i know i wasted 90 mins of my life.

As somebody who had not heard any of this before, it became a curious phenomenon to sit and watch a film and slowly have the realities begin to click into place.

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.

Although marketed as a slasher, "City of Blood" is a gritty and tense political thriller with some slasher elements. It is atmospheric and stylishly directed. The outstanding Joe Stewardson is a grizzled medical examiner being strong-armed by the government to sign a death-certificate of a black leader killed in police custody. Meanwhile, a series of killings of prostitutes are traced to a 2000 year old traditional club.This is one of my favorite Darrell Roodt films along with "Place for Weeping" and "The Stick". More so than any other director, Roodt captures the fear that was presumably setting in for white South Africans in the 1980s as apartheid began to (thankfully) crumble amidst increasing violence and opposition. A chilling and under-appreciated film.

Story Synopsis: South Africa is rocked by a number of brutal killings where prostitutes are bashed in the head with a spiked club. Joe Henderson, the country's chief medical examiner (who is a bit of a basket case after his wife leaves him & takes their kids out of the country) believes that the killings are politically motivated by blacks after examining a symbol left at the site of each murder. But the case takes an unusual turn when an immensely old skull that is at least two thousand years old & has identical puncture marks to those of the dead hookers is found in the 'God's Acre' district. Henderson, who is so stressed that he begins to have a liaison with a prostitute, discovers that the killings are caused by an underground black leader who uses witch doctors as assassins in order to clean up the country & to instil terror in the white population. Meanwhile Henderson is placed under immense pressure by his superiors to cover up the accidental death of one of South Africa's most feared activists by signing a false death certificate, something that his own conscience prohibits him from doing.Film Analysis: City of Blood is a rather obscure thriller that was made in South Africa at a time when the country's apartheid system was giving it some serious pain by way of international sanctions. It would not be long before the system would collapse but in 1987 was already showing signs of self-destruction.The film seems to have some form of bizarre identity crisis – director Darrell Roodt doesn't seem to know exactly what kind of film he is making. City of Blood jumps genres very often with an ease that is quite disturbing, making it difficult to comprehend. One considers this a horror film but the horror element is extremely slight & takes a relative back seat to the other elements which include drama & political thriller. Roodt has the characters often making grandiose statements about the state of things in the country, most often bending the narrative severely out of shape. Not to mention the inclusion of a hero who is not fully coherent but who seems to be a relative basket case, talking to himself in bed, having affairs with prostitutes & so on.The other problem with a film like City of Blood is that Roodt stuffs up the horror element. It is almost impossible to fully understand the complete story given Roodt's haphazard plotting & technical inconsistencies (such as an irritating lack of continuity with one jarringly noticeable scene where the hero's jacket disappears twice while he is driving his car). It is never clear whether the killers are ghosts or simply witch doctors using black magic to teleport from one place to another.Having said that, City of Blood does have a certain dream-like atmosphere which goes a fair way in papering over some of the inconsistencies. Roodt does things like having characters obtain information through dreams, as well as having the hero's wife intriguingly appear at certain intervals as a sort of ghost, having the effect of making you wonder exactly what is going on in the hero's mind. Not to mention a semi-dream sequence between two lovers in a forest which leads to the discovery of the old skull. The ending where the hero commits suicide after signing the certificate is a sad compromise given his mental state & the massive pressure placed on him by the politicians.Joe Stewardson plays the hero, making the character of a weary semi-bureaucratic type his own & getting into it with commendable precision. Ian Yule makes an effective sidekick as the chief of police. Actor turned scriptwriter Greg Latter (who wrote the script for CYBORG COP, one of the 1990s' DTV cult classics) makes an appearance as one of the government agents pressuring the hero to sign the paper.

I felt the need to add my say in City of Blood after reading nothing but bad reviews here on IMDb. And everywhere else.There's a political message, and it is pretty much drama for a good part of the middle hour, and as a slasher fan I was worried about finally watching this. However, with a strong "2000 years ago" opening and some modern day killings with a unique slasher disguise & weaponry choices, I was satisfied with what it offered me in the sub-genre. Perhaps this is because I have seen most (and I do mean MOST) of the slasher films from the 70s and 80s, and after seeing some of the absolute worst those decades had to offer (oddly enough, not as bad as the new millennium stuff) I've been ready for City of Blood for a long time. The story is strong and if you care about more than just deaths in these types of films, you could be pleasantly surprised.Think of this as a political cop-thriller with slasher elements rather than a slasher with a theme. I welcome it to the family, but just make sure not to expect something you're not ready for. A party film... this is not.

I'll have to agree with all the reviews posted on here thus far and say that this film can be mighty boring, but it isn't without a few charms. Also, I want to mention to never trust a VHS by its (back) cover: To just look at the pictures and the summary, it'd be easy to believe you're going to be seeing an undiscovered hardcore slasher film from the 80's, but... yeah... I don't know what it is I just saw.It starts out well enough, with good directing, acting, and atmosphere, not to mention an engaging storyline. No kidding, the first 30 minutes or so of this movie has some decent suspense and is interesting and sleazy enough to be watchable. I especially enjoyed the main character, who is amongst the worst "main characters" in history: sweaty, bloated, old, nasty, mean, and with a bulldog face. Who wants to look at this guy for 96 minutes? He keeps having psychic visions of his wife while he talks to himself and drives from prostitute to prostitute; meanwhile, he won't sign a death certificate and he decides to become a detective.After this point, there is some nonsense about African politics and more psychic visions, a few murders, and a suicide. The whole film has a really nice and dark look and a very grim, mean-spirited tone: there is no humor whatsoever. Also, the soundtrack is interesting because it's almost entirely chimes, pianos, and a nausea-inducing flanger pedal played forever. But, really, what WAS this? What was the point of this film? When it's all said and done, it doesn't really do anything. But man, that sure is a cool title for a film and a cool image on the box. Worth maybe watching for a few interesting moments... but it's nothing special.