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Overall Rating : 5.5/10
Directed By : Ron Wolotzsky
Jason London (Poor White Trash)
Darlena Tejeiro (Starsky & Hutch (2004) )
Andrea Bogart (Dark Ride)
Supplied By : MTI Home Video
Film Reviewed By : Rick L. Blalock
Date Reviewed : Jan. 17, 2006
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| PLOT In the hazardous terrain of the California desert two young women, with a satchel of stolen cash, are on the run from the motorcycle gang they accidentally stole the cash from and an axe-wielding serial killer who has just escaped from prison. |
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| THE REVIEW AXE, comes to us from MTI Home video, and it happens to be their first Horror type film of 2006. When going into it, I didn't know what to expect from this one. By the end of the film however, I was left rather pleasantly satisfied by it. Axe is sort of has two stories going on at once, two stories that ultimately become woven into one. The film revolves around two best friends, Ashley and Raven. The girls are planning to take a trip into a desert town to go rock climbing. On the way into town they stumble upon a bar owned an operated by Robert. While there, a group of rough bikers show up, and try to gain the attention of the two girls. When it is realized by the leader of the gang that the girls will have no part in their advances he and the gang, they snap and threaten to kill them. Frightened and in a panic the girls take off on the leader's bike,leavening the bikes in which they came behind. Not knowing it the frightened females have stolen the man's bike but also have gotten away with a pouch full of money which the gang had stolen prior. In other news around the town, a serial killer named Ivan, "The Axeman" as they call him has escaped from prison and has some sort of revenge on his mind. Not only do the two main female characters have to worry about the bikers whom are trying to reclaim the money stolen from them, but they must dodge the axeman as well... AXE is a low budget film, but it does an ok job, as it does show you what money will do to a person, you could have you enemies after you, but you could also have your friend stab you in the back, all in the name of cash. I did enjoy this film as it did have it's entertaining moments to it. I will admit though that some of the story is a bit uneven and at times the budget does show. For instance, when I first read the description of this film it had said " bikers", well then I suspected some rough and tough dudes whom looked like they haven't taken baths in months and rode Harleys, I guess I was wrong. Instead in AXE, our bikers ride dirt bikes through the sand dunes looking mean and menacing. This is an element of the movie in which I did not like and honestly I thought it was very laughable to say the least, but I guess that's all they had, or maybe not? An unevenness comes in when we add our serial killer. It is explained by the owner of the Motel in which the girls stayed that he and Robert, the bar owner was on a job with IVan and Ivan "lost" it and killed a lot of people. Now I am guessing that it was a robbery, that would be the only logical assumption, but I could be wrong? So that explains his revenge, he is after Ned and Robert, who ultimately turn on the girls trying to win the money for themselves to bask in. But.... Why would The Axeman be after the girls? Sure they have the money, but how does he know about it, no one told him?.... The death of the biker gang does happen, and it happens as they are having a gun fight at the Motel with the girls and Ned. This happens to be my favorite scene, simply for the fact that The Axeman shows up and slaughters each and every biker with the 'ol trusty Axe! The acting is nothing spectacular here, not even by Jason London, who happens to be a favorite of mine. His performance is sort of watered down and bland, and also top billed he seems NOT to be the actor the director/writers were focusing on. In the acting there is a lot of cheesiness going on. The main biker guy is just an oddball and talks with a seemingly put on tough guy accent. I saw this guy I believe in a cameo in CORPSES and he acted the SAME way, with the same accent/voice and accent, which leads me to wonder is the guy really is stupid in real life... The two main girls are beautiful and lovely to look at especially Darlena Tejeiro. The acting by them is not so great though but I am willing to bet, if you are a male...or possibly that "kind" of female, it won't matter much! Rather textbook slasher with the textbook twists and ending, but entertaining nonetheless on some levels. |
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| GORE
METER 4.5/10 Very moderate gore here, not as much as you would hope for with a title like AXE. |
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| MUSICAL
SCORE 2/10 Rather dry, much like the desert this was filmed in. When we do get a score, it sounds rather generic and also they throw in some western inspired tracks occasionally. |
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| OVERALL
IMPRESSION OF THE FILM Nothing original at all here, but it is a good way to pass some time without feeling like you wasted it. Filmed in the desert like one of MTI's other earlier releases DETOUR, I was expecting a film equal to that. Although good, it still does not live up to DETOUR, which I believe it to be one of MTI's best horror films so far. I would recommend AXE to any fan who likes a slasher film, just don't expect originality, if you can get pass that, you should be set! This will be released February 28, 2006. (This film is not to be confused with the 1977 film of the same name) |
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