Bloody Axe Woundisn’t director/screenwriter Matthew John Lawrence’s first foray into horror. The filmmaker also wrote and directed 2020’sUncle Peckerhead,which chronicled a punk band’s first tour and how it takes a wrong turn when a man-eating demon becomes a roadie.Larry Gone Demon, a short from 2015, held similar punk rock/horror vibes, and so doesBloody Axe Wound.In fact, there’s a distinctly original and altogether smart edge permeating throughout the movie,which groups it with some of the finer indiehorror we’ve seen this year.
Welcome to Clover Falls, yet another small town where truly sick and terrifying things occur. You’d think by now there would be a built-in therapy fund offered for residents of these hidden portals, which seem to be a great playground for death and mayhem. But then we wouldn’t be tuning in to get good jump scares or become sick to our stomachs. There’s plenty of opportunity for both inBloody Axe Woundbecause Abbie’s (Sari Arambulo) father, Roger Bladecut (Billy Burke), is a disfigured serial killer who wants to keep his legacy alive by capturing real-life killings on tape and selling them to eager customers.
Bloody Axe Wound
Bloody Axe Wound follows the daughter of a notorious ex-serial killer as she attempts to emulate her father’s grim legacy. As she navigates her ambitions, her father questions her ability to uphold his infamous reputation in the world of crime.
All that changes when he reluctantly agrees to let Abbie in on the fun. Maybe she can run the family business — basically killing teens for pleasure and profit. It’s enough to make a teenaged mind twirl with vulnerability, of course, but toss in a first crush by way of Molly Brown’s Sam, and Abbie has her work — both inner and outer — cut out for her. Let the blood spill.
Have Axe and Mask, Will Kill
Here’s an alert for Jeffrey Dean Morgan fans.The Walking Deadactor — remember how terrifying his character Negan was when he first arrived? — has a memorable cameo in the film early on as Butch Slater, famous for his slasher films. Morgan and his wife, Hilarie Burton Morgan, are producers here, so we can thank them in part for this film. Still, what fun it would have been to have Morgan have more of a role here, but we get some good grooves by way of Billy Burke, who handles his Sick Daddy character just fine.
Abbie, you see, is adopted, and pops, like Norman Bates before him, likes to keep his own mother’s corpse around the dining room table. It’s all normal for Abbie, of course, and she wants to make papa proud, but she’s desperately wanting to find her own footing in the world. Abbie’s father has had a good run killing teens at night and working at a struggling video store, but agrees to have her take over the serial killer business; after all, she’s eager to prove herself. She takes his treasured mask and his (bloody) axe, but there’s a catch — Abbie must follow his rules. Like that’s going to happen, especially after Abbie develops a crush on Sam (Brown) at her high school.
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The film loves to lean into being a coming-of-age tale more than a comedy slasher, but both genres get their due here. Fear not, the blood, the guts, and the gore are a sick delight inBloody Axe Wound.It lives up to its title. Writer-director Matthew John Lawrence also pulls from his punk musings of yore and infuses a gritty edge to this film. It attempts to elevate this with its nihilistic humor, but the comedic elements could have been more fully developed. Additionally, Lawrence falters when it comes to professional transitions, editing, and comprehensive storytelling. In some ways, maybe he’s too punk rock for a breakthrough feature film.
Papa Says Slash for Cash
Inevitably, Abbie will be asked to kill her own friends. Bummer. But will she? Daddy’s business, after all, is making some dough on his films kills. Here’s whereBloody Axe Woundvacillates between what it wants to be more of—a fun slasher or a coming-of-age horror romp that is brave enough to explore the real emotions of its characters beyond the surface. We don’t know much about Abbie’s backstory, really, and that would have been a good way to more clearly understand her. Same with pops. What a great thrill it would have been to include flashbacks to see more of how Abbie’s father came to be the legend he is.
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B-players like Eddie Leavy’s Glenn are given cheap laughs, but hey, this is a funky slasher flick, so why not? Go with it. Abbie eventually gets into the flow of things and the film turns into a female slasher film. One great kill features somebody landing head first into a trophy with a pointy tip. Wait for it. That tip will eventually go all the way through. Ah, the blood. This girl is happy with a big axe.
All-too-familiar horror tropes play a part here, too. What’s this? Another car that won’t start just when you want to make an escape? It’s part of the meta, self-reflexive thrills that ultimately become rewarding. Sure,Bloody Axe Woundwould have performed better as a streaming series where there is more room to explore this town and its characters — much like the recent horror comedyHysteria!managed to do. Nonetheless, the film finds its footing and somehow becomes a welcome if not wonderfully gory treat. Let the axe swing.Bloody Axe Woundwas released in theaters on Aug 15, 2025, from RLJE Films and Shudder.
