Henry Cavill’s Horror Movie with Iconic ‘Batman’ Director Deserved Better

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British actor Henry Cavill and the late American director Joel Schumacher are both largely known for their involvement with bringing DC Comics’ two most iconic characters to the big screen. Schumacher directed the infamous pair of blockbusters Batman Forever (1995) and Batman & Robin (1997), which, though commercially successful, were both negatively received by fans and critics for their campy treatment of the Caped Crusader, while Cavill has starred as Superman in the now-retired DC Extended Universe, beginning with Man of Steel (2013).

But, in the 16-year period between the releases of Batman & Robin and Man of Steel, Schumacher and Cavill collaborated for a film that lay completely outside the realm of comic books: the 2009 horror movie Blood Creek. The film centers on two brothers, played by Cavill and Dominic Purcell, who find themselves trapped on a West Virginia farm with a family of German-American immigrants who are holding a dark and dangerous secret from their (and their country’s) past. Though critics and audiences were mostly unimpressed by the film’s execution of its disturbing premise, it deserves a reappraisal, as it contains several intense and memorable sequences, as well as a truly frightening performance by Michael Fassbender as a monstrous Nazi.

A Horror Straight Out of History

The film opens with a creepy prologue set in 1936, in which a German immigrant family, the Wollners, receive word that a German professor will be traveling to their farm in West Virginia, and that they are to provide him with food and lodging. But, when the man, Richard Wirth (Fassbender), arrives, he reveals that his true purpose is to investigate an ancient rune on their property that his Nazi superiors believe possesses magic powers that can be harnessed through blood rituals.

Cut to the 21st century, when paramedic Evan Marshall (Cavill) is suddenly reunited with his long-lost Army veteran brother, Victor (Purcell). He asks his brother to help him seek revenge on the family that has held him captive and tortured him for several years. This family is later revealed to be none other than the Wollners, who trapped Wirth on their farm by painting mystical runic symbols all over the property 70 years earlier. All the while, they’ve been sporadically abducting stragglers like Victor to their farm for Wirth to feed on their blood, keeping him (and the Wollners) from aging.

While Nazis have figured as monsters in horror movies before, Blood Creek is unique in that its premise is somewhat based on historical fact, as Hitler and the Nazis were indeed intensely fascinated by the occult in real life, lending Wirth’s character a small but still unsettling degree of verisimilitude.

Although Heinrich Himmler – the head of the SS and Hitler’s right-hand man – did not actually send any Nazi officials to the US to search for magical runes, Collider’s Michael John Petty notes that Wirth’s presence in America does mirror reality in metaphorical ways. There were certainly Nazi rallies held in America, such as the infamous Madison Square Garden rally of 1939. Petty also compares Wirth to the Nazis of Operation Paperclip, when they were covertly hired by the U.S. government to assist in science programs, eventually even the Space Race, shielding them from accountability for their roles in the Nazis’ many atrocities during the war.

Zombies, Vampires, Horses, and Nazis, Oh My!

What makes Wirth so scary as a villain is the fact that he is not merely a Nazi, but an immortal Nazi with supernatural powers and a literal thirst for human blood. These powers include the ability to possess dead humans, dogs, horses and make them follow his commands like zombies. In one particularly intense scene, as the brothers and Wollners attempt to barricade themselves inside the small farmhouse, several possessed horses (one of which is covered in flames) suddenly start banging against the doors and windows with their hooves before finally smashing the barriers down and entering the house.

Although the CGI of the burning horse is less than convincing, the shaky handheld camera, frenetic editing, eerie lighting, and claustrophobic indoor setting nevertheless give the scene a visceral intensity that perfectly captures the characters’ panic and confusion. It’s all heightened by Schumacher’s direction, which is campy as usual but with a much darker edge.

But the biggest highlight of the film is the German-born Fassbender’s utterly deranged portrayal of Wirth. Although he starts out in the prologue as an “ordinary” Nazi, by the time he emerges from the Wollners’ cellar later in the film, he has degenerated into what Hannah S. Blechman calls a “zombie-mummy-vampire-necromancer Nazi.” Although Wirth initially emerges from the cellar covered in bandages like a mummy, as he grows more powerful, he repeatedly peels off the outermost layers of his face to reveal a truly grotesque appearance that Bloody Good Horroraptly says “would make Pinhead [of the Hellraiser franchise] quiver in his leathery garb.”

With his long claws, deathly pale skin, and bald head, Wirth bears an especially strong resemblance to Bill Skarsgård’s recent portrayal of Count Orlok in Nosferatu (2024) (minus the mustache), particularly when he can be seen sucking his victims’ blood. The makeup job, gory sequences, and Fassbender’s naturally unnerving presence all combine to create a memorable horror movie monster that deserves more appreciation than he currently gets.

A Haunting Conclusion

With a creatively disturbing premise, impressive performances (particularly by Fassbender), and memorably intense and violent sequences, Blood Creek has far more substance than its dismissive reception would have one believe. Furthermore, both Schumacher and Cavill, who are mostly known for their work on mainstream blockbusters, deserve kudos for stepping into more mature territory, even if their efforts went underappreciated.

In fact, in addition to its technical merits as a horror film, Blood Creek has also aged well in one rather disturbing respect. The film ends with Evan finding out that several other Nazis were sent into the US to seek and harness the power of magical runes to aid the Nazis in their quest for world domination. Considering the continued presence of Nazism in American society today (including their very salute being invoked at the presidential inauguration earlier this year), this is a remarkably prescient note on which to end what at first glance seems like a forgettable horror B-movie.

Blood Creek is streaming for free on Fandango at Home in some territories, and you can rent or purchase it on digital platforms like YouTube, Prime Video, and Google Play.

“}]] Michael Fassbender is incredible as a zombie sorcerer, too.  Read More