Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #7543 in VHS
• Released on: 1993-01-13
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Color, HiFi Sound, NTSC
• Number of tapes: 1
• Running time: 85 minutes

Customer Reviews

"What would comfort want with me?"
In some circles, "Bloodmatch" - Albert Pyun's second official martial arts flick following Cyborg - has become venerated as an unappreciated gem of the fight genre. While I appreciate the presence of some of the lesser-known performers featured in this movie, I have yet to realize how this film rises above being anything more than a dumb, sadistic kickboxing movie with sub-par action scenes filmed on a very limited scale. The many B-movie fans that haven't seen this movie will probably need to convince themselves of this by giving it a watch, but to anybody who's stumbled upon this review by accident, I implore you to leave this film on Amazon...unless you're a strong fan of Pyun's.

The story: seeking revenge for his murdered brother, Brick Bardo (Thom Matthews, The Return of the Living Dead) tracks down four of the world's greatest kickboxers whom he believes to be behind a conspiracy that saw his sibling assassinated. After kidnapping Brent Caldwell (Dale Jacoby, No Retreat No Surrender [VHS]), Billy Munoz (Benny Urquidez, Wheels on Meals), Mike Johnson (Thunderwolf, Shootfighter: Fight to the Death), and Connie Angel (Hope Marie Carlton, Slumber Party Massacre III), he has them transported to an empty fight arena and squares off against each in turn, looking to beat a confession out of whomever is the most guilty.

I'm aware that Thom Matthews' character is not meant to be the typical martial arts hero, but before you're halfway through the film, he's surpassed the role of anti-hero and become an outright villain, to the point that the only person you don't want to see kick his butt is Dale Jacoby's despicable world champ. Indeed, the `guilty four' seem less guilty of their supposed crimes than Brick is of insanity after much remorseless torture and killing and an eventual confusing twist that calls into question if he even knows who he is. In these aforementioned aspects, "Bloodmatch" tries to be as much of a psychological drama as a kickboxing flick, but before long, it's clear that the script lacks the weight and the actors lack the dramatic skill necessary to pull off such a hybrid effort.

The fighting is abundant but, I'm sorry to say, is nowhere near great. There are five fights throughout the movie (usually I'd consider this a meager amount, but since the film runs under 90 minutes, it's not bad), but in every single one of them, Pyun has chosen to utilize the dated and unnecessary technique of replaying almost every other punch or kick multiple times in succession - sometimes in excess of three times. And no, these are not money shots that deserve a second look (as was the case with the replays in Ong-Bak - The Thai Warrior) - more often than not, we're talking about an ordinary heel kick or haymaker that would have actually looked better if it were not examined from every angle so viewers would know that yes, it's just a regular kick. Hector Pena (Death Match [VHS]), Peter Cunningham (Above the Law), and Vincent Klyn (the bad guy of "Cyborg") get to mix it up with Thunderwolf in the first and best fight of the movie (not saying much), but having them around doesn't make much of a difference - the filming and editing of the brawls, regardless of their choreography, ought to scare away any self-respecting martial arts junkie.

It also doesn't help that the film feels way too short: it was admirable that about five minutes worth of thought could be stretched into an 86-minute movie, but it still felt like the film still had plenty of places to go and more aspects of the plot and characters to explore. Then again, at least we were spared more of those godawful fight scenes, so I ought to be thankful. It's hard to believe that Pyun would pull off the legitimately watchable Kickboxer 2 after this debacle, but if you've seen more than one of his films, you'll know that this director's mind works in mysterious ways. Throw this one on the rejection pile and keep looking for that perfect kickboxing gem...

dark, harsh and violent...all in the name of love and honor
It might be cheesy to a certain extent, but for these type of movies, Bloodmatch is powerful in its own way. Thom Mathews does a great job with his character, Brick Bardo, who is on a mission of revenge to discover who killed his brother. Although he plays dirty, its obvious that Brick is not really a bad guy, but goes to great lengths to honor his dead brother. He captures 4 suspects, 3 men and one woman, who are all well skilled in martial arts. These characters are what make the other half of the movie so good, Thunderwolf (also in Shootfighter), Dale Jacoby (No Retreat No Surrender, Ring of Fire), Benny "The Jet" Urquidez (Wheels on Meals, Dragons Forever) and Hope Marie Carlton. Brick Bardo fights off each one of them in the ring, in an arena where it is just the 4 suspects, Brick and his wife, Max. The fights are very good I have to admit, thanks to choreogrpahy by Benny. Each fight is lenghty and real, with the fighters and Brick evenly matched in skills. Benny Urquidez's fight is a real treat of choreography to watch. The story has a great ending that you probably wouldn't see coming at all.

Beware...Bloodmatch seems very dark and violent, with plenty of harsh language galore. In a wierd way, there is heart to this movie behind it all. Bloodmatch has wonderful fights, but thankfully a story and plot that is a notch above the rest in the B-movie category.

women are strong
One thing I like in this movie, It shows women stronger than men!!!