Edge of the Axe (1988) Review

Edge of the Axe (1988) 

Edge of the Axe follows Gerald Martin, who, after a California town is struck by a series of grisly murders, strikes up a relationship with a local girl who believes Gerald may be hiding a dark secret. 

Horror, especially 80s horror, was built on the back of indie filmmaking and while many of the greatest horror films are a testament to that, there are so many more that just don’t succeed for that very reason. Edge of the Axe is one of those horrors, a spectacular, steaming pile of shit that falls about 10 years too late and only made worse thanks to its silly acting, out of place music, and a script that hits every trope in the book (and not in a good way).

What little good parts there are, such as the very leading misdirection aimed at Gerald are sorried by the knowledge that he *might* be Charlie, Lillian’s mentally damaged cousin (keep in mind these two are in a romantic relationship and remain in one even with Lillian’s doubts), though I’ll admit, it does make the stakes of all this quite a bit creepier. Of course though, Charlie ends up being a figment of Lillian’s imagination, something we only find out with its twist ending that ends up with Gerald shot and charged with the murders, leaving Lillian to continue her spree (the why of which is never really explained). 

We get a pretty rough cast too,  starring Elmer Modlin, Jack Taylor, Patty Shepard, May Heatherly, Fred Grossinger, Page Moseley, Christina Marie Lane, and Barton Faulks. Faulks, perhaps intentionally, just never sat right with me, using a wild combination of purposeful and unintentionally bad acting at times, though Lane manages to win me over a great deal by the end with some pretty chaotic acting. 

Edge of the Axe, directed by José Ramón Larraz, is at times, a commendable attempt at crafting an interesting slasher, but its half baked plot, dismal acting, and nowhere pacing  take every ounce of promise and chuck it out the window, leading Edge of the Axe to not even land as laughably bad, just substandard and poorly thought out. 

2.9/10