Two grave robbers are taking valuables from bodies at an Indian burial ground.
One knows the nearby area called The Breaks is haunted, but scoffs at the notion. In fact, as he unwraps one body, he dares the spirit to come out.
Soon, the two grave robbers are dead. And that’s just the beginning of the killings in the Indian Nation.
Each time, the killer is gone before lawmen arrive. Each time, he leaves bloody handprints all over the scene.
After witnessing the aftermath of a massacre at the Robertson home, some deputies decide they’d rather resign than risk their lives tracking an Indian spirit.
But Need Hawks (director Barry Tubb) and Ben Logan (R.J. Preston) are determined to get their man.
And they have the help of an Indian tracker named Wolf (Craig Ironpipe).
But even that doesn’t guarantee success when they’re hunting a killer who can transform into an animal or appear as another
person whenever he wants.
Barry Tubb as Need Hawks, searching for prey unlike any he’s sought before in Blood Trail (1997)
R.J. Preston as Ben Logan, one of the lawmen on the trail of the mysterious killer in Blood Trail (1997)
Review:
A low-budget horror Western in which the filmmakers forgot two main ingredients.
First, it’s not very scary. Second, the character development is so weak, we don’t care whether the film’s leads live or die.
Oh, there’s lot of bloody handprints on display, but most of the killings take place off screen. And if a new character or group of characters show up, you can count on them becoming the spirits’ next victims.
Director Barry Tubb does a credible job in the role of deputy Need Hawks. And Magali Amadli shines in a tiny part as a feisty Indian gal who spits on the Indian agents’ food before serving it and knows how to survive when the spirit shows up.
The film’s low-budget look isn’t helped by poorly filmed night scenes.
Raoul Max Trujillo as Bloody Hands, the Indian spirit unleashed by grave robbers in Blood Trail (1997)
Craig Ironpipe as Wolf, the Indian tracker helping trail a killer in Blood Trail (1997)
Directed by:
Barry Tubb
Cast:
Raoul Max Trujillo … Bloody Hands Spirit
Barry Tubb … Need Hawks
R.J. Preston … Ben Logan
Adrian Pasdar … Chase Leonard
Shawn Howard … Olden Gooseberry
Larry Mahan … Jim Valesky
Craig Ironpipe … Wolf
Tuff Hedeman … Roy D. Mercer
Ty O’Neal … Jubie Fletcher
Joe Ely … Dave Robertson
Sarah Essex … Madge Robertson
Summer Vardeman … Sarah Robertson
Tuff Cooper … Jasper Robertson
Cliff Cooper … Newt Robertson
Magali Amadli … Naomi
Rick Freeman .. Colin Lassiter
Charlie Robison … Charles Bogart Robison
Runtime: 81 min.
Larry Mahan as Jim Valesky, an aging lawman doling out advice to a youngster in Blood Trail (1997)
Magali Amadli as Naomi, an Indian girl quietly defiant of the Indian agents in Blood Trail (1997)
Memorable lines:
Grave robber #1: “They reckon it’s got evil spirits.”
Grave robber #2: “What the hell you mean, it’s got evil spirits?”
Grave robber #1: “Supposed to be full of spooks or something. It’s horse shit Indian voodoo crap if you ask me.”
Graver robber #1, as he unwraps a dead body: “Come on out of there and bite my rebel ass.”
Freighter, sensing trouble: “Come on out all friendly like. Don’t want no trouble here. Got this shotgun packed with dimes. Loaded her myself. If I have to shoot, it’ll spread you like a crazy woman’s quilt.”
Ben Logan: “He’s just a man, Need. An evil man.”
Joe Ely as rancher Dave Robertson, spotting a potentially ominous owl in Blood Trail (1997)
R.J. Preston as Ben Logan and Barry Tubb as Need Hawks plot their next step in Blood Trail (1997)
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