BLOODY WEDNESDAY

Click poster.

1987. Director / Mark G Gilhuis.
Review by Glenn Cochrane.

BLOODY WEDNESDAY is based on the infamous San Ysidro McDonald's Massacre and tells a fictionalised account of the events where a lunatic walked into a diner and shot the place up. The poster art always resonated with me when I was a kid wandering the isles of my local video store. Upon reflection the poster is a blatant rip off of APOCALYPSE NOW but nevertheless it left an impression on me. The film itself is cheap and tacky. If you've ever seen COMBAT SHOCK then you will get a good idea of what it's like. In fact has Buddy Giovinazzo directed HENRY: PORTRAIT OF A SERIAL KILLER it would have looked something like this. The acting is atrocious and the overall direction is astonishingly sub-par... and yet there's something about the movie that leaves an impression. For the most part the story explores the killer's psychological state of mind in the lead up to the massacre. From early scenes to him walking into a Sunday mass nude to his committal to a mental asylum. His reality becomes blurred and his psychosis degenerates into complete madness. By it's very nature BLOODY WEDNESDAY is an exploitation film. Director Mark G Gilhui has taken a very topical and sensitive incident and turned it into a b-movie horror film. He has shot it in a dark, dank and grotty style that is reminiscent of MANIAC and there's no doubt that it conjures an uneasy feeling. It's been many years since I've seen the film but having just watched it again I got a real kick out of it. I guess you could lump it on the "so bad it's good" basket but I'll give it a little more credit. It has rightfully earned itself a cult status and offers a lot to fans of 70s and 80s exploitation. BLOODY SUNDAY is a misunderstood nasty that, while not as graphic as other movies of its type, succeeds in capturing an ugly truth about the American culture. 

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