British Businessman Kurt Wendell (Hansler) loses his job and he literally snaps. He takes his wife Steph (Gordon) and his sexually active daughter Megan (Poesner) along with wimpy son Jay (Rithin) out to a house in the English countryside. This is where he attempts to act out a murderous plan on his entire family and his boss (Henry Douthwaite) who is tied up in the attic and has been having an affair with his wife. The family knows daddy is up to no good when he gives them all insulting gifts and himself a nice new Axe. Trapped in the middle of nowhere Kurt threatens and abuses his family and eventually stabs to death his boss in a bloody knifing. No one is safe at this point as the mentally unstable Kurt attacks his family through the rest of the running time. Writer/Producer/Director Ryan Lee Driscoll explores the family's hidden secrets and uses the family's indiscretions as fuel for Kurt to 'correct' them. Comparisons will be made between "The Shining's" Jack Torrance and this film's Kurt Wendell character as Dad's who went off the deep end and tried to kill their family. In actuality, he has more in common with the crazy father Jerry Blake of "The Stepfather" films in that the disappointing actions of his family inspire his rage. That is of course looking past that both characters are completely off their rockers. There are a few moments of inspired bloodshed and even some suspense but Driscoll's film loses some credibility along the way. There is a giant pick Ax sitting right outside the door that the victims consistently run past while being helpless terrorized by good old Dad but none of them think to pick it up. There seems to be plenty of other opportunities for the family members to escape and none are taken. These things hurt the overall effectiveness of the film which in the end is still entertaining in a time wasting way.
Review of Axed
