BLOODSTREAM
dir. Michael J. Murphy, 1985
UK. 80 min.
In English.

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 10 – 7:30PM
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 22 – 7:30PM
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 30 – 7:30PM

After a low-budget horror filmmaker is swindled by a home video distributor, he decides to make a snuff film where he murders all those who have wronged him.

Shot on Super 8 for a reported budget of £400, BLOODSTREAM is simultaneously a howl of rage at the cutthroat nature of the film industry and a biting satire of the then-developing national “crisis” over Video Nasties. It’s also reportedly semi-autobiographical, inspired by his own experience with a scummy video producer while trying to get distribution for THE LAST NIGHT and INVITATION TO HELL.

Murphy reportedly never sought active distribution for BLOODSTREAM because he wasn’t comfortable with how angry the movie feels, but it’s pretty clear that it’s meant in good fun, and it never gives the impression that the filmmakers think horror movies have anything to do with driving people to literal violence – a conversation that was heavily present in British media in particular at the time.