Bloody Knuckles [Review]

Local underground artist Travis (Adam Boys) is a huge fan of the obscene.  His somewhat successful comic, Vulgarian Invasions, is filled with the most offensive jokes on current events.  When he targets local Chinese crime boss, Leonard Fong (Kasey Mazak), he’s punished for the slight by having his drawing hand severed.  Travis is forced into silence out of fear for his life, but his hand returns from the depths of the sewers in which it was tossed to enact revenge.

In writer/director Matt O’ Mahoney’s first feature length debut, Bloody Knuckles is just as much of a comical tale of a guy and his severed hand as it is commentary on censorship.  Fong seeks to silence anyone who speaks out against him, often in very brutal ways, and Travis further censors his voice when he loses his hand.  O’Mahoney conveys his opposition to censorship by cramming in as much crude and off colored jokes as possible in the short running time.

Then there’s Travis’ severed hand, which is just as angry at Travis as it is at Fong’s gang.  Travis ceased work on Vulgarian Invasions after the loss of limb, and became a depressed recluse.  The hand is disgusted by Travis’ self-censorship, and the scenes between the hand and Travis in which the hand lashes out in anger are some of the highlights of the film.

While Travis is wooing romantic interest Amy (Gabrielle Giraud), his hand is hunting Fong gang members.  As the body count rises, others caught in the cross hairs get pulled into the rivalry.  This includes Homo Dynamous (Dwayne Bryshun), a leather clad giant seemingly straight out of the pages of Travis’ comic.  Homo Dynamous steals every scene, upstaging our protagonist with his hilarious sense of justice.  He’s the superhero we didn’t know we wanted, but clearly isn’t fit for mass consumption.

Aside from the jokes and vulgar dialogue, O’Mahoney seeks to offend visually as well.  The hand doesn’t just want to destroy the gang, he wants to humiliate them.  Look for very bloody deaths that usually results in some kind of anal damage.  The opening scene in which a mentally challenged man mistakes poison for juice and melts away into a pile of sludge sets the tone and never lets up.

The acting comes across as a bit wooden and inexperienced, particularly with some of the supporting characters like Amy or much of Fong’s gang.  Adam Boys does well enough to make Travis feel authentic and likable as lead, and the special effects team deserve much credit for making the severed hand feel just as real of a character as any actor on screen.

The low budget, complete with blood that sometimes resembles ketchup, actually work in favor of the film’s message against censorship. That message is at moments a bit too in your face, but O’Mahoney’s delivery via schlock and crass humor results in a fun ride.  You’ll wind up rooting for the leads and cheering for the over the top deaths.  This film has something for everyone; there’s gore, violence, humor, romance, Nazi dildos, leather and spiked gay warriors, severed limbs with personality, and more.  Unless you’re easily offended, that is.