Lady Blood (2008)

If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

Going into this film, I had high expectations. Not only was it a sequel to Baby Blood, but it also had an intriguing storyline to it. Something is killing off people in the city and all leads point to a vicious mafia family. But there is a creature who is looking for something, or someone, and will let nothing stand in its way.Considering Baby Blood was such a hit, I had a high expectation for this one. I am not quite sure why Baby Blood needed a sequel, but then again, when does France ever need an excuse to exercise their horror franchise? Anyway, it had a fairly decent plot and I was very happy to see that the lead actress from Baby Blood was also the lead in Lady. Unfortunately, her role was very subdued and almost felt like she was very bored with what she had to play with. The same can be said for French Cinematic legend, Phillipe Nahon. His character was merely background, which is disappointing that such a high calibre actor hasn't been utilized to his full potential. Apart from the bland performances from the cast, I couldn't help but feel that the movie was that of a movie made for television. It was clear that the budget wasn't there, and to follow up on such a successful movie from the early 90's , it was just such a shame that the same respect wasn't put into this one. It was just a run of the mill, standard soap opera Horror film. The charm from the first film, with its black comedy approach, was thrown out the window for this one. Lady Blood came across as a much more serious film, which is yet another mistake from the director. This should have been a crazy, fun ride that the first one was. There were some pretty decent scenes of gore and sheer nastiness, as the French gangsters were quite menacing, so that's at least something that can be salvaged from what is ultimately a wreck of a film. By French standards, I am bitterly bitterly disappointed by this one. I would say, don't bother. Just treat Baby Blood as a single movie and leave this movie for late night runs on the television.

That's not the kind of movie I first expected to watch. I was waiting for a "new wave" french horror picture, the kind you can discover since Alexandre Aja's HAUTE TENSION, in 2003. And afterwards CALVAIRE, A L'INTERIEUR, FRONTIERES, MARTYRS, HUMAINS, VERTIGE and so on...Not all excellent but that had nothing to do with the old fashioned stuff we could see in the 70's - with Jean Rollin's features - or in the 89's and 90's. This one - LADY BLOOD - makes me think about those. It looks like a short feature blown in a long one. Watch the score, editing, character play, everything smells horror pictures made in France twenty years ago. And it remains more a crime tan a horror flick. It could have been made for TV releasing.Only for hardcore lovers of this kind of stuff.