A red moon - a bloodmoon - is rising and someone is going to die.
Bloodmoon is a 1997 Martial Arts Movie / Buddy Cop Movie starring Gary Daniels as Detective Ken O'Hara, Darren Shahlavi as "The Killer" and Chuck Jeffreys as Detective Chuck Baker.
In New York City, a Serial Killer is stalking the best fighters in town and killing them one by one. Supporting roles are played by Frank Gorshin as Chief Hutchins , Brandie Sylfae as Kelly Weller and Rob Van Dam as Dutch Schultz.
This movie contains examples of the following tropes:
- Action Girl: Kelly is a US Karate champion. Doesn't save her from the killer in the end though.
- Artistic License – Law Enforcement: O'Hara and Baker allow Kelly, a civilian related to one of the victims and another target of the Killer, to aid their investigation instead of putting her under police protection. She somehow convinces them with the nonsensical reason of her being a target. This indirectly leads to her death.
- Artistic License – Sports: The first fight is supposedly against a boxer but the actor playing him was actually a kickboxer which uses different striking techniques - obvious to any viewer with familiarity with either discipline.
- Artificial Limbs: The killer has two metal fingers that are strong enough to impale a human being and punch through thin metal.
- Badass Cape: The killer is wearing one during several of his fights.
- Bar Brawl: Kelly kicks the crap out of several drunken leches while unknown to her the killer watches with approval.
- Blood Knight: The killer, lampshaded by a medical examiner."...it's the fight he's interested in. Once they're dead, he's done."
- Combat Compliment: The killer gives one to O'Hara after getting punched back about ten feet."Very good!"
- Contrived Coincidence: Kelly sees the Killer standing in plain sight in the middle of a crowd in front of the police station and suddenly remembers seeing his face when they first fought.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: The first fight - a world light heavyweight champion boxer barely manages to get a hit in against the killer. Schultz briefly appears to be more of a match for the killer, but it quickly becomes obvious the killer is just toying with him.
- Da Chief: Frank Gorshin's character.
- Dramatic Irony: Baker and O'Hara find that Chad Atkins is recorded as being dead in the police records, when the audience knows that he's clearly alive and is the real Killer.
- Even Evil Has Standards: The killer goads O'Hara into the final battle by pretending to have tied his family to a bomb with a fifteen minute timer, however it's just a harmless confetti cannon. He also only chokes out Schultz's girlfriend before the fight leaving her unconscious but alive instead of killing her.
- Evil Laugh: The killer naturally.
- Evil Wears Black: The killer is always dressed in black or dark blue.
- Expy: Baker is pretty much Axel Foley/Eddie Murphy with the serial numbers filed off.
- Faking the Dead: It's revealed that Chad Atkins, the Killer's true identity, was recorded as having been killed in a car accident.
- Flashback Nightmare: O'Hara has one about when he was tortured by a serial killer.
- Gainax Ending: Crossed with Surprisingly Happy Ending with The Reveal at the end of the film that the bomb the family was tied to was just a harmless confetti cannon, and that the supposed child killer never killed any children at all.
- Idiot Ball: Kelly manages to trail the killer back to his home and goes in without waiting for backup despite knowing just how skilled he is after their first fight. It doesn't end well for her.
- Improvised Weapon: Both the boxer and Schultz make various unsuccessful attempts at using ones against the killer. During the final battle O'Hara uses a metal pipe to far better effect.
- Informed Ability: Both the first onscreen victim, the boxer, and the second, the tough guy, make a very poor showing against the killer, despite being supposed to be very skilled fighters themselves.
- Jerkass Ball: Baker is initially a dick to O'Hara for no good reason other than he's a wash-up with a lower rank than him.
- Killed Offscreen: Kelly is found dead in a cupboard after stupidly going to the killer's hideout on her own, despite being knocked unconscious in her first fight with him. Three of the killer's other victims are killed offscreen too.
- Let's You and Him Fight: O'Hara and Baker briefly fight after encountering each other in the dark at a crime scene until Kelly turns up the lights.
- Malevolent Masked Men: The killer wears a simple Venetian style half face mask to conceal his identity. He removes it when he's sure he's going to win the fight and for the final fight with O'Hara.
- Mood Whiplash: Baker jokes with the other officers at the scene of the first killing, but when he crouches down near the body he is obviously disturbed by the scene and covers the victims head with a white cloth.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Baker and O'Hara's decision to let Kelly aid their investigation indirectly leads to her death when she figures out the killer's location before they do and goes rushing off to confirm this by herself.
- Off Bridge, onto Vehicle: Done by the killer to escape O'Hara and Baker in their first confrontation.
- Only Known by Their Nickname: "The Killer" for most of the film. He's eventually identified as Chad Atkins, but is still credited as "The Killer" in the film's credits.
- Papa Wolf: You do not want to threaten or hurt O'Hara's family as some local thugs and The Killer find out.
- Sean Connery Is About to Shoot You: Daniels as O'Hara on the official poster.
- Serial Killer: The Killer is one for martial arts champions, wanting a good fight from them.
- Stage Magician: Baker does a few sleight of hand tricks throughout the film, like producing handkerchiefs and fake flowers.
- Super Window Jump: The killer does this to escape onto the top of a passing truck.
- Sword Fight: The Killer and and a dojo master engage in one of these. It's probably the hardest fight The Killer has barring, the final showdown, though he (obviously) still wins.
- Taking You with Me: The Killer tries this with O'Hara who just barely avoids being dragged off the edge of a building as the killer falls to his death.
- Too Dumb to Live: Kelly's insistence on joining the investigation even after it's revealed that she's another target of the Killer is what leads to her death.
- Unexplained Recovery: Baker somehow survives getting stabbed by the Killer and a back injury caused by him falling several feet with a rope around his torso.
- The Unreveal: It's never revealed how the Killer managed to fake his car crash death and why he did it.
- Worthy Opponent: What The Killer is ultimately looking for - he even insults fighters who don't provide enough of a challenge for him."Why aren't you better?"
- Would Hit a Girl: The Killer attacks Kelly in her apartment, fighting to kill before O'Hara and Baker intervene.
- Wrestler in All of Us: Schultz uses wrestling moves in his fight against the killer. Not surprising since he's played by a wrestler.
