User reviews

Alberto De Martino's "Blood Link" is a pretty good thriller.Michael Moriaty plays a doctor,who has frightening visions of murder and discovers that this may be because of a psychic link to his siamese twin brother,who is murdering women in Germany.He tries to find him and stop the madness.The cast is pretty good with excellent performance by Michael Moriaty and the score by Ennio Morricone is brilliant.There is some violence and plenty of nudity.The film reminds me a little bit Brian De Palma's masterful "Sisters"(1973),but it has enough suspense and surprises to satisfy horror fans.Check it out.

This film doesn't come off entirely what it sets off to do. Moriarty in two brother roles, shows us what a fine actor he is. It's good Moriarty versus Moriarty, where good Moriarty's life, is becoming a living hell, thanks to his Siamese twin brother, who's fortunately a psychotic, who's committed a sting of brutal murders, one not so brutal, involving punching an ex boxing star (lovable veteran actor Cameron Mitchell). Bad Moriarty is parading as good Moriarty doctor, which he isn't as it isn't helping his good brother's chances, when the cops get hold of him. When growing up, our psychotic one wasn't given the same love and attention, as the good one, hence, part of his reasons for becoming a knife thrashing lunatic. His good brother has it all, successful, likable, and a really nice piece of female a..e The ain't half bad film offers some nice servings of nudity and some nice slappings of venesection (gore) and Moriarty, who's acting presence is always something viewable, especially after seeing in Q. The problems with the film, overall, I felt, were there were a few stops, a little dullness, and not enough story poured into what is otherwise, an interesting film, that really doesn't really fall above the ranks of average.

This obscure Italian film – made in the English language – mixes typical elements of the giallo with a few sci-fi trappings, and adds to them a doppelganger theme. Incidentally, given that it deals with Siamese twins who haven't been in contact for years but are able to 'see' what one another is doing, it somehow feels like the long-lost sibling of two Brian De Palma films itself – coming, as it does, in between his SISTERS (1973) and RAISING CAIN (1992)!

Anyway, it's mildly interesting (even more so for me, being a twin myself!), good-looking (the film was shot in the U.S. and Germany) and features an understated Ennio Morricone score – but, in the long run, emerges as nothing especially remarkable. Besides, even if the supporting cast is decked out with veteran presences – Geraldine Fitzgerald, Virginia McKenna and Cameron Mitchell – they're all basically wasted (McKenna, for instance, is already dead within the first 5 minutes!).

The lead is played by Michael Moriarty, an actor noted for his intense performances – and, here, we get double the dose (with the star, predictably, hamming it up particularly in his serial-killer characterization)! However, he's flanked by two lovely ladies whose contribution is above-average for this sort of thing – Penelope Milford (ex-Oscar nominee for COMING HOME [1978]!) as the good Moriarty's girlfriend and Sarah Langenfeld (in one of only 4 films she did) as the daughter of has-been prizefighter Mitchell, whose cold-blooded murder at the hands of the bad Moriarty she witnesses. By the way, the film features a surprising amount of nudity (by the two girls and others) – but it's not done in an overly sleazy or exploitative manner.

The 'face/off' situations between the two brothers provide the expected fireworks; the climax, then, sees Milford distracting the villainous (and impotent) Moriarty by letting him rape her – thus enabling the police to track him down through his brother's ability to recognize the surroundings! This is followed, however, by a far-fetched CARRIE (1976)-like twist set in the city morgue...but which leads to an effectively unsettling 'curtain' where Milford is literally unable to tell which brother she's ended up with!

P.S. If all goes well, I should be getting to another of De Martino's horror films – HOLOCAUST 2000 (1977) – in the near future, which is one I've missed out on numerous times in the past...

I'm strangely fascinated by the acting career of Michael Moriarty. He's rather odd-looking and never seems to know what's going on, yet he was often offered important horror roles during the 1980's. Especially, by Larry Cohen who cast him in "Q – The Winged Serpent" and "The Stuff". Well, "Blood Link" isn't exactly an important film, but it's easily his most ambitious and valuable role. Your first impression will probably be that he's terribly miscast in his double role as sadistic murderer and the telepathically linked twin brother who pursues him, but he actually grows in his role and gets more convincing as the story develops. Craig Mannings is a doctor living in the United States who's frequently disturbed by nightmares in which he sees himself committing gruesome murders. He's instantly reminded of his former Siamese twin brother Keith, only he supposedly dies in an arson at age 17. The search brings him to Hamburg where the sane & insane brother will be reunited, although not without a lot of bloodshed. "Blood Link" is an interesting, albeit slow and implausible thriller with some clear giallo influences and a most enchanting score by master Ennio Morricone. Alberto De Martino – one of Italy's most criminally underrated director – professionally and adds in twists, nifty murders and even some nudity whenever you tend to lost interest. Although nearly not shocking or violent enough to rank among Italy's better thrillers, fans might find it enjoyable and worth tracking down.

Michael Moriarty does a good job of playing identical, separated Siamese twins, who share a telepathic link. Craig is a doctor practising in North America whilst Keith is a psychopathic killer, murdering in Berlin. Craig acts upon his visions and travels to Germany to try and stop the killing spree. Although a fan of Euro horror I had not heard of Blood Link until I saw a cheap copy for sale on VHS. The cover alone sold it to me. Moriarty is good in both roles. Cameron Mitchell shows up as an out of condition, over the hill fighter. And most of the actresses end up naked. There is a touch of sleaziness about Blood Link. It also has a reasonable body count, and although there is a lot of dialogue throughout it's running time it is peppered with kills and nudity to keep it interesting. Now, that artwork for the cover looks very familiar - New York Ripper!!??

Two twin brothers, one good and one evil, share a Blood Link which allows them both to see through the other brothers eyes. Problem is that one of them is a serial killer and the good brother will have to try and stop his sibling from murdering innocent people in Germany.

We meet Craig who starts having visions and nightmares of a person who looks just like himself killing random women. He feels satisfaction and relief each time he sees these things happening, evening feeling as though he committed the crimes himself. Craig starts investigating his upbringing and the fact that he has an apparent siamese twin out there named Keith. This all leads him to West Germany where he travels to in an attempt to find his brother and stop his murderous ways. Will he be able to accomplish this, or will Keith turn the tables on him and switch places in the eyes of the police?

Blood Link is a thriller that has a very interest concept with the two identical/siamese twin brothers, one good and one evil. The idea that they can see each others actions through each other's eyes is an interesting one which worked well throughout the movie. Craig sees every evil action and kill that Keith commits. The flaws with the movie lies with the character development and motive of the killer Keith. We get that there was a very bad childhood upbringing, but the film never gives us his real drive to kill all of the people he knocks off. In the end, the murders feel very shallow and we are left just with two twin brothers battling it out for no good reason.

Michael Moriarty does a fine job as the lead character Craig and Keith. He's believable as both the psychotic killer and the man who is so confused as to what is happening in his dreams. I thought the real standout was Penelope Milford as Craig's girlfriend Julie. She had some fun scenes with the good brother, and highly emotional and terrifying scenes with the evil one.

Blood Link was a below average watch for me. It started out well, but dragged on quite a bit with a story that never seemed to be fully imagined on screen by the director.

4/10

A man finds himself having visions of murders being committed that turn out to be true. His visions and investigations take him to Berlin where several revelations bring him face to face with the killer.

I love 'one good twin, one evil twin' movies. This is another example of this genre but is closer to Dead Ringers than Basket Case.

I hate it when people describe movies as having a 'dream like quality' but that description is entirely applicable here. I'm not sure if this was the intended outcome for the movie's director or if this was the result of inexperienced filmmaking but it works really well. If you like to have a few tokes whilst watching a film then that's not needed here. It's obvious that the cast and crew have done all of that for you. I'm surprised Mary Jane wasn't given her own credit to be honest.

The Berlin locale works really well with moody, neon lit scenes of down town Berlin at night looking gorgeous and fitting the darkness of the film splendidly.

And then theres the cast. Michael Moriarty shows his continuation of giving off-beat performances to bring to life off-beat characters after his surreal role in the brilliant Q. He's just as idiosyncratic in Blood Link as he was in Larry Cohen's cultfest and is a major part of why this film is so likeable and watchable. We also get Cameron 'Toolbox Murders' Mitchell as an ageing wrestler who is also fantastic. We also get an Ennio Morricone score (quite surprisingly).

File this movie under 'Oddity'. Not a cult classic but well worth seeing.

Greetings And Salutations, and welcome to my review of Blood Link. Before we get into it, here are my ratings:

Story - 0.75 Direction - 1.00 Pace - 0.75 Acting - 1.00 Enjoyment - 1.00

TOTAL - 4.50 out of 10

No sooner had the film started than I had the feeling the picture deserved more respect than the writers, director, or cast gave it.

The opening scenes of the first kill are washed out (which you later realise is a camera filter used to show looking through another's eyes), drab, and boring. Murder should never be boring, especially the first one. And it was the reason why it took so long for me to watch the rest of the film. After catching the beginning before; I knew I needed to be in the right mood to watch the rest. The right mood came last night.

Blood Link tries to be a Giallo and fails. The cause is that it misses two principal elements of the genre - Mystery and Evil. Because you know who the killer is, there's no mystery involved, and the audience can't be fed andy red herrings, which takes out a lot of the enjoyment. Lamentably, the murderer, Keith, isn't demented enough to be called evil. And he's so poorly written he's nearly insignificant. And the same can be said of his twin, Craig, who is searching for him. All the characters are inferior to the ones in similar stories. Everything, except the basic premise of the story, is weak. The terrible thing is that it wouldn't have taken much to rectify these issues.

And the same can be said of the picture's directing. For the most part, the filming is pretty standard and uninteresting. The director tried adding interest by showing that the twins saw through each other's eyes. He did this by using soft focus filters to add a hazy distortion. Unfortunately, the effect is too distorted, and you can't easily see what's happening. And that goes against the principle that Craig saw everything clearly and even felt Keith's murderous feelings and joyful satisfaction. Surely, if that's the case, then the killings should be viewed with perfect clarity. It didn't help that the movie had a sluggish tempo. Some films work with a single pace, but Blood Link isn't one of them. Added to the poorly written script, it only adds to the apathy.

And the cast adds more listlessness to the film. I've never been a fan of Michael Moriarty, and Blood Link is a film to show why. He either hits or misses in his performances. This one is a resounding miss. What this story required was an actor who could portray two different personalities. Though what we get is Moriarty being Moriarty, and Moriarty with a higher-pitched voice. There is absolutely no way to distinguish between the two, which would have been brilliant had the writers used that factor in the story.

I would recommend staying away from Blood Link unless there really is nothing better to watch - and in this day and age of choice, I seriously doubt that.

Please feel free to visit my Killer Thriller Chillers list to see where I ranked Blood Link or to find yourself better entertainment.

Take Care & Stay Well.

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.

"Blood Link" is a suspenseful and pretty scary thriller.

The plot: Craig Manning (Moriarty) is a doctor. But for some nights now he's been having horrific visions of murders. It turns out he has a Siamese brother (also played by Moriarty) who lives in Hamburg. Craig tracks him down to unravel the mystery.

"Blood Link" is worth watching for the usual excellent performance by Moriarty. He puts a lot of energy and character into the role. The direction by De Martino is fast-paced and the music by Ennio Morricone is always worth a listen.

In the end: If you can find it, "Blood Link" is an interesting horror movie worth watching.

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Blood Link is a German and Italian co-production; although it was clearly made for an American audience. The film has got itself in with the 'Giallo' style that had it's heyday in Italy during the seventies; although the reason for that is probably merely down to the fact that it's directed by Alberto De Martino; as despite some Giallo elements, I wouldn't call this film a Giallo on the whole. Blood Link is more of a psychological thriller that takes in themes relating to psychology and a psychic link between two people. Craig Mannings and his girlfriend are doctors trying to create a new way of exploring pain and dreams. Craig decides to test the new methods on himself but ends up finding a way into his presumed dead ex-Siamese twin brother's conscience. He discovers that his brother is living in Hamburg and murdering people; but this doesn't stop him from going to Hamburg and tracking him down. When he arrives in Hamburg, the killings continue until the inevitable meeting between the two brothers.

Michael Moriarty has had an interesting career; the highlight of which for me is his role in Larry Cohen's excellent 'The Stuff'. His performance here is not quite as over the top, but it is rather more impressive. Moriarty is not an obvious choice for the lead role in a film like this; but he fits into it excellently and makes both characters he plays very believable. The film is interesting throughout and several good ideas are explored; not least the idea of a psychic link between two brothers that used to share a physical link, but there's also some good ideas relating to the sexuality of the 'bad' twin. There's a few murders scenes; none of them particularly bloody or over the top but good enough and fitting within the movie. Cameron Mitchell's aging wrestler's character has a highlight scene in that respect. The film manages to stay interesting for the duration and it all boils down to a suitably dark and compelling conclusion. The premise of the movie is similar to David Cronenberg's later Dead Ringers; and while the latter is the better film, there's lots to like here and Blood Link is certainly worth a look.

Doctor Craig Mannings is having visions where he sees himself killing women, but he slowly realises he's actually seeing through the eyes of a killer. What happens to be link? Low-budget psychotic thriller (with a touch of Giallo) that's bizarre and seedy, but not in an exploitative sense… favouring European atmospherics and erotica than all-out crass and graphic exploitation. That's not say there aren't any sleazy and trash elements, but there's a certain style and chic to the production that lifts it up a notch. One thing that sticks with you is Ennio Morricone's layered music score. Emotional, simmering and truly unsettling. This complements Michael Moriarty's dual performance of two extremes. This two-sided turn is a magnificent blend of confidently underplayed and insanely creepy. Moriarty is a joy to watch, especially when he comes face to face with himself. This is where the tension arises, as a viewer we know what might happen while the characters are playing the chase up game. Moriarty playing the evil twin role simply got under my skin and the acts of violence handed out by this character are merciless. The twist when it comes is nightmarish, but the ending paints a very haunting suggestion that gives the film an effective sting because of its convincing performances. Nice touches by director Albert De Martino. Writing-wise there can be some inconsistent patterns (mainly past developments and character motivations), but it feels more like a mood piece with our two central characters (Moriarty superbly at work) interacting. One wanting to help, while the other wants no such thing. There's real solid support by Penelope Milford (who's fantastic in the very final scene), Geraldine Fitzgerald and quick cameo part for Cameron Mitchell.