In an occurrence that should surprise no one, this 1988 US-Bollywood co-production flopped spectacularly. Its fortunes followed those of other crossover attempts like DANCE GODDESS, INDIAN SUMMER (both 1987) and TROPICAL HEAT (1993), proving that Indian and American sensibilities are an extremely uneasy mixture. BLOODSTONE ultimately joined the Thai GOLD RAIDERS (1982) and the Russian-Polish CURSE OF SNAKES VALLEY (KLATWA DOLINY WEZY; 1988) in the sorry ranks of Asian-based RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK wannabes (with further borrowings made from ROMANCING THE STONE).
BLOODSTONE was initiated by the Greek schlockmeister Nico Mastorakis, who reportedly intended to direct the film himself but ended up handing the reigns to Dwight H. Little (HALLOWEEN 4). Other notables involved in the production included executive producers Dayanand and Sunanda Murali Manoha (who jointly produced the aforementioned INDIAN SUMMER and TROPICAL HEAT) and Kollywood sensation Rajinikanth (India’s answer to Jackie Chan), appearing in what was to be his sole English language role.
The setting is a scenic region of India, circa 1221. The body of a princess is cremated in an opulent palace amid dozens of onlookers, with a priceless ruby known as bloodstone endowed with her blood. Flash forward to present-day Bangalore, where the American ex-cop Sandy McVey (Brett Stimely) and his wife Stephanie (Anna Nicholas) are present on a business trip. At a train station a petty thief carrying the bloodstone slips it into Stephanie’s bag, attracting the attention of a band of international scumbags led by the slimy Ludwig Van Hoeven (Christopher Neame). The ruby, however, ends up in the car of Shyam Sabu (Rajni Kanth), a cab driver.
Ludwig doesn’t know this, and targets Sandy. He handily beats up two thieves who invade his hotel room, but then Stephanie is kidnapped. Sandy teams up with Shyam, leading to a succession of adventures that include a fight on a rope bridge (as I mentioned above, this film is highly derivative), a bumpy ride on the back of an elephant, a crawl through a cobra-filled tunnel and the infiltration of a palace where Stephanie is being held, in a sequence that was clearly supposed to be far more suspenseful than it actually is.
Production designer Gary T. New and art director Manzoor Steve Russin deserve credit, as the scenery both urban and rural is striking and authentic-feeling (with seemingly every shot teeming with dozens of extras). The action choreography is passable, but stymied by the fact that the budget didn’t allow for much in the way of verisimilitude or invention. The attempts at middle school level comic relief further hobble the proceedings, as does the downright horrendous English dubbing that was utilized on, ironically, the English-speaking protagonists—who to add further injury are given thoroughly wooden portrayals by Brett Stimely (who’s found success in recent years by playing John F. Kennedy in multiple films) and Anna Nicholas.
The scrappily charismatic Rajnikanth fares much better, but doesn’t get nearly enough screen time in a disposable sidekick role. Rajnikanth really should have played the hero, which might have made for a good movie, but he didn’t and it’s not.
Vital Statistics
BLOODSTONE
Omega Entertainment
Director: Dwight Little
Producer: Nico Mastorakis
Screenplay: Nico Mastorakis, Curt Allen
Cinematography: Eric Anderson
Editing: Nico Mastorakis, Nancy Morrison
Cast: Brett Stimely, “Rajni Kanth” (Rajnikanth), Anna Nicholas, Charlie Brill, Jack Kehler, Christopher Neame, Tej Sapru, Mahesh Vacchan, Bob Christo, Deep Dhillon, Carol Teasdale, Laura Albert, Marjean Holden, Dhanushkodi