So much average

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

Edge of the Axe has a lot of basic slasher elements. Plenty of murders by somebody in a creepy mask, a couple chase scenes, and a cute leading lady. So what is it about this movie that makes it so underrated? Well unlike most slasher films the acting is actually not too grotesquely bad (at least the two main characters are okay actors), the murders are actually pretty shocking because they happen at times you don't expect like a woman being murdered in a car wash during broad daylight, the killer is a HUGE surprise and you never see it coming (in which the ending to this movie is pretty similar to the ending in The Dorm that Dripped Blood, Cheerleader Camp, and even somewhat like Unhinged). The plot is pretty simple and generic. Somebody is whacking off locals in a small suburban town and nobody has any idea who the killer is. The main suspect in the crime is a guy named Gerald, who meanwhile is having a relationship with a cute blonde girl named Lilly. Lilly and Gerald do a little investigating of their own to find out who the killer is while more people are getting killed off. And the more people get killed, the more red herrings come along. So after a while the killer starts to target Lilly and Gerald.One of the best things about the murder scenes is that they have really good cat-and-mouse scenes that add suspense and make you wonder if the person being chased might actually survive or not. Another thing is that even though the killer resembles Michael Myers they're creepy because the person being murdered does know who it is before they're killed (like a woman saying "Oh, it's you" before the killer puts on the mask and kills her) Another thing about this movie is that it ends very abruptly. That might not seem like a positive thing but the movie ends RIGHT when you realize who the killer is. And the way you find out they're the killer is in a very strange subtle way which consists of them making a demented smile at the camera as the final shot of the film. So basically if you really like slasher movies get this. It's tricky, it's kind of unusual compared to other slashers, it's a pretty good slasher movie.

Well I'm not a big fan of slasher flicks and the reason for that is mostly because they're all too similar. This film didn't do anything to change my opinion of slashers or like the genre any more than I did before seeing it; but as a strictly by the book slash-fest, it's not too bad and I have seen worse. The film is a Spanish and American co-production and is directed by one José Ramón Larraz - the man behind a number of trash 'classics' including Vampyres and Black Candles. Being a partly Spanish film, the film does seem to take a little bit of influence from Giallo tradition (that being prominent mostly in Italy, but also in Spain) as we do get a little bit of mystery towards the killer's identity. The plot is very simple as you would expect from a film like this and simply follows a man that goes round hacking up women with an axe. Naturally this soon attracts some attention from the local police force and an inept investigation into the murders is started.The title suggests that the murders will be committed with an axe - and indeed they are, and this is the film's strongest element. There are a couple of sequences that are quite brutal, but there's not a great deal of blood and this is unfortunate. The main problem with the film is the parts between the murders, which are largely very boring. The story surrounding the main characters is lacklustre at best and doesn't do much to hold the audience's interest. The mystery towards the killer's identity is slightly more interesting than the characters themselves; but even this is spoiled by the fact that it becomes obvious who the killer is far too early. The direction courtesy of José Ramón Larraz is decent enough - he builds suspense well in places, although the low budget gets in the way often and the film never rises above its trashiness. Overall, I really wouldn't recommend anyone goes out of their way to find this one. Slasher fans may find something to like but it's not one of the best of the genre.

Routine and by-the-numbers 80's slasher, but nonetheless a very entertaining one albeit a bit slow in places. "Edge of the Axe" is remotely gorier and creepier than most of the contemporary slasher efforts, because the killer wears an uncanny plaster mask and uses (like the title makes pretty clear) a sharp 'n shiny axe to turn his victims into – and I quote one of the cop characters here – hamburger meat! The killer targets yummy women living in two remote neighbor towns named Patterson and Paddock. The exaggeratedly imbecilic police officers try to pretend that even the most obvious murder cases are ordinary accidents, or in the best case, unfortunate suicide. The plot doesn't provide too many clues for the audiences to join guessing who the killer is, but don't bother anyway, as there are a couple of delightfully absurd and unpredictable twists near the end of the film. Downright AWESOME end shot, by the way. The direction in "Edge of the Axe" is much better and more stylish than in most 80's slasher, but I didn't except anything else, since José Ramón Larraz isn't just some randomly assigned director, but the creator of a couple of underrated and marvelous 70's gems, like "Vampyres", "The Blood Virgin" and "The House that Vanished". Mostly thanks to his skills and experience, "Edge of the Axe" is occasionally atmospheric and even suspenseful in places. The special effects are adequate and the imagery (like chopped off heads floating in the water and decomposed corpses falling from attics) is suitably nasty, making this an above average and recommendable effort. Larraz was also responsible for another obscure slasher puppy with an appealing title, namely "Rest in Pieces". Based on this movie, I think I should start looking for the other one, too.

Well, hmmm, um...hmm. I guess this movie was ...ok. It certainly could use a better script and better effects and less crappy violence, i mean, those were totally not her real fingers... or boobs. The cheesy 80's pick up lines were overused and just plain dumb. There were also some scenes without a purpose: who goes into the woods for a "shortcut" when there's a mass murderer on the loose?. Seriously who's that dumb? That dang priest.The acting could also use some improvement, but that Farton, I mean Barton Faulks was incredible. His performance was just sweet. I did like Faulks-face. Who was the computer's voice? Man, was it Charlie? Or that creepy girl with the eyes? The lead girl was also kinda dumb: "I asked it if you were gay". Who asks that to a computer? I just asked my computer if this movie was gay and it said information unknown because no one has seen this movie. The soundtrack, however, caught my attention. *eerie sound*......tan tan tan tan TAN TAN!