Blood Beat (1983) d. Fabrice A. Zaphiratos (France/USA) (87 min)
A Christmas family gathering goes hilariously sideways in this Wisconsin-lensed supernatural thriller that assembles a hodgepodge of random horror elements, tosses them into a burlap sack, swings it around a few dozen times before hurling it over the neighbor’s fence with a note attached saying, “See what you can do with this.” For one-off writer/director Zaphiratos, said elements include psychic abilities, vengeful ghosts, tea sets on waterbeds, girlfriends who say “no” to nooky, deer-hunting parties complete with authentic field dressing, white leggings on healthy Midwestern farm girls, kitchen poltergeists, girlfriends who say “yes” to nooky at the most inappropriate times, more psychic abilities, and haunted samurai armor/swords.
