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Bled
From one of the executive producers of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
That's what's written at the top of the DVD cover art for Bled, a low budget and surprisingly low energy - given its premise - vampire film recently sent to video shelves by Lionsgate.
Yes, that's the selling point apparently: one of the producers of Texas Chainsaw Massacre has his (or her, I didn't bother to check) name slapped on this movie. And slap is an appropriate word, come to think of it, as the viewer may need to be slapped in the face a few times just to stay awake through this dud. Or, perhaps, viewers will feel like they've been slapped in the face by this cinematic insult.
Catty remarks aside, I actually wanted to like this movie. Low budget fare can sometimes go places that big budget productions fear to tread - and that was certainly the case with the story premise offered here, courtesy of writer Sxv'leithan Essex (no, that is not a typo). In the script, the protagonist is named Sai (Sarah Farooqui), and she's a moderately successful painter with a loft apartment. At a gallery showing, she meets Renfield (Jonathan Oldham), who buys one of her paintings and then introduces her to an old drug that's inhaled and sends its user to a fantasy world replete with a vampire (in a rubber body suit) who transmogrifies into the human shape of its user's lover. Sai is slowly seduced by both the drug and vampirism, and the people around her are dragged in as well.
It's an unusual spin on the vampire legend. Unfortunately, the movie fails to exploit the possibilities of the story's premise. The screenplay - also credited to Essex - has lengthy scenes of banal dialogue that are frankly rather boring. It doesn't help that the actors fail to engage. The "dreamworld" of the drug looks set-bound and involves a dead forest. It's clear that budget limitations fail to create an engaging visual representation of this hallucinogenic landscape - and the viewer is left to wonder what it is that the characters find so hypnotic about it.
Perhaps the biggest fault with the film, however, is its repetition. Each major character is sent to the dreamworld in the movie at least once - and each visit involves the same setting, the same vampire, etc. This gets rather tedious by the third go-round.
I'm not sure that even vampire fans will find this exercise particularly interesting. While R-rated, the movie doesn't have much in the way of explicit thrills like gore and nudity. Just skip it.
The DVD
Video:
Lionsgate gives Bled an anamorphic widescreen presentation in a 1.78:1 aspect ratio. This is a dark movie with faded colors, so don't expect a lot of pizzazz. Still, the image is fine - although details could be stronger.
Sound: The sole audio track is an English language Dolby Digital 5.1 affair. I have no complaints about this track - it's quite strong and vibrant, though a small quibble would be that dialogue comes across as unnaturally loud during some scenes. Optional subtitles are available in English and Spanish. Extras: For a movie of this low caliber, Lionsgate sure did load its DVD release chock full of extras - though the lengthy list of extras is a bit deceptive, given their short combined running length. Indeed, much of what's added is short features: a way-too-brief Behind the Scenes of Bled (2:55); a Deleted Scenes montage (3:19); a short Auditions for Bled montage (2:29); a very unimpressive Visual Effects of Bled (0:31) comprised of nothing more than a few before / after shots; and an alternate title sequence (1:59) sans music. All but the auditions are in anamorphic widescreen. The most important extra is a feature-length commentary track with producer Jeff Allard, director Christopher Hutson, and composer Chris Kazmier. A random sampling suggests it's an informative and straightforward track. Finally, a collection of trailers include spots for Crank 2: High Voltage, Fist of the Warrior, The Gene Generation, and Scourge. The menu system also has a separate link for the trailer to Bled. Final Thoughts: The central premise of Bled, with its confluence of vampirism, drug addiction, and art, has some promise. Unfortunately, this production fails to deliver due to lackluster dialogue and a low budget incapable of delivering the goods. This meandering film warrants a DVD Talk - certified "Skip It" rating, despite its extras. ---------
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