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Welcome to another daily digest! I’m excited to talk about today’s movie, so let’s get right to it!
Movie of the Day: The Rage, Blood from the Sea
Today’s movie is a violent Indonesian revenge film, and I loved it. It’s titled The Rage, Blood from the Sea (the original Indonesian title is Darah Nyai), and it’s about an unsuspecting person, Rara, who is enlisted by a vengeful spirit to kill the four men responsible for the torture and murder of a woman.
The movie has a throwback vibe reminiscent of 1970s revenge movies. The music and much of the camerawork emulate the era, and the focus on excessive violence supports the idea of it being an homage to the exploitation films of that time period. The kill scenes are brutal and inventive. Lots of practical effects are used, and they look very good. However, the moments of CGI gore are lackluster and undercut some of the movie’s effectiveness. Despite that, the use of Indonesian folklore in the story and the wonderful retro feeling of the plot make The Rage, Blood from the Sea a super fun watch.
Star Rating: 3.5 out of 5
If the CGI had been better or avoided entirely, then this movie would have been rated higher. It’s still very good though, and I highly recommend it for fans of brutal revenge movies that focus more on the acts of violence rather than the emotions behind them. The Rage, Blood from the Sea is available to rent on Prime Video.
And if you want to know a lot more about it, I did a full review of The Rage, Blood from the Sea. Go read it!
In the News
- A teaser for Monster: The Ed Gein Story was released yesterday. The series begins streaming on Netflix on October 3rd.
- Harriet Slater, Arsema Thomas, and Tom Brittney will star in Fall 2. The movie will be about two women becoming trapped while attempting a dangerous plank walk on a mountain in Thailand. The film is expected to be released in early 2026. (Bloody Disgusting)
- Sophia Takal (Black Christmas 2019) will direct an adaptation of the novel Patricia Wants to Cuddle. Variety reports that the book, written by Samantha Allen, “blends slasher and queer romance genres.”
Birthdays
Rose McGowan was born on September 5th, 1973. Rose’s first starring role in a movie came in 1995 with The Doom Generation, but it was co-starring in Scream as Sidney’s best friend Tatum that catapulted her to stardom. In the 1990s she starred in movies including Phantoms (1998), Devil in the Flesh (1998), and Jawbreaker (1999). Then in 2001 she joined the TV show Charmed in the fourth season where she remained a main cast member until the end of the series. She also played the gun-legged Cherry Darling in Planet Terror (2007).
Annabelle Wallis was also born on September 5th, 1984. Annabelle’s first horror movie was the trap/survival game movie Steel Trap (2007). She later appeared in a few movies with much higher profiles, including Annabelle (2014), The Mummy (2017), and as the star of Malignant (2021).
Events on This Day
The Killing of America was released in Japan on September 5th, 1981. It is a documentary about the rise in American violence that led to numerous high-profile crimes in the 20th century, but the exploitative nature of the way it’s presented makes it more of a shockumentary (or a mondo movie considering some of its attributes). It essentially ends up being a series of profiles on infamous killings and killers. It was originally produced for the Japanese market where it was first released as Violence USA (or literally from the Japanese, American Violence). It wasn’t officially released in a wide capacity in the United States until decades later. If you end up looking for the movie to watch, just be warned that there are many real images of crime scenes and shooting victims.
