THE 31 DAYS OF HORROR-WEEN: BLOODY AXE WOUND (2024) **

Abbie (Sari Arambulo) is the daughter of Roger Bladecut (Billy Burke), a prolific serial killer with dozens of horror sequels to his name.  Abbie is convinced it’s time to inject the series with some new blood and tries to convince her dad to let her take up the mantle.  Once she is locked in as the new killer, she realizes the kids she’s supposed to brutally murder aren’t all that bad.  Complicating things further is the fact that she has a crush on the dope smoking drummer (Molly Brown) who’s next on her victim list. 

A lot of the humor in Bloody Axe Wound is right on the nose and not particularly funny.  It’s also hard to figure out the “rules” of the in-movie universe.  I mean Bladecut owns a video store that rents out his horror movies.  That makes me wonder who’s filming and releasing the videos?  Do other serial killers have rival stores that only stock their films?  How did they get Jeffrey Dean Morgan to star in one of these things?  It brings up more questions than it answers, and what intriguing ideas the filmmakers do introduce are almost immediately forgotten.  Because of that, the whole thing winds up being more frustrating than fun. 

The gore is over the top though.  Too bad the various stabbings and hackings are mostly done for comedic effect.  Usually, these excesses turn out to be not very funny, especially when the extreme bloodletting just goes on and on without much of a payoff. 

The performances are a mixed bag at best.  Brown is good as the sexy drummer.  She kind of has a Kristen Stewart quality about her that works for the Final Girl role.  Arambulo on the other hand is grating as the serial killer with second thoughts.  You never really buy her transformation from killer to the potential victims’ ally.  Then again, that’s more of the script’s fault than hers.  As the serial killer Bladecut, Burke doesn’t get much to do aside from wear some bad prosthetics and imitate Thomas Jane’s gravelly delivery. 

There is an idea or two that may have worked if the filmmakers fleshed it out a little.  Ultimately, the movie winds up feeling more like a rushed first draft than a polished final product.  Because of that, Bloody Axe Wound doesn’t cut too deep.