitely quench one's thirst for a decent one. It's easily the best out of the ones that are available (certainly way better than Home Sweet Home).The story is full of twists, mistaken identities, drunken mothers, evil twins, and a whole lot of delicious soap operatics sprinkled in between a series of remarkably bloody and brutal murder set pieces. The acting, besides an inspired (and strange) turn by Louise Lasser, is mostly decent if unmemorable. The real star here is the special makeup effects which range from cheesy to disturbingly realistic.The pacing can drag a bit here and there, but slasher and camp lovers should be more than satisfied with this one. The Arrow Blu-Ray release is the best way to go. The movie has never looked so good (and probably never will.)

acidburn-10 I came across this movie a while back and thought that it sounded quite interesting, as I've haven't seen many slashers that have the thanksgiving storyline, the only other one I've actually seen is Home Sweet Home, and that was something that I'd rather forget. But this one is actually pretty decent and by far better than the other thanksgiving turkey that I've previously mentioned.The plot = It starts in 1974 with twin brothers Todd and Terry are at a drive in with they're mother and her boyfriend. The twins sneak off and Terry murders the mothers boyfriend and pins the blame on Todd who is then whisked off to a mental hospital while Terry gets to bask in his glory. Then ten years later Terry's homicidal side comes out again when his mother decides to remarry, but Todd manages to escape and Terry decides to go on a killing spree to frame his brother again."Blood Rage" is fairly entertaining and does boast a healthy body count but neither twin is very fleshed out we get one whose weak and one whose psychopathic and that's basically it, but Mark Sopher does do a good job of giving the twins different and separate people. But the supporting cast are just slasher movie fodder which is not a complete surprise as they usually are in the 80's, but Louise Lasser who plays the mother does give a wonderfully hammy performance.Okay this movie does offer a lot of blood and nudity to make up for it's flaws, but the acting is kind off rubbish and none of them are memorable and plus you would have to watch this movie again just to remember it as I had trouble remembering it which isn't a good thing and we're never given a reason why Terry kills people which is rather annoying.All in all not a bad movie, quite forgettable but it is rather entertaining with enough body count to please any slasher fan.

Scarecrow-88 "Well, it's not cranberry sauce." Terry and Todd are twin brothers. Terry is a psychopath who, as a child while his mom is making out with a boyfriend in his car at the drive-in, takes a hatchet to a victim screwing his lover in their vehicle for kicks. Terry smears some blood on Todd, rendered catatonic from shock at seeing his brother chop this young man's face numerous times, placing the hatchet in his hand. So mom thinks Todd is to blame, shipping the poor kid to an asylum. Meanwhile it's been ten years and Terry has behaved himself…but the question is for how long before Terry snaps again? Todd has told his psychiatrist over and over that it is Terry who killed that man, but she is not totally convinced (although she is suspicious of Terry, soon learning the hard way that Todd was correct). When Todd breaks out of the asylum, the news is told to his mom, Maddy (Louise Lasser, portraying this character as a bit on the edge, kind of nervy and seemingly uptight) and Terry. This seems to be the switch that turns Terry back into a sadistic, happy-go-lucky lunatic again, using an assortment of killing tools on his school mates and anyone else he is familiar with (including a couple who meet him while he is hanging out with a girl babysitting the single mother's baby).Let's see: machete lopping off a hand, splitting open a head, pulled from a chest wound, impaling straight through a body, a fork stabbed into a throat, a decapitated head hanging from a cord, and a poor victim missing her lower torso and legs (which are a few feet away from her body thanks to the aforementioned machete). The gory kills in "Blood Rage" are not Rob Zombie's favorite kind of violence because they are definitely over the top and gratuitous. Mark Roper, as Terry and Todd, has performances all over the map. His Todd pretty much stays simple-minded and weak, while his Terry is vacant a personality, all smiles when he's wielding his trusty machete. What Julie Gordon's Karen ever sees in Terry is anybody's guess because we never see a side of this guy that is particularly likable or appealing. If you were wondering about nudity, "Blood Rage" also supplies the slasher audience with good news here: Jayne Bentzen is the uninhibited and free-spirited Julie, who smokes pot and likes sex. You know what that means, though, right? Yep, she's dead meat. Not before one of Terry's soon-to-be-dead friends gets a little loving from her first. And for our titillation, Bentzen has a shower scene, bathing her delicious naked flesh. "Blood Rage" is really a relatively unknown slasher that will be of interest only, I believe, to fans of the disreputable genre always in search for obscure "dead teenager" movies (to quote critics who hate slashers). It has all the ingredients and fulfills all the requirements. The characters and plot only service the killing formula, but at least the nutcase has an advantage that allows him an element of surprise on the victims who consider him the normal one and Todd the person to fear. Filmed in Florida, famed state of the great gore director HGL.

engagedtoprecious Amid the slew of slasher films pumped out in the early 1980s, a few have been lost in the sands of time, available for years only in cut VHS form or rare DVDs (if they were lucky enough to even make the jump to that format) that have since gone out of print. Blood Rage (aka Nightmare at Shadow Woods) is one of those films. Currently available only on VHS and an expensive out of print DVD (which is heavily cut), it's a shame this wonderful little slasher film has to suffer anonymity while other (lesser) slasher films have been given the deluxe treatment with special edition DVD releases and some even making the transition to Blu-ray (I'm looking at you, The Dorm That Dripped Blood). The truth is, as an avid fan of these often-maligned films, Blood Rage is better than 80% of the so-called classics that have received better treatment in the area of home video.What makes Blood Rage worthier than those other slashers and vastly underrated? Well for starters, the lead performance by Mark Soper who does a double take as the twins Terry and Todd, is among one of the better performances in slasher movie history. If you've read the plot description, you'd know that the movie is about two identical twins--one good, the other evil. Soper manages to play both roles seamlessly, which is surprising given the film's low budget origins and the genre. Each twin's facial expressions, body language, and mannerisms are contrasted perfectly to make it believable. Louise Lasser also hits the spot as the twins' mother, who slowly starts to lose it once she gets word that her son, Todd, has escaped his mental institution and may be on his way home for Thanksgiving. Little does she know that Todd is actually innocent of the crime that got him locked up as a boy--the brutal slaying of a teenage boy at a drive-in movie by way of a hatchet--and that Todd's evil brother, Terry, is actually the resident psychopath, living with her all these years undetected. It seems (or is at least assumed) that Terry's homicidal tendencies have remained dormant all these years until, one night, his mother announces her engagement and gets a phone call that Todd is on the loose. All of this is apparently enough incentive for Terry to have some fun again while probably assuming he can blame all of the new murders on the escaped Todd. And boy does he take advantage of his brother's escape. Terry hacks, stabs, and slices his way through most of the residents of the Shadow Woods apartment complex with much gusto. The gore effects in the uncut version are an 80s slasher fan's dream. The now out of print DVD edition titled Nightmare at Shadow Woods was a heavily cut presentation. We get multiple hatchet whacks to the head, an impaling, decapitations, severed limbs, bisections...the works.The music is one of the best qualities about the film and one of the things that really sets it apart from most of its brethren. It really is one of the greater slasher scores I've heard, at times reminiscent of Halloween but with a more 80s vibe that you can really dig into.We get the usual slasher movie conventions here and there--the kids throw a party in one of the apartments while some sneak off to have sex in certain areas of the complex which proves to be a very bad idea (stay away from that pool house). Eventually, as usual with these films, things dwindle down to the final girl, Karen--a likable enough actress who, while pretty, often makes some questionable decisions regarding her safety. But once the chase is on, we get several memorable set pieces that are at times genuinely suspenseful. Terry chases Karen all over the complex as she tries in vain to get help from the now mostly dead residents. This leads to lots of unopened doors and unanswered cries for help. There is one suspenseful scene in the apartment of a dead resident where Karen attempts to call for help while hiding behind a desk as we see Terry's bloodied machete slowly enter frame off to the side as Karen watches in horror as she looks up to see Terry towering over her. Speaking of Terry, he is really enjoying himself, jokes, smiles, and all.The movie ends in the pool house with a little "twist" if you will (and given that the movie is about twins, no, it's probably not what you're thinking).Overall, several factors in the film elevate it above the level of many of the 80s slashers that have received far more attention and care over the years. I wish some brave company would take a chance on releasing this in its uncut form sometime in the future so slasher fans can see it and appreciate it. I gave the film a 7 for sheer entertainment purposes. It IS a slasher movie, and yes, it often suffers from all of the flaws associated with these films, but pure fun can override your film snob sensibilities at times. Especially when a movie is this fun.