Hole in the Head Fest

Blood Deep

By DENNIS HARVEY

A Dead Horse production. Produced by Brian Gork, Kathy Miller Kniss, Lea-Beth Shapiro. Executive producers, Erik Hensin, Lori Hensin, Todd Kniss. Directed, written by Todd Kniss.
 
With: Jeridan Frye, Gerald Hopkins, Jodan Belfi, Femi Emiola, Ben McCain, Amy Christine, Bo Foxworth, Cameron Zeidler, Kelli Nordhus, Fred Griffith, Peter Onorati.
 

Mystery/horror flick "Blood Deep" takes itself awfully seriously given the script's pile of cliches, implausible behavior, logic gaps and clumsy flashbacks (which occupy nearly half the runtime). Thriller's routine slickness -- including a cast of cuties drawn from telepics, series and soaps -- and low gore/nudity quotient make it a soft "R" apt for cable sales. Lacking original ideas or individual style, writer-helmer Todd Kniss' debut feels like the work of a capable but uninspired B-pic veteran.

Her grandmother's death brings Katie (Jeridan Frye) back to the smalltown home she grew up in after her parents died in a car crash. She uses the occasion to reunite with childhood friends including hunky Wil (Gerald Hopkins), who's always been smitten with her; married yet still-loutish Calvin (Bo Foxworth); and two brothers (Jordan Belfi, Cameron Zeidler) whose third sib mysteriously disappeared years before. Earlier, a local teen's charred body had been found in a field, the killer never ID'd. Reunion soon accumulates a body count. Convoluted plot mixes mild slasher content with lame stabs at psychological depth and some hokey dialogue thesps can't overcome. Atmospherics are OK, but lighting is too dark at times.

Camera (Super 35-to-DigiBeta), Seamus Tierney; editors, Kniss, Vikash Patel; music, Matt Reid Cohn; production designer, Anthony Morrassutti. Reviewed at Another Hole in the Head, San Francisco, June 10, 2006. Running time: 99 MIN.