User Reviews

This South African lensed feature is often mentioned when discussing rare genre entries with enthusiasts and has become highly sought after, due to the fact it has never seen light of day on DVD and is impossibly hard to find. Released in the early eighties, the movie has a title and plot structure that would lead you to believe that it could sit comfortably alongside the multitude of horror films from this period as an intriguing cycle addition.

It opens superbly in ancient Africa with two stylishly shot stalking sequences. A masked killer pursues and kills two tribesmen in the forest with a spiked-club. The scene utilises superb and energetic cinematography with an excellent guise for the bogeyman and an authentic choice of weapon.

Next up we fast forward to present day SA and we are introduced to our protagonist Joe Henderson (Joe Stewardson). Joe is a medical examiner who is suffering depression after losing his wife and child. Meanwhile, it seems that there is a masked killer on the loose, stalking the streets at night and butchering prostitutes. His choice of weapon is the ancient club from the opening, which leads authorities to believe that there is a ritualistic slant to the murders. As more bodies are discovered, Joe becomes obsessed with uncovering the killer's identity. But in a politically unstable environment can he keep his sanity long enough to catch the butcher?

If you read this or any of the other synopsises listed anywhere on the web, you can understand why this feature has become such a trophy for slasher fans to track down. The plot description boasts all the right ingredients that make it sound as if it stands amongst the many other rare entries that are fun to seek out on eBay, usually at extremely high prices.

Prepare to be disappointed though, because City of Blood is not a slasher movie. In fact, I am convinced that this was just a fraudulent ploy to broadcast a political view to unsuspecting audiences. As soon as the credits have rolled, we are led down a winding path of jumbled inconsistency that makes for an uncomfortable and ultimately coma-inducing runtime.

So OK, everything starts brilliantly after the aforementioned opening, but thereafter things go downhill quicker than a boulder on a skateboard. Instead of sticking to the (rather intriguing) story involving the ritual masked killer, things turn sour when a subplot is introduced involving a political prisoner and a bogus death certificate that has been requested by the prime minister in order to cover-up the murder of the aforementioned inmate. Henderson, a delusional depressive on a one-man morality crusade, declines the order to forge the proof of death, and so a political battle launches involving black power groups and government officials.

South Africa under Apartheid was a heavily publicized and key period of the last century with long lasting global effects. Even though I have a Masters Degree in History, I studied Romanov-era Russia and I am not going to pretend to be an expert on this subject matter. In fact, I don't want to be, as it's not something that I was ever particularly interested in. I am however a fan of slasher movies and when I am in the mood to watch one, I know what I want and I know what I should expect. Now I'm sure that there are many cinematic views from equally as many angles on the complex struggles that occurred during these times. It seems the modus operandi here, however, was to use the slasher undertones (the genre was extremely popular at the time) to forcibly and fraudulently convey a message to an audience that would be otherwise uninterested. You know at General Election time when you see pop idols standing with politicians and looking like they know everything about the party's manifesto? But deep inside, you know that they're just doing it for the paycheque and the publicity and couldn't care less about the plans for the economy? Well it's the same kind of methodology that's being used here.

Once the political aspect is introduced, the killings are thrown straight in to the backseat in terms of screen time and instead we are supplied with a multitude of flat unattractive characters. None of them have any kind of explained back story or development and they ramble incoherently about topics unfamiliar to almost everyone outside of the government houses of SA. By the 45 minute mark, if you haven't already fallen asleep, you will be absolutely furious. Furious that you have been tricked in to parting with your pennies for a falsely-advertised slasher flick that's just an overlong talk-a-thon that would feel more at home playing on the Discovery Channel's graveyard shift. Don't be fooled in to thinking the killer will re-appear either. He turns up only once or twice throughout the overlong runtime and when he is unmasked later in the feature, his motivations are political (surprise) and he's not even a character that we've been introduced to previously.

All in all City of Blood is a failure. A failure as a horror film and a bore-marathon as a drama. Riddled with unappealing and ugly characters, a tedious plot and a lack of clarity in its direction, it would be better off placed in a box and floated out to sea, never to be seen or heard of again. I was considering putting it on eBay where copies sell for almost £100 when they appear, but I am a nice guy and couldn't live with the guilt of putting another genre fan through this torturous excursion.

If you're looking to track down a rare slasher on eBay, let me warn you to avoid paying premium prices for this shocker. Despite the intriguing premise, this is nothing but a long, insulting reservoir of boredom with *no* redeeming features aside from the excellent opening.

Don't waste your time or money...

City of Blood starts in 'Africa 2,000 Years Ago' where two native tribesman are killed, one by a decapitated head on a swinging rope(!) & the other by having his head bashed in... Jump forward to the 80' & Johannesburg, South Africa where chief medical examiner Joe Hendersen (Joe Stewardson) has been called out by his best friend detective Max Wharton (Ian Yule) to yet another brutal murder of a prostitute, both Joe & Max are working as hard as they can to discover the identity of the murderer but have little to go on. That night Joe speaks to a prostitute who turns up dead the next day, now Joe can't leave it alone until he finds the killer but that's not the only problem he has as special agents Stoltz (Gys De Villiers) & Phillips (Greg Latter) put pressure on him to fraudulently sign a death certificate for an equal rights activist who was beaten to death by his interrogator's & therefore help stop a potential revolution against a government he despises. Will Joe do the moral thing or will he crumble under the pressure of a corrupt government & it's official's? Will Joe be able to find a breakthrough in the murders & bring the killer to justice? Who knows, who cares...

This South African production was co-written & directed by Darrell Roodt & frankly is about as exciting as watching paint dry. The script by Roodt & Mary-Ann Lindenstadt is as much political drama as horror, in fact I would say that it's far more of a political drama than a horror which means that were're off to a bad start already. City of Blood is incredibly slow going, the story is dull & just didn't interest or engage me at all. Then there's the heavy handed political statements & the moral stance it takes, obviously shot during the 80's when apartheid was in full flow City of Blood tries to raise the issue & paints the stereotypical picture of all whites are evil & all blacks are freedom fighting outstanding members of the community, now don't get me wrong as I don't know the first thing about South African politics either then or now so I really couldn't say if it's portrayal is accurate or not. There was also the minor fact that I couldn't care less about South African politics, I know that sounds a bit of a harsh thing to say but I've got enough to worry about in my own country, it's as simple & straight forward as that so I found most of City of Blood tedious, dull, boring & irrelevant to the extreme. The serial killer issue is barely touched upon & it felt more like a sub plot just to try & keep the audience awake & give them something to grab onto in the hope that it might get better, unfortunately it never does. The story is all over the place & never really settles down while the climax just frustrates & annoys.

Director Roodt likes to have long tedious random sequences of Johannesburg & the South African countryside which are far from impressive looking. There's no scares, atmosphere, tension, intrigue, excitement or drama in this damp squib of a film that never really gets off the ground. Forget about any gore apart from a decapitated head on a rope & someone with some spears stuck in their chest, there is a touch of nudity but not much.

Technically City of Blood is OK at best, it's competent but at the same time it's just so bland & forgettable. The acting was alright but since the film as a whole is so lousy who cares?

City of Blood is probably marketed as a horror film with talk of serial killers & such, don't be fooled there is very little horror & a whole load of boring melodramatics that bored me to tears. Maybe there is an audience for this type of slow moving crap but it's not for me at all I'm afraid. One to avoid if your hoping for horror like me...

Story Synopsis: South Africa is rocked by a number of brutal killings where prostitutes are bashed in the head with a spiked club. Joe Henderson, the country's chief medical examiner (who is a bit of a basket case after his wife leaves him & takes their kids out of the country) believes that the killings are politically motivated by blacks after examining a symbol left at the site of each murder. But the case takes an unusual turn when an immensely old skull that is at least two thousand years old & has identical puncture marks to those of the dead hookers is found in the 'God's Acre' district. Henderson, who is so stressed that he begins to have a liaison with a prostitute, discovers that the killings are caused by an underground black leader who uses witch doctors as assassins in order to clean up the country & to instil terror in the white population. Meanwhile Henderson is placed under immense pressure by his superiors to cover up the accidental death of one of South Africa's most feared activists by signing a false death certificate, something that his own conscience prohibits him from doing.

Film Analysis: City of Blood is a rather obscure thriller that was made in South Africa at a time when the country's apartheid system was giving it some serious pain by way of international sanctions. It would not be long before the system would collapse but in 1987 was already showing signs of self-destruction.

The film seems to have some form of bizarre identity crisis – director Darrell Roodt doesn't seem to know exactly what kind of film he is making. City of Blood jumps genres very often with an ease that is quite disturbing, making it difficult to comprehend. One considers this a horror film but the horror element is extremely slight & takes a relative back seat to the other elements which include drama & political thriller. Roodt has the characters often making grandiose statements about the state of things in the country, most often bending the narrative severely out of shape. Not to mention the inclusion of a hero who is not fully coherent but who seems to be a relative basket case, talking to himself in bed, having affairs with prostitutes & so on.

The other problem with a film like City of Blood is that Roodt stuffs up the horror element. It is almost impossible to fully understand the complete story given Roodt's haphazard plotting & technical inconsistencies (such as an irritating lack of continuity with one jarringly noticeable scene where the hero's jacket disappears twice while he is driving his car). It is never clear whether the killers are ghosts or simply witch doctors using black magic to teleport from one place to another.

Having said that, City of Blood does have a certain dream-like atmosphere which goes a fair way in papering over some of the inconsistencies. Roodt does things like having characters obtain information through dreams, as well as having the hero's wife intriguingly appear at certain intervals as a sort of ghost, having the effect of making you wonder exactly what is going on in the hero's mind. Not to mention a semi-dream sequence between two lovers in a forest which leads to the discovery of the old skull. The ending where the hero commits suicide after signing the certificate is a sad compromise given his mental state & the massive pressure placed on him by the politicians.

Joe Stewardson plays the hero, making the character of a weary semi-bureaucratic type his own & getting into it with commendable precision. Ian Yule makes an effective sidekick as the chief of police. Actor turned scriptwriter Greg Latter (who wrote the script for CYBORG COP, one of the 1990s' DTV cult classics) makes an appearance as one of the government agents pressuring the hero to sign the paper.

I'll have to agree with all the reviews posted on here thus far and say that this film can be mighty boring, but it isn't without a few charms. Also, I want to mention to never trust a VHS by its (back) cover: To just look at the pictures and the summary, it'd be easy to believe you're going to be seeing an undiscovered hardcore slasher film from the 80's, but... yeah... I don't know what it is I just saw.

It starts out well enough, with good directing, acting, and atmosphere, not to mention an engaging storyline. No kidding, the first 30 minutes or so of this movie has some decent suspense and is interesting and sleazy enough to be watchable. I especially enjoyed the main character, who is amongst the worst "main characters" in history: sweaty, bloated, old, nasty, mean, and with a bulldog face. Who wants to look at this guy for 96 minutes? He keeps having psychic visions of his wife while he talks to himself and drives from prostitute to prostitute; meanwhile, he won't sign a death certificate and he decides to become a detective.

After this point, there is some nonsense about African politics and more psychic visions, a few murders, and a suicide. The whole film has a really nice and dark look and a very grim, mean-spirited tone: there is no humor whatsoever. Also, the soundtrack is interesting because it's almost entirely chimes, pianos, and a nausea-inducing flanger pedal played forever. But, really, what WAS this? What was the point of this film? When it's all said and done, it doesn't really do anything. But man, that sure is a cool title for a film and a cool image on the box. Worth maybe watching for a few interesting moments... but it's nothing special.

000 years ago, two African tribesmen walking through a forester killed by a masked man wielding a spiked club, the same weapon that is being used to murder prostitutes. Then, the killer uses the spikes on his fist to paint pictures.

Chief medical examiner Dr. Joe Hendersen is now obsessed with researching the murders, but then he's told to shut it down. Why? He's also dealing with pressure to falsify a death certificate to keep a race war from happening. This could honestly be the entire plot of a different film.

Actually, this movie is a bait and switch, because the description and the opening have you ready for a police movie mixed with a slasher and then it becomes a political film and forget that it was sold as a slasher.

South African director Darrell Roodt has made a ton of movies from the Ice Cube-starring Dangerous Ground to Dracula 3000 and Lake Placid: The Legacy.