Seems to me there aren't enough horror films dealing with evil twins. Sure there are some (Dead Ringers springs to mind though I've not seen it) and the concept has made for an amusing twist in a variety of slashers, but there aren't so many films directly based around the concept. Blood Link is one such though, and pretty entertaining stuff albeit no classic. The story follows Dr. Craig Mannings, research psychiatrist having visions of beautiful women getting offed by his hand. He realises soon enough that in fact he is seeing through the eyes of his maniac brother Keith and so without further ado heads off to Hamburg to find him. Though directed by an Italian Blood Link has more in common with glossy yet seedy Hollywood thrillers of the era, the sort of thing in fact inspired at least in part by giallo cinema. There isn't overmuch style on hand, but its a pretty well made affair and there's an understated but fairly pleasing Ennio Morricone score to keep things bubbling along. Perhaps the most typically Italian thing about the film is a script that cares about nothing more than moving the action along, resulting in a succession of plot holes opening up that threaten to engulf the whole experience if one looks back even for a moment to consider them. Like how come neither Craig's girlfriend nor employers have anything to say on the subject of his leaving the country to search for a murderer? Why doesn't he fess up to the Hamburg police straight away (having presumably no prior experience of going after murderers himself)? Why was Keith allowed to get to Hamburg in the first place? There's more, but part of the fun comes from the mounting implausibilities and the pace is sufficiently swift that to say much more would be a spoiler anyway. Of course, none of this would work without some performances up to the task, and happily awesome character actor Michael Moriarty is on the case, playing Craig and Keith. As Craig he does not initially hook, coming across very much low key and befuddled, but grows into the role, taking on determination and a harder edge. As Keith he's a blast throughout though, putting his all into a great show of malevolent camp. Especially fun are scenes with the two together, both tense and bizarrely amusing. The rest of the cast is solid and includes a nice but sad cameo from the great Cameron Mitchell, though mostly notable for its attractive women. Penelope Milford as Craig's girlfriend, Sarah Langenfeld as a vengeful lass on Keith's case and Martha Smith as a local hooker, all fill their roles well and all show their lovely breasts. Moments of death or menace in fact often come after or involve sex or nudity giving a nice sleazy edge, which is helpful as in a shocking turn of events there's only bare minimal bloodshed. The nasty bits are at least pretty mean though, and once or twice even mildly shocking. Altogether this is a smooth ride though not especially memorable, Some longueurs in the final block but a nice suspenseful and twisted finale end things on just the right note, making it overall a worthy venture. Strong 6/10 then I guess.
Review of Blood Link
