In 2000, a friend of mine approached me with a short film idea based on an urban legend here on Long Island. We shot the short and even won a few awards at film festivals with it. It was nothing great, but we quickly copyrighted every story about the legend that we heard. The problem with the legend is that it’s too broad and not everyone knows the true story. That legend is the one of Mary or Mary’s Grave. I’m not going to go into the legend, it very broad and no one really knows the true story or what town in took place in. It is a legend on Long Island that every town seems to have a different version of.
Blood Night is also based on the legend; however the filmmakers took certain liberties in making it more of a teen splatter film while using certain Long Island landmarks and pieces of the “Mary” legend to give the film its background story.
Blood Night is about a girl named Mary that went on a rampage and killed her family. She was later convicted of the crimes and sent to live in Kings Park Santorum. While there a staff member repeatedly raped her. She later escaped killing everyone in her path, only to be killed in the process. The Santorum closed down. Yet the rampage she went on left her a legend and every year on the anniversary the local high school celebrates Blood Night in honor of Mary and the murders. Little do they know that on this blood night more blood will be spilled, again!
I have to give the filmmakers credit for how they incorporated the legend into their plot. They used a lot the stories we all know about Mary and rolled them into a modern day tale. The film as a whole is shot very well and the make-up and visual effects are really good. However, in terms of the overall story, legend aside, the film was your basic horror story of one person after another being killed off. I really had no clue who the lead characters where, as the character development was weak and it just did not stand out as a classic original horror story like I think it should have.
The DVD has plenty of special features such as The Making of Blood Night: The Legend of Mary Hatchet, Interviews with the Director and Cast, outtakes, and a trailer gallery.
Overall, Blood Night does do the legend justice, but the overall film is nothing original. If you’re a Long Island native you will probably take to this film better than most, especially if you have heard all the stories of “Mary” growing up. The film does have some star power with Halloween’s Danielle Harris in a supporting role and Devil’s Rejects and Texas Chainsaw Massacre Part 2 star Bill Moseley. Blood Night is your typical teen horror film, with the exception that this one does have a lot more blood and gore. Yet, it is still your typical teen horror film so don’t expect anything ground breaking.
NOTE: In defense of the filmmakers and all the negative press this film is getting from those that have seen it. As someone who knows this legend well; this is a hard story to tell. While the filmmakers tried to make the film using various haunts and legends of Long Island, the story of the legend of Mary is a weak one in itself. Trust me, I’ve tried to tell a story that is closer to the legend than this film was, and it really does not work unless more fictional liberties are added in. Like I stated above Blood Night lacks in many areas of being a good horror film, but I know first hand how hard this story is to put into a fictional perspective while trying to do the legend justice.
– Horror Bob
- Interview with J.R. Bookwalter - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Andrew J. Rausch - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Rick Popko and Dan West - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Director Stevan Mena (Malevolence) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Screenwriter Jeffery Reddick (Day of the Dead 2007) - January 22, 2015
- Teleconference interview with Mick Garris (Masters of Horror) - January 22, 2015
- A Day at the Morgue with Corri English (Unrest) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Writer/Director Nacho Cerda (The Abandoned, Aftermath) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actress Thora Birch (Dark Corners, The Hole, American Beauty) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actor Jason Behr, Plus Skinwalkers Press Coverage - January 22, 2015
