Blood Debts is a 1985 English-language Filipino action film directed by Teddy Page and starring Richard Harrison, Mike Monty, James Gaines, and Daniel Andrew. It goes over the life of Mark Collins, a 45 year-old Vietnam veteran, who after witnessing his daughter being shot, becomes a vigilante. It is notable for its abrupt ending and is an Internet meme.
| Blood Debts | |
|---|---|
 VHS cover | |
| Directed by | Teddy Page |
| Written by | Richard Harrison Timothy Jorge |
| Produced by | K.Y. Lim |
| Starring | Richard Harrison Mike Monty James Gaines Daniel Andrew |
| Cinematography | Bob Aaron |
| Edited by | David Mac |
| Music by | Patrick Wales |
| Distributed by | Silver Star Film Company |
Release date |
|
Running time | 86 minutes |
| Country | Philippines |
| Language | English |
Plot
editWhile enjoying a picnic, Sarah Collins and her boyfriend are surprised by a gang of five young criminals. They gang rape her and kill him, but just before they are about to kill her she escapes and runs to her parents' house. The gang members shoot Sarah in front of her father, a wealthy Vietnam veteran named Mark. The boys wound him seriously and leave.
A few months later, after his health has returned, Mark manages to find the murderers and kills each one of them. He also keeps on walking the streets at night, looking for criminals in action to execute until his wife Yvette convinces him to stop. However, he has been observed by the henchmen of Bill, an enigmatic businessman desiring to crush the local drug syndicate. Bill gives orders to kidnap Yvette and forces Mark to continue his vigilante work.
Mark eventually escapes and stages a one-man assault on Bill's compound, obtaining and using progressively larger weapons from the henchmen he kills. However, Bill emerges with a pistol and shoots Mark in the back. As Bill prepares to shoot him again, Mark tears open his sleeve to reveal a small rocket launcher and fires off a last-ditch shot, blowing up Bill. The film ends with a freeze frame of the explosion and text—in all-lowercase Swiss style type—informing the audience that "mark collins, age 45, gave himself up to the authorities after the incident. he is now serving a life sentence."
Cast
edit- Richard Harrison as Mark Collins
- Ann Jackson as Yvette Collins (credited as "Mark's Wife")
- Catherine Miles as Sarah Collins
- Mike Monty as Bill
- James Gaines as Peter
Reception
editA mixed retrospective review at Spinning Image stated "Unsurprisingly the population of the Philippines has been rather cut down by the end, but that finale was what lent Blood Debts its shot at immortality: an abrupt, explosive retribution that was unexpectedly hilarious if you were in the right mood. It was a long way to go to reach it, though."[1] Another review at the French B movie website Nanarland said: "It is a safe bet that faced with such a display of crass stupidity, filthy rapes and summary executions, many will remain unmoved."[2]
Another analysis of the film found that it was "nuts" and that "Teddy Page and Richard Harrison together seems to almost guarantee goofiness. The dubbing is some of the funniest this side of For Y'ur Height Only.",[3] an assessment confirmed in the book Spinegrinder.[4]
Internet popularity
editThe film ends very abruptly, with the credits rolling before the rocket explosion finishes or Bill's body parts hit the ground, with both actors substituted with obvious and crude stunt mannequins.[5] Simultaneously, the song "Lubricator" by Frank McDonald is played over the scene and the credits, contrasting with the sour tone of the on-screen text describing Mark's fate. This ending has been uploaded several times on YouTube, usually with sarcastic titles to the effect of "The Proper Way to End Your Film"; the most popular upload on YouTube has over 10 million views.[6]
References
edit- ^ "Blood Debts Review (1985)". www.thespinningimage.co.uk. Retrieved 2023-11-15.
- ^ Nanarland. "Eliminator - la chronique de Nanarland". www.nanarland.com (in French). Retrieved 2023-11-15.
- ^ Budnik, Daniel R. (2017-03-24). '80s Action Movies on the Cheap: 284 Low Budget, High Impact Pictures. McFarland. ISBN 978-0-7864-9741-6.
- ^ Davies, Clive (2015-03-06). Spinegrinder: The Movies Most Critics Won't Write About. SCB Distributors. ISBN 978-1-909394-06-3.
- ^ Squires, Bethy (2022-01-26). "Chuck Palahniuk Is Fine With Chinese Censorship of Fight Club, Actually". Vulture. Retrieved 2023-11-15.
- ^ SyntheNeko (30 April 2011). "The Proper Way to End Your Film". YouTube. Archived from the original on 2021-12-13. Retrieved 21 May 2023.