Fantastic Fest 2011: Path of Blood – Demon at the Crossroads of Destiny – Review

FULL MOVIE BELOW! Click to watch & enjoy!

We have a soft spot for people who are passionate about their work. I was fairly excited to see Eric Powers’ short film that follows a lone samurai who sets his course towards the path of blood, unknown dangers and terror. Path of Blood – Demon at the Crossroads of Destiny is a step above South Park in terms of animation and borrows heavily from stylized films of the past. What impressed me the most was his attention to detail. Today, cutout-style animation is frequently produced using computers, with scanned images or vector graphics taking the place of physically cut materials.

Clocking in at a short 4 minutes, it weaves an action-packed, bloody tale of a lone samurai as he takes on a demon lord and his army. We found little to complain about as the moody music and adult themes gave us a short glimpse into a world that we want to revisit. Soon! In fact, in my first viewpoint, the short film really seemed a bit simplistic, focused more on battles and at some points, a sense of humor to keep the audience’s interest but after watching it a second time, I learned to slow down and appreciate all the individual elements that made up the whole.  An absolute blast from start to finish!

Eric is looking to raise funds for the production of this film in a fleshed out version of the short film of the same name. To help him visit his PayPal donation page - HERE.