Blood Trails

Don’t sleep around, especially with psychotic cops armed with mountain bikes. That’s the lesson taught in this dreadful German homage to High Tension and um, Quicksilver? Bike messenger Anne is the adulterous victim in question who one night goes home with Chris, the man who will become her future tormentor. When she later embarks on a biking excursion with boyfriend Michael, Anne discovers they’re not alone — Chris is following their every pedal, waiting to fly out of the air and stab Michael in the throat with his tire. Seriously, this happens (and it’s probably the only moment worth witnessing in the film’s painfully lengthy 87 minutes). From there, Anne is on the run/ride, trying desperately to get away from her psychopath fling, who takes on a role unabashedly lifted from The Hitcher, violently murdering everyone in his path. Every possible turn Blood Trails could take flops and flounders, especially in the anti-climactic finish, which feels as if director Krause was creatively blocked. The whole film reeks of desperation — using the age-old stranded-in-the-woods backdrop but adding a "fresh twist” with bicycles of all things forces the film into comedic territory, which isn’t the aim. Blood Trails offers nothing other than the aforementioned fatality, which I admit is something to be seen, just not at the cost of sitting through the other 86 minutes.