For some twenty years, when I hear the Everglades mentioned, I automatically think of this one movie I rented as a teenager. Nothing mindblowing, or overly memorable about this movie, really, but I can't recall knowing jack shit about The Everglades before I saw it. Blood Stalkers, they call it. Less commonly known as The Night Daniel Died. A backwoods, would be-Slasher from the late 70's, which makes poor attempts at also being a Bigfoot movie. Blood Stalkers more or less educated me on this infamous Florida location. Or, at the very least, taught me all I needed to know. I'm pretty sure they were trying to tell us that The Everglades sucks and to stay away forever, even if there's no actual danger. Living in far better part of Florida, which still kind of sucks, I can appreciate this message. When going on vacation, Always go North. Never South!
Two couples are nearing the end of a road trip which is supposed to culminate with a long awaited vacation in The Everglades. Mike's parents owned this cabin, which now belongs to him. Mike is determined to treat his best friend, Daniel, and the wives, to two weeks of South Floridian bliss, with the mosquitoes, humidity and all. This isn't just Florida, This is a more untamed version of Florida than what most of us may be aware of. Nobody besides Mike is into this. The wife is all sarcastic about it, and their city slicker friends seem intimidated at the thought of roughing it for a while. In this case, a while is going to be two whole weeks. And Mike basically says "tough shit" to anyone who has an issue. Mike has decided that there is not a better place on Earth to vaycay than this rundown cabin which is very literally in the middle of nowhere.
The vacationing couples stop for gas and directions, as it's been years since Mike was out here. At first, they get the cold shoulder from the ornery old man. All questions go unanswered until they let slip where they're headed. The old man, along with his three intimidating friends, warn them to stay away. it's not entirely clear whether this is a threat or a an actual warning, but it was implied that there's some kind of creatures out there called 'blood stalkers". Although, it seemed like they may have been referring tothemselves. We still don't know what type of Horror movie this is.
Mike wipes his ass with everyone's concerns, and drives off to find the cabin, anyway. After finally getting directions from a mute, Mike, Kim, Daniel and Jerri park a peace away and hike up to the cabin with luggage in hand, which includes a single 12-pack of beer. That's right. A two week vacation in a cabin with no electricity, nearby hostile locals, and possibly some damn thing out there. Yeah, sure. A 12-pack of beer should do nicely.
I'll admit, this is a cool little place, but it's unclear what Mike expects everyone to do to pass the time. He just seems caught up in reliving childhood vacations. And everyone but the wife is too polite to say anything. But even Kim warms up to this ordeal a little when they find a nice place to skinny dip. Which is when the danger begins, as they're given a scare by what sounded like a Panther. But maybe not. As Mike and Kim rush back to the cabin to warn their friends, they decide not to say anything and just play it cool for a while. After a relaxing evening, things seem like they're going to be ok. As everyone heads to bed, all hell breaks loose when someone (or something) reaches through the window and grabs Jerri, rendering her husband useless, as he freezes in his tracks and begins to pour sweat for what seems like hours. The more manly Mike gets Jerri free, although, she is now catatonic due to this scare.
Mike fires a gun several times, accidentally killing their own dog. Now, it sounds like there's someone (or something) on the roof, making some racket. If that's bigfoot up there, then, he's probably going to kill everyone. If not, then, it's probably those backwoods fucks trying to give everyone a scare before killing them. Mike then makes the most important decision of his life. He leaves the gun with Daniel, and runs off into this piss poor little town of 38 in order to find some help.
Nobody Mike comes across wants anything to do with him. Obviously, there is something to be afraid of, and Mike is the only one who doesn't know what that is. Despite all the pleading with strangers, Mike never got any help, and never made it back to the cabin, that night. But he eventually did. And what he found there would set off a once dormant killing machine, damaged by the atrocities of Vietnam. From what we understand, Mike was always a hair away from reverting back to what he once was. However, it appears there'll be no help for Mike, this time.Aside from the story, I don't have a hell of a lot to say about this film, simply because there's just not much that I am aware of. But I will say that was one great location they picked for this weird little film. They did a superb job capturing that backwoods vibe, along with the uncomfortable, insect-ridden humidity and isolation the tiny cast and crew had to endure. All of this, complimented by a haunting score. The cast was actually pretty good. Mike vaguely reminds me of John Denver for some reason. Toni Crabtree's character of Kim was delightful with her cokey red nose. Mike's chubby, metro-sexual pal and his stripper wife made everything all the more amusing with their one-liners. So, no complaints there.
Aside from my love of nostalgia, this movie fascinates me to no end, as many films like it always have. Blood Stalkers is one of the few remaining Horror films which has yet to get the digital treatment. And unlike so many other formerly obscure films, there's still really nothing out there in the way of information about it. Just some leftover vhs tapes if you are lucky enough to find one. This one is long overdue for a dvd/blu-ray release, along with the informative extras it will provide. But one of these days, I know it will happen, and maybe then, I can tell the real story in a review with a little less filler. But in the meantime, I'll keep on appreciating the mystery that currently surrounds Blood Stalkers. 5/10
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