Boring

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

I feel that there is a general atmosphere of misunderstandance(sic) surrounding this beautiful film. And indeed - is it so tempting to merely write it off as a yet another substandard, mindless gore-fest, but we'd be turning a blind eye to the inner core of what forms and holds this movie at line and above the rest. What this piece of art truly is, is a complex and nuanced critique of whole modern Hollywood storytelling.Allow me to elaborate: While on one hand we've this fairly standard -- although well made -- merry-splatter-go-a-round, brilliance can be found from every crack and seam of the non-consistent takes; Brilliance oozes from every plot inconsistency and unexplained twist and poorly chosen phrasing for dialogue, for it allows the viewer to really focus on what is important. That importance is in characters and character interaction.Instead of being treated the fairly standard "actor did an emotion, lets now explain why that emotion is important and what led to it!" and "this character is like this, now lets explain why he did something that does not 100% fit the off-movie stereotype!", we're given a rather witty collection of complex, inter-character dynamics. We see a character give a promise; It gets us to wonder, given the personality of this character, if his off-beat honor will disallow him from breaking it, or if his more.. evil.. side gets the best of him. Whichever way the answer is, I can guarantee that it showcases not only the brutality of the real world, but the ultimate emptiness and meaninglessness of human action. At the same time, the movie shows how human personalities and human ideals indeed have more sides to them than what is made apparent by modern easy-to-swallow -- and very shallow -- storytelling.We see stereotypes that go all the way into caricatures, but at the same time there are surprises and depth molded into their stories. The stereotype is there merely to create the contrast. There are touches of true human life that we can all relate to. This movie is not self-explanatory. It does not make comprehension easy on you. But at the same time, it and its characters feel natural and true. Not artificial and plastic. For that -- and its experimentation and braveness -- I give it 9/10.Still not recommended if you diss gore/splatter/horror and/or love Hollywood/lack a sense of humor.

Olaf Ittenbach slowly but surely succeeds in making every movie he makes look better and better. For a low budget direct-to-DVD flick, the cinematography of "House Of Blood" (aka "Chain Reaction") looks mighty good. Excellent and gory splatter effects too (but sadly they are mostly displayed in only two main grotesque fighting sequences). The story, on the other hand is pretty damn thin and takes itself a bit too serious for this type of film. Still, it kept my attention and splatterfans will be pleased too. Americans might be careful renting this one, because the version currently available in mainstream videostores is heavily cut. They'll be missing out on some juicy stuff. Just keep making 'em, Ittenbach, I'll be watching them. -- PS: Since this comment dates back to 2007, I've seen Ittenbach's "Dard Divorce" in the meantime already. I liked "House Of Blood" a bit better.

There's a cabin in the middle of the woods, far from modern civilization, inhabited by a group of unusual people who speak Old English and become demonically possessed savages with a craving for "anything with blood in it." Poor Dr. Douglas Madsen(Christopher Kriesa), traveling to pick up medical equipment, happens to come across a bus wreck carrying evil inmates who have eliminated the security assigned to keep them detained. Forced against his will, Doug will have to follow the four inmates into the woods as they head for the Canadian border only to find the cabin which occupies the strange folk who warn them repeatedly to flee before the turning occurs. What commences is a slaughter, but thanks to one of the group, a young lady named Alice(Martina Ittenbach), Doug escapes. When he tries to explain to a detective(Jürgen Prochnow)what happened to him, he isn't believed and must face the idea of prison. He's the only one who came out alive with four missing inmates and dead security guards..Doug seems to be in a bit of trouble. Well, prison might be better than what awaits him. Traveling in a bus with other inmates, they drive through a female traveler, out of her car to see about a deer she hit, causing an eerily similar wreck to the one that occurred at the start of the film. A feeling of deja vu for Doug and, as before, another group of inmates will force the doc to accompany them into the woods, with a goal of heading north..just guess what happens.Forget the story-line, director Olaf Ittenbach's horror tale is mostly a German splatter-fest..pure unadulterated gore movie, loaded with outrageous violence. I mean the religious freaks in this house turn back flips using the wall as a springboard for petesake! I didn't know if they were supposed to be a relic from another time, or luchadores needing a wrestling ring. You get an arm amputation, eyeballs pried away from a victim's face as it's being ripped apart, heads exploding(..including one nifty scene where a demonically possessed savage's face forms back together from it's shredded remains)from shot-gun explosions, a face being stabbed with a spate, lots of blood splatter from bullet riddled bodies(..it appears that A LOT of squibs were used in this movie), guts being pulled from bellies, etc. The Doc even gets to remove shrapenal from an inmate's nut-sack, for crying out loud. There's a nice attempt, straightly executed, at how fate, or a divine force, can guide certain people to a specific fate. The undesirables from prison who often find themselves supposedly heading north only to meet an ominous fog within the woods which leads them to this cabin housing God's chosen to feed on their flesh. I guess that was what this crazy movie was attempting to accomplish. I just laughed this aspect off and rather enjoyed the battles between inmates and demon-baddies. Simon Newby really lays it on thick as the first heavy, Arthur, spending his time on screen barking orders and threatening dire consequences towards anyone crossing him. Doug gets treated like dirt the entire running time of the film. First he's the constant source of bullying, given little chance to survive, only remaining so because of the assistance Arthur's brother, Spence(Luca Maric)needs with a torn arm with a bullet wedged causing an artery to bleed badly. Then later, Doug must deal with a quiet psychopath, Paul Anderson(Dan van Husen), who likes to wax poetic, often quoting from books and writings from popular writers. I found van Husen amusing as Anderson, the kind of bloke who loves to hear himself talk and has a superiority complex..he informs Doug that he'll remain alive as long as he pleases Anderson's intellect. You really can't give much thought to things that often matter in movies..a decent storyline and acting. These departments in "House of Blood" are missing. I will say this..Olaf Ittenbach has some style, but his attempts at messing with the chronology in the story-line(..going back and forth in time, often in the case of Doug, such as his interrogation scenes tied in with the second act and how events unfold in Doug's life and how the whole escape of the inmates came to be), I felt were unnecessary. The Old English will probably have many viewers trying to hold back giggles. Thee and thus, it becomes quite tiresome. And the opening actors who play the inmates Doug must deal with overact, often blurting profane lines with each other, often shouting, and always quite annoying...they're like rejects from an episode of HBO's OZ. They're a source of amusment as well as they really try hard to elicit evil by heightening their voices towards each other. Perhaps with half-decent material, Olaf might have potential.

the only reason why I'm giving this movie a 4 out of 10 is because there are some really good car crash effects, and you have to admit that for a low budget movie the effects in it are pretty descent, but plot is not a strong on this one,story either and the performance of the actors is really really bad, no true feelings, lack of emotion, and a lot of w.t.f scenes, this is a pretty disposable film, there are a million of them, better played, more effects, better photography, not so absurd choreography, etc... but the weakest link in this film i have to say and agree with many of you guys, are the dialogues, they are not firm, they lack of credibility and overall its too long for a movie that crazy! see it...if you dare!