Shriek Show / Anamorphic Widescreen (1.85:1) / Color / 1 disc / 125 minutes total

Here’s what I like about horror cinema: The bad guys. You’ve got Jason, Freddy, Chucky, Dracula, Pinhead, etc. But you know who never gets respect?

The Chooper.

BLOOD SHACK, also known in some versions as THE CHOOPER, introduces us to a malevolent sword-wielding Native American spirit who kills all who trespass on a wind-blasted tract of ranch land somewhere in the Southwest. The film was directed by schlock moviemaker Ray Dennis Steckler (LEMON GROVE KIDS MEET THE MONSTERS), under the pseudonym ‘Wolfgang Schmidt’.

Reportedly made for next to nothing, the director’s cut of BLOOD SHACK clocks in at a very brief 54 minutes. The latest Shriek Show release of this picture also includes the slightly longer initial distribution release, which adds more time to several of the already padded scenes.

The story is straightforward. Burnt-out actress Carol (played by the director’s ex-wife Carolyn Brandt) inherits the 150-year-old family ranch and is warned by local odd-jobber Daniel (Jason Wayne) that the ranch house is guarded by The Chooper.

Prior to her arrival, another young lady has attempted to spend the night in the ranch house on a dare, only to fall victim to The Chooper’s attack. Daniel, who seems to have a kinship with the spirit, also finds himself disposing of all the dead bodies The Chooper leaves in his wake. “I told ya The Chooper’d getcha! But you wouldn’t listen!,” he tells the lifeless body of the film’s first victim.

Spending her days roaming around the grimy property in various scant outfits, the only problem Carol has is with Tim Foster, another local who is hellbent on buying the ranch from her. Much of the story is told in detached and banal voice-over from Carol’s point of view. That, combined with the minimal cast and overexposed, gritty locale, give BLOOD SHACK a far-away, dreamlike quality.

The Chooper himself is a skinny figure with a war-painted face dressed in what appear to be black pajamas. While his appearance does little to inspire fear, his blood-chilling screams and spastic sword attacks do.

There’s a fair amount of repetition in the small amount of actual dialog present (Daniel warns people to stay off the land, Carol offers diary-like narration about land and horses, Foster keeps demanding the land, The Chooper kills, Daniel says ‘I toldja so!’). For the film’s economic length, there is a lot of padding on scenes. In particular, the two purposeless scenes at the local rodeo that run far longer than anything else in the picture, and do nothing to advance the story. In an interview with Steckler included in the bonus materials, he says he had to add more footage to get the film to feature length. Too bad he couldn’t have shot some nudie scenes for that!

Acting is on par with neighborhood theater troupes. Still Jason Wayne, who plays Daniel, approaches his scenes with the gravitas of a Shakespearian performer, while Brandt daydreams smoothly through her scenes as if on Qualludes.

Scenes to keep an eye out for: The Chooper murders the hick sheriff in a roof-jumping ninja-style attack; and also, Daniel’s monologue, “That’s OK Chooper, you keep knockin’ ‘em off and I’ll keep buryin’ ‘em!”

There’s just something strangely endearing about BLOOD SHACK that I can’t put my finger on. I found myself grinning scene after scene. It’s just a really well-done good bad movie, if that makes any sense.

The DVD features a decent-quality anamorphic transfer with clear audio. The included bonus feature, the original cut of THE CHOOPER, adds about 15 minutes of footage, and alternate soundtrack. Other special features include interviews with Steckler and Brandt, a photo gallery, some Media Blasters trailers and insightful commentary tracks with Steckler and Joe Bob Briggs.

It’s a solid three-star effort. “That’s choice!”

Check out the trailer for BLOOD SHACK below.