Al filo del hacha (1988)

User Rating:

5.2/10   

Director:

José Ramón Larraz

Writer:

Pablo de Aldebarán (writer)

Release Date:

20 May 1988 (Spain)

Genre:

Horror | Thriller

Plot:

A deranged guy in a mask kills people with an axe.

Plot Keywords:

Masked Killer | Axe Murder | Independent Film

Cast

Barton Faulks	...	Gerald Martin
Christina Marie Lane	...	Lillian Nebbs
Page Mosely	...	Richard Simmons
Fred Holliday	...	Frank McIntosh
Patty Shepard	...	Laura Simmons
Alicia Moro	...	Rita Miller
Jack Taylor	...	Christopher Caplin
Conrado San Martín
Joy Blackburn
May Heatherly	...	Anna Bixby
Elmer Modling
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Javier Elorrieta
José Frade
Christina Lane

Also Known As:

Edge of the Axe (International: English title)

Runtime:

Greece:90 min

Country:

Spain | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Norway:18 | Iceland:(Banned)

Company:

Galupas Entertainment

Movie Connections:

References Platoon (1986)

Axe murderer on the loose

Well I'm not a big fan of slasher flicks and the reason for that is mostly because they're all too similar. This film didn't do anything to change my opinion of slashers or like the genre any more than I did before seeing it; but as a strictly by the book slash-fest, it's not too bad and I have seen worse. The film is a Spanish and American co-production and is directed by one José Ramón Larraz - the man behind a number of trash 'classics' including Vampyres and Black Candles. Being a partly Spanish film, the film does seem to take a little bit of influence from Giallo tradition (that being prominent mostly in Italy, but also in Spain) as we do get a little bit of mystery towards the killer's identity. The plot is very simple as you would expect from a film like this and simply follows a man that goes round hacking up women with an axe. Naturally this soon attracts some attention from the local police force and an inept investigation into the murders is started.

The title suggests that the murders will be committed with an axe - and indeed they are, and this is the film's strongest element. There are a couple of sequences that are quite brutal, but there's not a great deal of blood and this is unfortunate. The main problem with the film is the parts between the murders, which are largely very boring. The story surrounding the main characters is lacklustre at best and doesn't do much to hold the audience's interest. The mystery towards the killer's identity is slightly more interesting than the characters themselves; but even this is spoiled by the fact that it becomes obvious who the killer is far too early. The direction courtesy of José Ramón Larraz is decent enough - he builds suspense well in places, although the low budget gets in the way often and the film never rises above its trashiness. Overall, I really wouldn't recommend anyone goes out of their way to find this one. Slasher fans may find something to like but it's not one of the best of the genre.