Hot Blooded (1997)

AKA Red Blooded American Girl II, Red Blooded 2, Red Blooded and Hit and Run

The direct-to-video market has always been a bit of a double-edged sword. When distribution options for lower budget films began to dry up in the late 80's going into the 90's along with the closure of certain theaters and drive-in's, the DTV market was unquestionably a boon for low-budget and genre filmmakers as not only did it secure distribution for their films but with video stores at the height of their popularity, it was almost a guarantee that many films would find their audiences either in the video store or on cable. This was especially true for genre films, especially the horror, action and erotic thriller genres, with many DTV titles in each of those genres gaining cult followings. On the other hand, there was always a stigma to going DTV, with many elitist types snubbing their noses at DTV films as if it was a sign of lower quality. There was also the danger of certain films getting lost in the shuffle with so many film either going straight to home video or cable, it was inevitable that some films would be passed over and never really find the audiences or cult they deserved. This is certainly the case when it comes to David Blyth's 1997 film Hot Blooded, one of the most satisfying films from the New Zealand based provocateur and a film that offers so much more than is advertised.

Trent, a naive college student on the road to visit his parents for Thanksgiving inadvertently finds himself in the midst of an altercation at a truck stop resulting in a hit and run. Miya (Kari Wuhrer), a prostitute who initiated the confrontation, jumps in the passenger seat of Trent's car and the two speed away from the scene. Although reluctant at first to have Miya ride along, the two form a bond and continue on to Trent's parents, trailed by both the police and Roy, a vengeful trucker, while Miya drags the sheltered Trent further into her world of lawlessness.

Hot Blooded is a fascinating film for a variety of reasons. The film is fairly indicative of the kinds of films going direct-to-video or late night cable in the later half of the 90's in terms of look and mood,  but the film is also very much in the vein of a 70's drive-in exploitation vehicle. The film goes through some pretty interesting tonal shifts, playing out like the kind of film it's advertised to be early on but once the film settles in and Miya and Trent set off on their journey together, Blyth's subversive tendencies kick in and the film essentially becomes a character study or a psychological profile of Miya. Miya is a wonderfully multi-layered character with a tough, streetwise facade yet underneath is  a severely damaged individual. Both facets of her personality make the relationship she and Trent develop throughout the film all the more engaging and at the same time, tragic. There's always the question as to whether or not Miya is manipulating Trent's naivety with her constant philosophizing of the hurt parents do to their children in an attempt to get him to break out from his parents control or if she begins to feel genuine affection for him as it's clear both are in need of true companionship and Blyth does offer up some light-hearted moments between the two such as a humerus scene in an S&M shop, yet the film never shies away from skin-crawling, uncomfortable territory either, especially as it relates to Miya's past.

The film was shot in Canada for the same producer as Blyth's vampire film Red Blooded American Girl (1990) and despite having absolutely nothing to do with vampires the film was released and marketed in some territories as a sequel. Bylth himself is rather fond of the film with some slight reservations regarding the final edit as he explained on the New Zealand based Never Repeats podcast “I quite like it to be honest... the editor, what's happened is they cut, there was a very long sequence of after they leave the gas station at the beginning there was a very long sequence in the car which I shot car processed in a studio and what the editor did was they cut it in half and they put the other half halfway through the film and it actually makes the film make no fucking sense but again, I didn't have any control plus that's not the end I wanted to shoot but the producer insisted on that end.” Blyth also has some humorous compliments regarding Kari Wuhrer and the reason her co-star Kristoffer Ryan Winters' eyebrows made him “look like a dick”. Had the film been made 20 years earlier, there's a good chance it would have become a drive-in hit. As it stands, Hot Blooded is the definition of the term “hidden gem” and a prime example of Blyth's skill at subversion.