There are movies that achieve a cult status among collectors and fans that go from worthy to unworthy to what the heck are people thinking. It's not the movie itself that is good or bad but the value placed on it by the fans of the film. So when you see a particular release come out and watch it only to be disappointed keep in mind that somewhere, someone is more likely enjoying that same film in spite of its flaws. Like this one.The movie focuses on two characters. The first is Mark Trax (John Weiner), a psychopath locked up long ago who escapes from the mental institute during the opening sequence. He gets away leaving bloodied bodies behind, gets a lift hitchhiking, kills the driver and makes off with his vehicle. Finding another ride he leaves that driver behind as well, incinerating the car with the body inside to make everyone believe he's dead.The second character is Mickey McCardle (J. Christian Ingvordsen). Mickey is the cop who captured Trax when he was younger but during the arrest accidentally killed his partner as well. Plagued to this day by his actions at the time no one wants to team with him but he's still on the force promoted to detective now. Trax returns to his boyhood home and mother where he finds the tools of his trade still there in his room. Various medieval looking weapons are on hand and Trax soon delves off into the fantasy land in his own mind where he's facing off in Conan garb against a demon inspired opponent dressed the same. This sets him back on his quest for body parts in this battle.Trax begins to rack up a body count and the first victim, an obnoxious club owner, has his eyes and removed and is decapitated. When Mickey hears about this he knows this is the killer he once caught back on the loose and beginning a new reign of terror. But his boss and those above him aren't convinced and tell him to stick with the job he has now and leave homicide to those detectives. Mickey continues to pursue Trax and dig for clues. One of those leads to a young female photographer named Tiffany (Garland Hunter) who took Trax' picture at the club the night of the first murder. A rock fan and drug user she at first butts heads with Mickey but eventually is won over to his side and attempts to help him find Trax.The pair are fighting an uphill battle as Trax continues his rampage. To make matters worse the bureaucrats above Mickey seem more concerned with his methods than they are at finding the killer. It isn't long before Mickey and Tiffany are on their own with no one else helping them find Trax.In reading my description here the movie actually sounds better than it is. Much of that is due to the fact that the budget on the film is miniscule at best and the acting ranges from fantastic to terrible. The bad part is that the good acting seems to come from those with the smallest roles, in particular Tony Kruk as Mickey's direct supervisor. Ingvordsen also turns in a decent job but for the most part feels like his performance is a roller coaster with highs and lows on display. The film is co-directed by Ingvordsen and Danny Kuchuck who both seem to have been influenced by Abel Ferarra. Not being a fan of anything I've seen by Ferarra that's not a compliment. Like his films this one offers a glimpse into the seedier side of NYC with spray pained buildings, trash covered streets and rusted out car yards and factories. The characters on the sidelines are always trashy looking and seem to have no redeeming value. It doesn't paint a picture of the city that makes it shine. Then again perhaps that's why the police department doesn't take as keen an interest in catching the killer as Mickey does, relegating these place and people to nothing more than statistics when it comes to being killed. Still, it doesn't make for an entertaining film. And yet the film does have its fans. It has developed a cult following over the years. And those fans have clamored for a decent copy of the film to enjoy. The folks at Vinegar Syndrome are providing that for the first time with this release. This release is the first time the movie has appeared on blu-ray with a 2k restoration from the original 35mm negative. The end results is a less washed out better picture than the film has seen since it was originally released on screens back in 1989.If just having the best looking version of the film weren't enough, Vinegar Syndrome has pulled together and impressive number of extras for fans to enjoy as well. Included in the extras are a commentary track with Ingvordsen, a commentary track with Weiner, MAKING OF BLUE VENGEANCE a making of featurette, ON BLUE VENGEANCE a conversation with Ingvordsen, reversible cover artwork and THE FIRST MAN an unreleased movie from 1996 by co-writer/director Danny Kuchuck that stars Lesley Ann Warren, Heather Graham and Ted Raimi. As I said the movie may not be for everyone. But slasher flick fans, die-hard anything horror fans, fans of Abel Ferrara, fans of low budget film making and fans of the film will want to add this one to their collection. They might also want to sing the praises of Vinegar Syndrome for making the effort to save and restore films like this.

Blue Vengeance (1989) ** (out of 4)Detective McCardle (J. Christian Ingvordsen) is a washed up officer who is still haunted from accidentally shooting his partner while trying to track down a serial killer known as Trax (Mark Weiner). In the present day, Trax breaks out of his mental hospital but he is believed to have been killed. McCardle knows that's not the case but he can't prove it to anyone so he quickly loses his mind while trying to track the killer down.Not only does J. Christian Ingvordsen act in this film but he also wrote, produced and directed it. I'll be honest and say that BLUE VENGEANCE didn't quite work for me but at the same time I really enjoyed what Ingvordsen was able to do and in fact I give him a lot of credit trying to do what he did. This is the type of film that tries to do a lot of things and in all honesty it probably tries to do too much but at the same time there are some interesting elements here that keep the film fairly entertaining.The film basically has two different and rather full plots going on. You've got the stuff dealing with the cop who is haunted by his past and it continues to do damage to him today. You've also got the serial killer and his strange reasons, which are detailed as well. Both of these stories eventually collide together and for the most part there's some mild entertainment to be found. With that being said, I don't think either story is full developed and I couldn't help but think that it probably would have worked better had the film focused on one or the other.As I said, there were some elements that I did like and that includes the two lead performances. I really thought Weiner was very good in the role of the killer and made for a great villain. I also liked the music score, which fit the film perfectly. Another bonus is that the film was shot in New York City so we get some great locations to look at. BLUE VENGEANCE is certainly a flawed movie that doesn't completely work but at the same time I give the filmmakers credit for at least attempting something with so much going on in it.

Unhinged convicted murderer Mark Trex (robustly played with full-tilt gonzo relish by John Weiner) escapes from prison and heads for New York City to track down and kill the members of his favorite hard rock band Warriors of the Inferno. It's up to loose cannon detective Mickey McCardle (a solid performance by J. Christian Ingvordsen, who also co-directed and co-wrote the loopy script) and brash punk photographer Tiffany O'Brian (a winningly spunky portrayal by fetching redhead Garland Hunter) to stop Trex. Directors/writers Ingvordsen and Danny Kucheck keep the enjoyably nutty story hurtling along at a brisk pace, make neat use of various gritty Big Apple locations that include Times Square and the legendary rock club CBGB's, deliver gobs of bloody violence and graphic gore, maintain a tense off-kilter tone throughout, and stage an exciting foot chase through a train station and across a bridge with rousing go-for-it gusto. The climactic jousting match between Trex and McCadle has to be seen to be (dis)believed. Steve Kaman's slick cinematography provides an impressive polished look as well as provides several cool trippy visuals (Trex's wacky medieval visions are a hoot to behold). A gnarly little flick.

In 1979, N.Y.P.D. Officer Mickey McCardle (Played by the film's director, under the name of John Christian) caught the Mirror Man Killer, otherwise known as Mark Trax (John Weiner) and arrested him for several brutal murders, including that of his partner Brendan Sullivan. Trax was convicted and sentenced to a mental institution in upstate New York. Flash forward to 1989, where Trax escapes from the loony bin to resume where he left off and vows revenge against McCardle, who since then has now been promoted to detective, yet still haunted by the death of Sullivan. Trax leaves a brutal amount of blood on his trail, and not only that, his victims were killed brutally and were associated with heavy metal music. When Trax stages a car accident, the police declare Trax to be dead, but McCardle knows better. Now with no one else to turn to, except for a witness who saw Trax kill the owner of a grungy nightclub, McCardle must now stop Trax's violent reign himself. Will McCardle succeed? Now this is the kind of film you won't find at your local video store, or even on Netflix. While I really enjoyed the film for what it was and found it to be somewhat intense in some parts, I think the film could have had a bit more gore than the ending of this film did. I was lucky to find a German DVD of the film on eBay for real cheap, as the film can, so far, be found only on DVD in Europe.Recommended.Grade: B+