Tainted Blood

Director - David Hinds (Garden Tool Massacre, The House on Cuckoo Lane)

Starring - Bindweed (The House on Cuckoo Lane), Teddy Boy Glover, and David Hinds

Release Date - 2021

Genre - Horror

Tagline - "The past will destroy them all"

Format - DVD (Personal Collection) (Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     The last few years I've been lucky enough to review a couple films from indie filmmaker David Hinds.  The films were released by SRS Cinema and though I didn't care for these films I still had fun watching them.  Watching movies is an experience for me and even though I don't like a movie I still have fun watching and seeing someone's ideas unfold on screen.  I wasn't a fan of Garden Tool Massacre and The House on Cuckoo Lane but there was parts of the films that I was grateful to see.  When I saw that SRS was releasing another Hinds flick I was all for it.  I know his films missed the mark before but it's always cool to watch a no indie release.  I reached out to MVD, who was handling the DVD for SRS, and they were kind enough to send a copy my way.  Thanks guys!

     The film follows a drug addict with no moral compass and an insatiable need to indulge in his addictions.  A local organized crime enforcer forces him to produce and shoot snuff films or face the same fate as those he butchers.  He reluctantly agrees and soon the bodies pile up and the money pours in for his exploits.  

     I really did like the idea behind Tainted Blood but the execution and editing made it extremely difficult to enjoy.  It was as if the film borrowed heavily from Tarantino while trying to bring about a bloody and violent no budget horror film centered around snuff.  It had some fun and interesting ideas behind it but the execution was all wrong.  The acting in this one is a little awkward at times.  The cast is all in and they do try.  You can see their passion and dedication in each and every scene but the cast is so stiff and inexperienced that several scenes are awkward to watch.  I do see some promise in most of the cast with a little more experience and direction but the scenes in this one are a little too tough even for no budget backyard standards.  The story for this one has so much promise.  The idea of a junky forced to make snuff by the local organized crime members is something that would have the most dedicated extreme horror fans salivating at the bit.  I'm not much on extreme horror but do find myself pulled to the ones with a fun story.  This one had a great set up for a fantastic story driven extreme horror film.  However, these drawn out scenes that are dialogue heavy with very little that arte relevant to the story really breaks the mood of the film and chips away at the pacing.  A lot of this should have been removed to make the film more enjoyable and easier to follow.  Finally, the film has some great gore and bloody deaths.  The effects look great and the film doesn't rush through them. We get to enjoy them for what they are worth.  The kills are not that memorable but they look great.  Overall, Tainted Blood had the right idea but the end result falls very short from it's intended mark.  Honestly, I would love to see Hinds and company revisit this one later with a little more patience and more experience from the cast. It has so much potential to be the next big extreme hit.