Blood Link
 | This article consists almost entirely of a plot summary. (October 2016) |
| Blood Link | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Alberto De Martino |
| Screenplay by | Theodore Apstein |
| Story by | Alberto De Martino Massimo De Rita |
| Produced by | Roberto Palaggi |
| Starring | Michael Moriarty |
| Cinematography | Romano Albani |
| Edited by | Russell Lloyd |
| Music by | Ennio Morricone |
Release date |
|
Running time | 98 minutes |
| Countries | Italy, US, Germany |
| Language | English |
Blood Link (Template:Lang-it, Template:Lang-de, also known as The Link) is a 1982 Italian-American-German giallo-horror film written and directed by Alberto De Martino and starring Michael Moriarty and Cameron Mitchell.[1][2][3][4] The film was financed mostly by a German production company (Zadar Filmgesellschaft), but it was made by an Italian director and crew.[5]
Plot
Craig Manning (Michael Moriarty) is a respected doctor living in the United States, who begins to experience strange visions of women being murdered. Before long, he begins to suspect that these visions are the result of a psychic connection with his twin brother Keith (also Michael Moriarty), who supposedly died in a house fire in Cleveland at the age of 17, but who is now engaged in a murder spree. Recognizing the scenery in one of the visions, Craig travels to Hamburg, Germany to find and stop his brother, over the protests of his girlfriend Julie Warren (Penelope Milford).
Meanwhile, Keith is soon spotted and mistaken for Craig at a Hamburg coffee shop by ex-boxer Bud Waldo, (Cameron Mitchell) one Craig's former patients. Maliciously, Keith goads the older man into an impromptu boxing match, striking him repeatedly and causing a fatal heart attack. Craig arrives on the scene in time to meet Waldo's daughter Christine (Sarah Langenfeld), who joins him in his search for Keith. The two quickly become lovers, but their search is hampered by the local police (led by inspector Hessinger [Reinhold Olszewski]) who think Craig is to blame for Keith's murders. While they hide, Keith locates them, kills Christine, and finally confronts his brother, telling him he was aware of their psychic connection and that he committed the murders as a way of bringing his estranged brother to him. Craig condemns his actions, but Keith escapes, promising more murders. Shortly thereafter, the police arrive and arrest Craig, charging him with Christine's murder.
In short order, Julie arrives in Germany and—certain that Craig's visions are real—implores the local authorities in Hamburg to help search for Keith in connection to the murders that Craig is now being blamed for. While Craig sits in jail, she concocts a plan to act as bait for Keith, meeting him at a secret location and counting on Craig's psychic connection to help bring the police to her in time. Keith, psychologically unstable and obsessed with his brother, attempts to rape Julie, but during the struggle she is able to stab him to death with his own knife.
With Keith dead, the charges against Craig are dropped and he is freed from prison. He continues to have visions, however, which seem to show Keith returning from the grave. Moreover, he seems to have taken on some of Keith's personality characteristics. The film ends with some ambiguity about whether Keith is still somehow psychically affecting his brother from beyond the grave, or if Craig is simply psychologically scarred from his experience.
Cast
- Michael Moriarty as Keith Mannings / Craig Mannings
- Penelope Milford as Julie Warren
- Geraldine Fitzgerald as Mrs. Thomason
- Cameron Mitchell as Bud Waldo
- Sarah Langenfeld as Christine Waldo
- Martha Smith as Hedwig
- Virginia McKenna as Woman in Ballroom
- Reinhold Olszewski as Inspector Hessinger
- Alex Diakun as Mr. Adams
- Shaun Lawton as Man with cigar
See also
References
- ^ Margot Winick. Spaghetti Nightmares. Fantasma Books, 1996. ISBN 0963498274.
- ^ John Willis. Screen World 1987. Crown, 1987. ISBN 051756615X.
- ^ Joe Kane. The Phantom of the Movies' Videoscope: The Ultimate Guide to the Latest, Greatest, and Weirdest Genre Videos. Three Rivers Press, 2000. ISBN 0812931491.
- ^ Mick Martin, Marsha Porter. DVD and Video Guide 2005. Ballantine, 2004. ISBN 0345449959.
- ^ Luther-Smith,Adrian (1999). Blood and Black Lace: The Definitive Guide to Italian Sex and Horror Movies. Stray Cat Publishing Ltd. p. 12