The Bleeding House (2011)

Good movie but grossly overrated

Best movie ever!

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Why You Might Like It: The acting is actually very good and Patrick Breen is great as the lead protagonist. For people who like this genre of film, then it might be worth a watch.Why You Might Not Like It: It is low budget and has an unknown cast, which might make some viewers shy away from seeing it. The movie is average and nothing to go out of your way to see unless you love this genre of movies.Acting/Casting: 6.5* - Patrick Breen shines in this movie and plays the villain in a very interesting manner. He does an outstanding job from the accent to the way carries himself in the film. The remainder of the cast is made up of unknown actors, but they do a fine job as well.Directing/Cinematography/Technical: 5.5* - Most of the movie takes place at a farmhouse, so there isn't much in the way of great cinematography or technical aspects. The directing is OK, but I felt the movie dragged a bit in the second half of the film. This area of the film isn't terrible, but it also isn't anything but average.Plot/Characters: 5* - A ostracized and troubled family is visited at their home by a strange and interesting man, who they decide to let stay the night. Again, the plot is interesting and has potential, but it doesn't play out to be anything great.Entertainment Value: 5.5* - It starts out fairly intriguing and grabs your attention, but slowly becomes very mediocre. Once you get the gist of the plot, it is a very average movie. Worth a watch if you catch on TV on a slow evening.My Score: 6.5+5.5+5+5.5 = 22.5/4 = 5.625 Email your thoughts to [email protected]

I just finished up The Bleeding House and while I don't find it to be a complete failure its far from being a winner. The story is simple enough a dysfunctional family coming off of an "accident" are trying to re adjust to a normal life. We have the mother and father, the strange daughter and the son who wants to just leave the family behind. The beginning of the film is very interesting as you try and figure out just what exactly is causing the family to act so strange. Then In comes Nick a kind Texan looking fellow with a sincere charm but obvious alter intentions. He stays the night in the house and talks to the family members before the inevitable fact that he is a maniac is revealed. This is where I think the movie truly started to faultier. It was pretty obvious that he had bad intentions but I think if they had left you questioning this a bit longer it could have made for a more interesting premise. I wanted him to more slowly unravel the secrets of the family instead of it just turning into a somewhat generic slasher romp. The film was interesting at the beginning but seemed to lose its focus toward the middle.When all of the things are revealed about the daughter and the family it just all becomes to unrealistic (the cop scene is a prime example) and other things that I don't think Nick would so easily have over looked in his mission. All in all the movie was okay but could have been something great if the filmmakers had stuck with the premise at the beginning.

It amazes me that a good deal of the horror watching public passed this movie over or looked at the characters as hollow or awkward. That is what this movie was all about, strained relationships, pulled emotions, and people behaving like they do in a normal family. Their relationships are petty, full of kind of masked grief, and longing each of the characters looking for a way out of themselves and out of where they are. The visitor they invite into their home, although he turns out to be their downfall, is exactly what they are looking for, someone to just talk to. Each of the members of the house in turn try to talk with this newcomer, and each time a little more of the story unfolds. It is a beautifully shot movie as well, wide panning shots around the small family table, the hallway up the stairs being narrow and tall. Even the doorways and the rooms only slightly decorated, as though they were planning to leave at a moments notice, or had only been there for a few months. This claustrophobia builds as the movie progresses, and becomes ever more intimate until the end. That building sense of dread is the hardest thing to capture in a horror movie, and this one does beautifully. We as viewers know what is coming, we know the outsider is either in for a shock or going to cause one, but it is the anticipation of such an event that drives us to keep watching. I loved watching this movie with its subtlety and poise, keeping you on the edge with the back story being slowly revealed and the veil lifted a little bit minuet by minuet.

This film would actually make a very good film school project. It is by no means a professional production. The story though is good, solid, and climaxes great. It is written much better than the big budget Hollywood productions we see nowadays. The actors are above decent, the dialogues and plot are well written, and the characters are strong (except for the brother and girlfriend). Of course due to the amateurish feel of the film, when it comes to music, camera and lights, we go way below average. Special effects are not even worth mentioning as they are nonexistent. In general, this is not a film that I think will ever be on the big screen, but it is fine to watch on the TV if there is nothing better on. The unfair thing is that if the serial killer was played by a big shot actor and there were actually some money to be spent for music, photography and special effect, this would actually be a blockbuster !!! Unfortunate indeed.