Cross Bearer (2012)

Adam Ahlbrandt and Cross Bearer have been a part of the history of Extreme Horror Cinema pretty much from day one. It became a bigger part for me personally when I donated into Adam’s fundraising campaign for his upcoming film Hunters. Adam put out if you donated a certain amount he would throw Cross Bearer in as a bonus. He promptly sent this to me after I donated; two weeks and I received this awesome package in the mail, which also included a Putridity album. So finally I got a chance to experience Cross Bearer due to Adam’s generosity!
Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth, I have not come to bring peace, but the sword.
– Matthew 10:34

After kicking in the teeth of a patron a dancer at a strip joint is made to go out and sell coke to a buyer who lives in an closed down factory block. Believing he has cleared the building of all its bums who had inhabited the building he lives his debauched lifestyle of drugs and women. Little does he know one of these bums inhabits the building, a religious fanatic out to rid the world of what he considers its driftwood!

She has a dream of escaping to a better life with her girlfriend. Planning on taking the money and running they set off with three other fellow workers to hand over the drugs and collect the cash.

What should have been an easy transaction turns to all out mayhem as our killer lets lose with his hammer!

What we get here with Cross Bearer is Adam Ahlbrandt’s take on the slasher film. A masked killer going out and killing what he perceives as evil. Mind you some is with drug dealers and pimps in the firing line! All the boxes are crossed…masked killer, gruesome kills and boobs! All in the isolated setting of an old factory complex,

Cross Bearer succeeds as it is a slasher that isn’t afraid to show the good bits. We get some great shots of hammered in heads and what have you. Plus the kills are violent, which does add to the overall experience. Some films fail when it comes to this, things feel watered down and turn what promises to be a great film into a just entertaining one. Maybe all the grizzly stuff is off screen or just doesn’t cut it due to a lack of that violent feel in the actions of the killer. Especially in a slasher such as Cross Bearer where the killer is all too human!

Dug the look of the Cross Bearer killer, great looking hooded mask and he has the right stature to look imposing! When he moves he is stalking, hunting the pounces on his prey and smashes them into oblivion with his claw hammer. Claw Hammer as a choice of tool of destruction is a great one! Pure nastiness! From reading about Adam’s first experience with August Underground Mordum I feel this was an influence on this choice, I may be wrong though. Maybe this was a representative of the hammering of Jesus onto the cross and the killer using this as his reason to punish the wicked. Hell who cares as it’s awesome!

Gore and kills are done very well here. Smashed in faces and skulls look brilliant! We also get people shot up as well as a cocaine over dose kill which in a way is eerie in it’s helplessness and pleading!

Acting wise I felt each character played their part in the scheme of the story. Our lovers, the arsehole boss, the friends and as mentioned in the above our killer! I could go on with the different actors and what they brought to play but hell just gonna keep it simple and say they all did great in their portrayals of each of their characters.

I love Cross Bearer and am an unashamedly massive fan of it and everything else I have seen of Adam’s. Each film has brought something different to this Underground / Indie Horror viewer. In the case of Cross Bearer a very well done Slasher film that stands out amongst others from this sub genre within the Underground Indie scene! But anyway go grab a copy it’s bloody awesome!