Bloody Knuckles, 2015.
Written and Directed by Matt O’Mahoney.
Starring Adam Boys, Kasey Ryne Mazak, Ken Tsui, Gabrielle Giraud, Dwayne Bryshun, and Steve Thackray.
SYNOPSIS:
Travis is an underground comic book artist with a penchant for the obscene. When one of his comics insults a Chinatown crime boss, the gangster punishes Travis by removing his drawing hand. A daunted Travis retreats into a life of alcoholic misery. That is, until his hand returns from the grave…
Freedom of speech is a very delicate subject and should be treated as such. Artistic expression would also fall in line with that first amendment of the Constitution, and Bloody Knuckles seems to be making the case that no matter how crass, juvenile, or politically incorrect your work may be, it still deserves to be allowed consumption from anyone interested.
As the plot synopsis says, Travis is a comic book artist that comes up with some truly obscene ideas for stories, most notably a homosexual superhero completely dressed up in BDSM attire. When he is questioned if he is concerned that his work may be offending those around him, he rather bluntly states that nothing is off-limits and that he isn’t harming anyone directly. Real danger exists in the world and should be more of a priority of problem solving than offensive material found in an average person’s illustrations. There is nothing inherently racist or malicious about any of these comic books, they’re just incredibly obscene and will not jive well with the mainstream audiences.
As an aside, I also agree with him. Just take a look at all of the unnecessary controversy surrounding last year’s Seth Rogen/James Franco starred comedy The Interview, which saw the two portraying dimwits working with the CIA to assassinate the leader of North Korea. Some found the movie hilarious, others thought it was stupid, but in the end anyone with half a brain realized that a stoner comedy didn’t need to be twisted into a national crisis of security.
Travis’s opinions on all this quickly does a 180 as a Chinese mobster isn’t too fond of his work, and decides to lop off his hand with a saw. This causes Travis to vow never drawing again, even when his decapitated hand magically comes springing back to life and into his home, egging him on to seek justice and revenge by continuing his work in all of its ludicrous glory.
This is where Bloody Knuckles ultimately falls apart however, as the majority of the film plays out like an extended full-length movie of the gag in Evil Dead 2 where Ash’s lopped off-hand takes on a mind of its own and begins tormenting him before being disposed of. Simply put, some of the material in this movie is as juvenile as the content that can be found in Travis’ work, which is obviously the point, but doesn’t necessarily make for good writing or quality humor. It’s also nowhere near as clever as Evil Dead. If you do find a self-aware hand pulling down someone’s pants and poking them in the ass as a method of convincing that person to regain their courage funny, then by all means seek out this movie because the comedy will be right up your alley.
Aside from the attempted humor that didn’t resonate with me at all (outside of the hand using a voice to text program on a computer to taunt Travis), it gets very frustrating watching his submissive attitude. Naturally, it isn’t until there is a damsel in distress involved before Travis finally takes out the ruthless gangsters (which by the way, are hilariously cheesy and reminiscent to the enemies of an early 90s video game like Double Dragon), saves the neighborhood, and chooses to continue expressing his filthy mind artistically. The movie simply stagnates too much with actually turning him into a capable hero.
With that said, there is a tongue-in-cheek campy tone to the whole procedure; Bloody Knuckles is completely ridiculous with its blood and gore, which actually mixes well with the overarching theme of no boundaries on art. Yes, watching a decapitated hand roam around killing atrociously acted Chinese mobsters is so bad it’s good; that’s ultimately the tone the movie goes for, succeeding and failing at various junctures. One absolutely brilliant moment sees Travis’s creation of a homosexual superhero springing to life; it’s one of the few comedic elements that work, making for some very entertaining scenes.
Overall, Bloody Knuckles is a grab bag of ideas that either work or don’t. Too much of the movie is spent watching a hand mess around in juvenile ways, when the point could have been gotten too much quicker. However, as someone who wholeheartedly agrees with the notion of freedom of speech, this movie admirably serves a purpose. Bloody Knuckles isn’t supporting hateful artistic expression, but rather the harmless side of injecting risqué material into work.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★
Robert Kojder – An aficionado of film, wrestling, and gaming. Follow me on Twitter or friend me on Facebook
https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PL18yMRIfoszEaHYNDTy5C-cH9Oa2gN5ng&v=m8ExzVWul3I
Originally published October 25, 2015. Updated April 14, 2018.
