CAST: Donald Sutherland (Steve Carella), Aude Landry (Patricia Lowery), Lisa Langlois (Muriel Stark), Laurent Malet (Andrew Lowrey), Donald Pleasence (James Doniac), David Hemmings (Armstrong). Directed by Claude Chabrol.
SYNOPSIS: After a late night party, teenager Patricia Lowery, slashed and covered in blood, runs into a police station while her cousin Muriel Stark, lies dead in an alleyway. Detective Steve Carella takes the case and based on Patricia’s description of the killer begins searching for a tall, dark-haired, blue-eyed man. Carella questions sex offenders that match the description and puts together a line up so that Patricia can point out the killer. However, after Muriel’s burial, things take a different turn when Carella learns that Muriel was having a sexual relationship with Patricia’s brother Andrew. Then Patricia changes her story and blames Andrew for the murder, but the more Carella digs into the case, the more he becomes convinced that the real killer is someone no one would ever suspect.
COMMENTARY: As an effective crime drama, Blood Relatives is rarely shown which is a shame because Donald Sutherland was a big box office draw in the 1970s and plays the shrewd detective Carella quite well. In fact, his performance ranks up with some of his best screen portrayals. Blood relatives also benefits from a fine performance by David Hemmings as Muriel’s boss who is carrying on a secret relationship with her. The reason for the film’s neglect is mostly due to its uncomfortable topics — two cousins in a relationship, a pedophile, a married cheat, and a quite violent death. But director Claude Chabrol brings all the ugly factors together through a well-balanced storyline with lots of suspense that keeps the viewer interested in the characters and the outcome.
Pleasence has basically a cameo in Blood Relatives as a pedophile named James Doniac. Brought in for questioning by Detective Carella, Doniac’s eyes shift quickly and he squirms around in his seat. In his French accent, Doniac at first provides a vague alibi to Carella but under some intense questioning, he caves in and admits that he was with a thirteen year-old girl on the night of the murder. Credit Pleasence with creating such a loathsome character, perhaps one of the most foul and despicable in his long acting career.