If Him reignited the sports horror subgenre, I’ll do a touchdown celebration. That means we’ll get more gnarly films like Nikias Chryssos’ Bloody Tennis. Chryssos takes competitive sports and survival-of-the-fittest mentalities to gruesome degrees, pitting competitors against one another for more than a trophy. It’s reminiscent of Him, Suspiria, Girls With Balls, and The Novice to varying degrees, and while not a scorching ace, Bloody Tennis takes no prisoners with such a gratifying presentation.
Sandra Guldberg Kampp stars as Sophie, the newest American recruit at an elite tennis academy hidden far away in Southern Europe. Headmaster Mary (Elina Löwensohn) welcomes Sophie with a smile, but pleasantries quickly vanish. Gruff coach Stavkos (Zlatko Buric) pushes his pupils to the brink of exhaustion while Mary watches, but Sophie is determined to stand out. She chugs the disgusting red replenishing slurry, swallows the leeches, and endures every wound. That’s until things get even more sinister, and players start disappearing.
Chryssos nails the “Cult of Sport” elements that set off alarm bells. Equipment manager Fred (Vincent Romeo), an awkward Igor type, sets an uneasy tone as he gives off predator vibes around the all-girl cadets—and that’s before we find out he’s stringing rackets with catgut. Everything is about warping beastmode ideologies that worship the motto “no pain, no gain,” which becomes an indulgently gory affair. The “Tennis Horror’ of it all starts with death by serving machine and spins out of control from there, wearing its juicy Him comparisons with pride.
As Sophie interacts with her equally driven counterparts, sabotage and mental intimidation become the norm. An early friendship with soft-spoken Heidi (Helena Zengel) morphs into a cruel teddy bear kidnapping (which hides her sleep aids)—anything to give Sophie the advantage on game day. Or there’s Sophie’s budding romance with Bana (Tracy Gotoas) that means nothing when they take the court. Sophie is a stone-cold killer on clay, pounding serves down her opponent’s throats much to Mary’s pleasure. It’s an exaggerated depiction of ruthlessness thrust on athletes at young ages that sometimes gets a little too out of control, stealing attention from tennis-themed horrors. Still, it establishes a barbaric, violent ecosystem.
As the boundaries of discipline and excellence shatter, Bloody Tennis examines whether characters accept sinister undertones or fight back against Mary’s gladitorial tortures. But once a tournament is declared, there’s no hiding indulgent genre elements, with the losers of each round sent home. Chryssos captures the intensity of match points treated like life or death, while cinematographer Constantin Campean finds beauty in the girls’ graceful agility as they sweat and grunt. Löwensohn is a despicable dictator who doesn’t care to hide her academy’s absurd practices, which make for quite the third-act payoff. It’s not a subtle film, which lets bad vibes drench each scene with a delicious sense of awfulness.
That said, the on-the-nose nature of competitive themes can feel like style over substance. Kampp’s ascension as a star player is well acted—the actress’ physical demeanor projects finely trained intensity that smashes through her foes—but she’s quick to drink the Kool-Aid. Ties to her tennis-playing mother are sentimental, and they validly fuel her descent into superiority at any cost. And it’s not detrimental by any means. More, Bloody Tennis is powered by its “wage war” approach to genre exploitations—the rest is playing catch-up.
Thankfully, Bloody Tennis has the fuzzy green balls to sell a gorgeously grotesque vision of a Wimbledon psycho. Chryssos treats competitive spirits like a soul-sucking poison, corrupting all who dedicate themselves to winning at any cost. With a story that goes for broke like Him or Opus, don’t expect every swerve to stay within the painted lines—but prepare to be entertained either way. Performances are strong, camerawork deserves a medal, and we get to watch people die in ridiculous tennis-related ways. Game, set, match: Bloody Tennis.
Movie Score: 3.5/5