In 1997 an independent comic called Blood for the Muse was published by Cry For Dawn (CFD) Publications about how mankind deals with the beautiful Melpomene, daughter of Zeus who was cast out of heaven to preside over despair and tragedy. In 2001 a micro-budget independent film of the same name was released by Pleasant Storm Entertainment with a new “Omega Edition” scheduled for release in 2009.

Blood for the Muse is shot entirely in black and white and chronicles the life of Josh, a video store clerk by day who goes about his mundane life while running narrative in his mind about the stupidity of those he meets and the pointlessness of trudging on without clear direction or a compelling future. By night Josh is a vicious serial killer who preys on prostitutes.

Josh is searching for the elusive Melpomene, the muse of despair and tragedy, and causing the tragic deaths of the women of the night brings him, he believes, closer to a merging with the dark muse and achieving an eternity of darkness. Who wouldn’t want that?

Unfortunately for Josh the Dark Muse does not seem to be overwhelmed by his sacrifices – these are lost souls that won’t be missed by society and therefore their deaths don’t bring enough tragedy to the world. What she really wants is a pure soul, one whose death would bring a tear to the eye of God himself. Enter the beautiful Sara, a college student new to the neighborhood who takes an instant liking to Josh. As Josh falls in love with Sara it becomes clear; the sacrifice of Sara may bring just the tragedy to summon the Dark Muse.

Blood for the Muse is surprisingly good. The opening scenes are extremely cheesy and over the top, and there was an initial sense of the dread of an excruciatingly long night of Indie movie watching in the opening moments. I should not have fretted – the starting scenes, I discovered, were a ‘film within a film’ about ‘Cincinnati Smith’ (terrible Raiders of the Lost Arc knockoff) that adds a common thread to the story later on. Although low budget and no-frills, this film is well paced, well shot and entirely engrossing.

I do not typically find ‘art films’ appealing; How many gay cowboys eating pudding can one watch while seeking an existentialist meaning anyway? Blood for the Muse has some definite art film tendencies, but manages to rise above the usual pretentiousness and, through a great story, strong acting, heavy suspense and clean production create a psychological experience with clear ‘cult film’ possibilities. This freshman directing effort by Terry West is reminiscent of early Romero work and is absolutely worth the time to watch and absorb.