The Plot = A young boy witnesses his father shoot his mother and her lover and then himself, and is then sent to a mental hospital, but many years later he escapes along with his flute and goes on a killing spree. In the meantime a young girl Marion begins to have visions of him killing people through a rare blood transfusion between the two.Okay Blood Song has some interesting ideas, but fails to execute them properly, for a start the whole concept of a girl having psychic visions of the killer could have been interesting but as the movie goes on it becomes it a bit dull, as there is absolutely no explanation given to why she has these visions, we know how through the blood transfusion.I also liked the idea behind the heroine being physically flawed, which would seemingly make her a much easier target for the killer and possibly add to any sort of suspense later in the flick. Of course we don't get any of that. The film also throws in some long and drawn out drama scenes which takes away the tension out of this movie and plus while the murders and the final showdown are real highlights of this movie, it just takes too long and spaced too far apart, I mean at times I kinda forgot that I was even watching a slasher movie, it felt like a drama.The positive aspects of this movie, is for one thing the climax watching the girl limp herself away from the killer and into some lumber yard. The change of setting proved interesting. And the performances were pretty good, Frankie Avalon was interesting as the serial killer even though he chewed the scenery practically all time but I found him fun and Donna Wilkes played the female lead pretty well, she hit the right notes at the right time.All in all Blood Song is definitely an average 80's slasher with some pretty interesting ideas but are flawed to say at least I would only recommend this if you're a huge fan of 80's slashers.

A lunatic, who watched his father shoot down his mother and her adulterous lover before putting a bullet in his mouth, escapes from a mental asylum after a sneak attack on his doctor who was attempting to retrieve a wooden flute, terrorizing an innocent teenager with a wounded leg who catches him attempting to bury a dead body. As Paul(Frankie Avalon, in a startlingly effective performance) was digging a burial spot for a woman he had recently strangled, troubled teenager, Marion(Donna Wilkes)stumbles upon him in the act. This confrontation was seemingly fated to happen because, strange enough, Marion had been having unpleasant visions/nightmares of Paul and his acts towards people along the way..blood transfusions or not, the idea of being linked to someone mainly due to that is kind of feeble at best.Paul had buried a hatchet into the face of a driver who gave him a ride in his van(..this driver was absolutely tired of Paul's never-ceasing flute playing), picked up a sweet little loose honey who even slept with him(..only to criticize his loud flute music which bludgeons the ears of even the most patient of folks, with a necklace he had bought her used to suffocate her)and plans the worst for Marion, stalking her everywhere she goes. Marion, before Paul entered her life, had been telling others about her frightening visions, including boyfriend/fisherman Joey(William Kirby Cullen)and school gal pal Cathy(Noelle North), and the claims of seeing a psycho planning on burying a victim in a park near a beach without evidence causes them to worry about her mental health. Meanwhile, Paul awaits the moment where he will strike, and somehow Marion must convince somebody to believe her.The film is about as much a melodrama as a psycho-thriller with a sub-plot devoted to the ever-increasing estrangement between Marion and her antagonistic, bullish, drunk of a father, Frank(Richard Jaeckel). Frank's drunkenness was behind the crash which caused Marion's damaged leg. He also is very negatively vocal against her relationship with Joey. Bea(Antoinette Bower), Marion's mother, tries to consistently calm Frank and this tense drama makes up a chunk of the overall film. It all culminates towards the end as Paul attacks Frank with a hatchet in the film's most graphically violent scene which will lead to the maniac chasing after Marion into a darkened sawmill. There's an interesting psychological twist which provides a grim conclusion concerning Marion's state of well being. I think Frankie Avalon's clean-cut, matinée image provides a startling contrast to what hides bubbling under the surface..I think he actually embraces the dark side of this part and with this new freedom, plays the killer to the hilt. I like how he's actually a wimpy child, his mania as a result of temper tantrums when people "hurt him." Thanks to the cinematography which presents Paul in a murky manner, Avalon is often shrouded in darkness, his unsettling grin present until provoked towards violence when you insult him. See, Avalon has this kind and soft look about him, he seems very approachable and charming, and then you flick that switch(..even on accident)with the monster released..that's what I liked best about this little-known slasher. Many slasher faithful will find the home drama perhaps trifling and dull, but I liked the fact that the filmmakers attempted to flesh the characters out. I didn't think the "visions" angle worked, at all really, but the finale(..the chase through the sawmill)was suspenseful and exciting. I have to say, I liked this better than I thought I would. I think it does have a lot to do, though, with the blue collar environment and that the lead actress is normal looking(..the 80's, unlike the films of the last 15 or so years, actually featured female leads which looked like someone you might have actually went to school with)with her own mundane problems to deal with.

Pre-ANGEL Donna Wilkes plays a physically-challenged teen with two off-the-wall parents--one neurotic, the other a tyrannical drunk. As if that isn't enough, a psychotic killer is on the loose and she's Number One on his "hit" parade. Of course, the murderer has to give us our money's worth by slaughtering a few people along the way. There is blood and gore galore including hatchet-hacking, a near-disembowelment and an incredible showdown in a sawmill. The psycho is played by Frankie Avalon! Between this and HAUNTED HOUSE OF HORROR, he must have been trying to shatter his Beach-boy image. They should have thrown in one of his songs somewhere, or maybe a clip from BEACH BLANKET BINGO. Richard Jaeckel is outstanding as the girl's father who, drunk or sober, carries protectiveness a little too far. This darkly-photographed potboiler is no Hitcockian masterpiece but it's never boring. Its characters seem real which is more than can be said for most slasher flicks of that era. This flick was once included in Brentwood's BLOOD BATH DVD collection; it definitely lives up to that description.

Bloodsong (a.k.a. Dream Slayer) is a rare and almost totally forgotten horror trash flick made during the 1980s' boom of slasher films. Don't get me wrong, though. I say trash in a good way; defining the genre rather than the quality. Because, in quality this movie is quite mediocre and, actually, not at all that bad as some would make it out to be. It's sleazy, but by no means a sleaze flick. It's violent only to and extent. It's bloody, but not too much. And, although it was not a t.v. movie, it sometimes has the feel of one. On top of all this mediocrity, there are some assets to Bloodsong. The acting and storyline are pretty good, there's plenty of cheap 80s style and substance, and it's the only film in which you can see former teen heart throb Frankie Avalon play a hatchet wielding psycho.Yes, you heard right. Frankie stars as Paul Foley, an escaped and homicidal mental patient, who prior to his liberation, supplied blood to a critically injured teenage girl brought to his hospital after a car wreck. The girl, Marion (played by Donna Wilkes), crippled but on her way to recovery at home, starts to have horrible visions of death both in dreams and awake. In other words, Paul's blood seems to have connected his mind to hers, making Marion an unwilling mental witness to his killing spree in which the murders always start off with him hauntingly playing a flute (hence, the title Bloodsong). Needless to say, it is inevitable that their paths will cross and it won't be nice.Although far from a classic, Bloodsong is pretty entertaining and not a complete waste of time. The killings are semi-graphic but, otherwise, fully slasher film certified. Avalon surprisingly creates a creepy and menacing character. Another plus is that the plot is embellished by the fact that poor disabled Marion has a father who is an abusive alcoholic who makes her out to be a slut and gives her hell every chance he gets. That sub-story is worthy of the trashiest Lifetime movie of the week. If I had to make a comparison, I'd say this film is a mix between John Carpenter's Halloween (only much cheaper and not on Halloween) and William Lustig's Maniac (only toned down and a lot less bloody). So, mediocrity aside, Bloodsong is worth at least one view by all 80s slasher aficionados. Frankie would appreciate it.