Blood Creek
Directed by Joel Schumacher
Starring Dominic Purcell, Henry Cavill, Michael Fassbender, Emma Booth
Lionsgate and Gold Circle Films
Release Date: January 19, 2010

Those Nazis were into some weird stuff, and despite being defeated 65 years ago, filmmakers are still finding ways to make them the villains. In the case of Blood Creek, the villain is a single Nazi, Professor Richard Wirth (Michael Fassbender), who travels to America prior to WWII in search of mysterious runestones. His search brings him to the farm of a German family in Town Creek, West Viriginia. Wirth, a student of the occult, finds what he’s looking for — an ancient runestone he believes holds the secret to immortality — but not before war breaks out.

Seventy years later, Victor Marshall (Dominic Purcell) disappears for nearly two years in the same town. When he reemerges in the middle of the night looking like a tortured caveman, he refuses to explain his absence to his brother Evan (Henry Cavill) and demands his help. Evan does as he is asked without getting the details. Personally, if my feared-dead brother suddenly reappeared after two years looking like he had been through hell and demanded I grab as much ammo as possible and follow him, I would probably ask a question or two.

Evan, and the audience, quickly discover both Wirth and the family who owns the farm have been trapped in a cycle of black magic that has kept them all from aging. Despite being trapped on the wrong side of the Atlantic, Wirth was able to use his skills and the runestone to extend his life indefinitely. Somehow, the family was able to discover his plans use a small amount of his own magic to keep Wirth on their property. Wirth needs fresh blood from a living person to keep his powers strong, so he uses his magic to keep the family from aging. After decades of being fed on, the family began kidnapping unlucky locals to take their place. But 70 years is a long time to scheme, and after all the time that has passed, Wirth believes he has found a way to escape the binding spell placed upon him.

That’s the long version. The short version is two brothers fight a Nazi warlock with shotguns. That is really all you need to know to decide if this is your cup of tea. This is not the most original plot. In fact, its incredibly similar to the premiere episode of a short-lived NBC series from 2008 called Fear Itself, only that show featured a vampire instead of a warlock.

Despite the somewhat cheesy premise, Blood Creek never bites off more than it can chew. The premise is fairly straightforward and there are no big twists or unnecessary complications. The fact that the setting is a single location for 90 percent of the film and the unbelievable details can all be explained by the all-encompassing “black magic,” keeps things simple… relatively speaking. People doing terrible things for a greater good, and two innocent people caught in the middle of a long battle.

Despite the title, the creek is never shown, but there is quite a bit of blood on screen at most times. It’s doubtful you’ll be on the edge of your seat, but the action is enough to be entertaining.

There are no real bonus features to speak of other than a commentary track with Schumacher. Considering this is the man who brought us nipples on Bat suits and the Number 23, Blood Creek is surprisingly okay. Though mostly forgettable, the film maintains its gritty atmosphere throughout, the special effects are fairly decent and the story never oversteps its bounds.