Blood Capsule #349

BLOOD TRACKS (1985)

So you think you've seen every heavy metal horror movie from the 80's, huh?  I thought I had as well, but then I discovered Blood Tracks.  This is a Swedish slasher that only made its debut on blu-ray last year.  The plot borrows tropes from 1984's Monster Dog and even Wes Craven's The Hills Have Eyes.  A rock group decides to invade a small town in the Rockies to shoot a music video at an abandoned factory.  Band members, along with a motley crew (ha!) of groupies and managers, are picked off one by one in increasingly brutal ways.  The villains are demystified early on, as we are shown a domestic dispute that ends with a (bleeding) woman leaving her home with her children in tow.  Cut to twenty years later.  The children are now bestial hermits who will kill anyone unlucky enough to...well, to shoot a music video at an abandoned factory.  The glam band is designated with the moniker of Solid Gold, although they are played by actual musicians who comprise a Swedish act named Easy Action.  According to IMDb, they later regretted simply not playing themselves.

Between you and me?  I don't think that should have been their chief regret.  The dudes in Easy Action are not actors, but by the same token, the other actors are probably not actors, at least in a professional sense.  You won't remember any of these characters.  Did I remember the faces in Black Roses or Rock 'n' Roll Nightmare?  No, but those flicks have a feral spirit, not to mention tawdry creature effects.  On the upside, the death sequences are often hilarious.  We see a person ripped apart by a booby trap, and I'm still not 100% sure what triggered the trap or how it even works.  This thing would confuse Jigsaw.  Now, Blood Tracks has a theme song of sorts.  However, it was never officially released, so you can't buy it or stream it anywhere.  I suppose you could binge Easy Action tunes if the mood struck you.  Is Blood Tracks worth recommending?  Not really.  Maybe if you're a heavy metal horror completionist.  As a slasher, it barely gets the job done.  I do appreciate the goofball gore.  Watch it if there is literally nothing else to watch.