Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
3.5 OUT OF 5 - A BIZARRE TWISTED MOVIE THAT FALLS SHORT., March 12, 2008
'Bleeders' is a 1997 film loosely based on Lovecraft's 'The Lurking Fear'. It was directed by Peter Svatek and stars Roy Dupuis, Kristin Lehman(John and Kathleen Straus), Rudger Hauer(Dr.Marlowe),The rest of the cast are virtually unknowns.
The movie has a quick intro piece, then moves on with the main story. The intro piece starts off in 17th century Holland, with a narration about the King outlawing inter-marriage between members of the royal family due to observable health problems throughout the family(incest was common in some royal families to keep the bloodline 'pure'). However one family memeber, Eva Van Dam, who had a carnal relationship with her twin brother, decided to live in exile rather than part with her brother. She, her brother, nieces and nephews packed up and established a mansion in the 'new world'. As the years went on, The Van Dams became more and more secluded, eventually disapering altogether.
Flash Forward: John and Kathleen Strauss are traveling to an isolated island of the east coast of Canada in search of a possible family link to John. John suffers from an undiagnosed blood disorder that is slowly killing him, and they are traveling for a genetic answer. What they find, by way of the island doctor(Hauer), is a very disturbing revelation involving incest, mutations, and cannibalism.
What can I say, this is a 'sick chick flick'. I've watched this a few times now trying to figure it out. It definetly has a few bad points, but there is a good movie in it, you just gotta look at it like a 'dark drama' and not nesassarily a 'horror' movie.
The Plot is based on 'The Lurking Fear' and is very disturbing, but is questionable in it's execution. It runs 95 minutes and drags a little in the first half, but picks up alot during the second half. Again, the formula seems to be more about 'dark drama'(with a good portion of gore) than horror or suspence. The movie holds your attention, but after viewing you might think of some things a little silly. Although based on the mentioned story, I was constantly reminded of V.C. Andrews('Flowers in the Attic').
The acting and dialoge are a mixed bag. The main characters are very well acted and dialoge convincing, but most of the supporting cast acts as if they were pulled off the street and payed $50 bucks. John's wardrobe is an issue for me. I know that sounds weird, but he has a blood disorder that makes him look pale and meek, and the way he dresses, along with his pale look, makes him look like a throwback to the early 80's synth-pop trend('Flock of Seagulls' anyone?)
The editing is good, but if I had it my way, I would have re-cut the film to create a little more mystery and suspence. Everything you need to know is in the first 20 min. of the movie, the rest of the first half is waiting for the gore of the second half. There is a very passionate sex scene between Dupuis and Lehman that is tastefully cut, and kinda 'hot'.
The effects are good, but again, questionable execution. The 'Van Dam' family look really good, but in many shots they are in full-screen and full light, this takes away the 'scary' element. Again, I would have used them sparingly, and in the dark until the latter part of the movie, and still would have been shot in a dark enviroment. The other gore aspects of this movie are solid.
I'm still on the fence with this one, I have found a good movie in this, but I had to look. It had ssssoooo much potential to have come out average. This isn't going to win any awards, but it is a weird, disturbing, and original movie. This is one that I think the 'sick' girls out there in horrorland would like, so if your lady is into horror, this might be worth the time and money. 3.5 out of 5
***ATTENTION***
There is an unrated version of this called 'Hemoglobin' that features an uncut version of the sex scene(with nudity), and another featuring John eating something he shouldn't be eating(SICK!!!)
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3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great mutant movie, April 5, 2007
I was very intrigued by this movie from start to finish. It was a very different movie for it's genre. It is a story about a orphan, in his adult life, having a major blood disease trying to find his family to get some medical history. He just doesn't know who his family is or where they are. He is drawn to an island that he has never been to before and finds his family. It sounds like a nice "run of the mill" type of movie. But it is anything but a "run of the mill" type of movie. In search of his family, he gets more than he bargains for. Roy Dupuis is a great actor in this role and does give the audience some "nice views". I highly recommend this movie to anyone that loves zombie and mutant movies.
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3.0 out of 5 stars
A strange mix, March 16, 2009
This is a B movie that had the potential to rise above its place in the genre, but didn't quite make it. It's a blend of contemporary horror and gothic darkness. Despite its faults--some moderately bad acting by secondaries, some clumsy dialogue and a few glaring continuity errors, it's very watchable. As long as you don't mind nudity, incest, and cannibalism. Roy Dupuis and Kristin Lehman save it from being pure shlock. It also has going for it a very beautiful, moody musical score that deserves its own CD.
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DVD ~ Roy Dupuis
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