Bliss

At the very beginning of 'Bliss' comes a warning that there are a lot of flashing lights in the movie and that epileptic people should be warned. Now I'm not epileptic in any way but man did I struggle to watch the opening credits. It was almost hypnotic, I wanted to look away but couldn't. This was an early indicator that this would be a very visually unique movie. A lot of bizarre and fascinating imagery is thrown at the audience. It's not an aspect of movies I typically notice but I couldn't help but be aware of it in this case.

The film had a bit of a 'Requiem for a Dream' vibe about it, particularly early on. There is a lot of heavy drug use featured in the film - in fact that's more or less what it's about. If you want to give your children a "don't do drugs" lesson this could be a good film to throw at them. It doesn't particularly glamourise them at all, in fact it makes them look downright nasty.

The final third of this film really changes everything and makes it into an almost entirely different film. I guess it's what makes it fall into the "horror" category. To be honest that was probably my least favourite element to the film. I could see why they went that way, and it tied in beautifully with the painting that is central to the film, but it just didn't work for me. Because no other characters are ever given any screen time or introduced to us in anyway it was impossible to care about any of them, and so the end scenes had almost zero intensity.

'Bliss' is a very quick little film (sitting at about 80 minutes) that has some really interesting stuff going on, but just struggles to combine it all into a fluent package. The ideas are all there, the execution is just slightly off.

The actresses' mediocre performance doesn't help, but jesus, could they have written this girl to be more obnoxious, annoying, and a piece of crap? Ruins what is an otherwise a great job behind the camera.

...a drug induced, vibrant, caked-in-paint, covered in sweat and just overall a bloody mess of a good time. I like it. When the devil is inside of you, evil, I suppose, is no longer something to fear. This is definitely one of those movies that takes a minute for it to find its rhythm, but once it does you are rewarded with what this type of late nite horror thrill-fest is all about!

A pretty solid effort for such a low budget movie. If you are looking for some fast demonic scenes, this movie has a few. If you are looking for some real odd sex-type scenes, this movie has a few. And without spoiling too much if you are looking for a little drugged out, not sure which way is up, painting with blood to metal music this movie has just about enough of that.

Now I don't understand why movies still start out with the ultra cliche, struggling artist "your rent is two weeks past due" landlord scenario introductions. That said I'll say from there the movie is a pretty original descent into a mad Los Angeles moonlight world fueled by paranoia, drugs, an unrelenting desire to follow a creative trigger, and a good amount of fast paced, bright but dimly lit scenes (a real struggle to achieve I'm sure, the whole aesthetic really being mostly at nite time) with so much tension that you'll feel like you are on the drugs yourself being chased by the demon inside of you.

I enjoyed the ride, mostly, my own gripes really coming from the lack of building a convincing world. How is this artist so famous? Because it just seems like some random artist to me. That's really a minor problem. Also the name...Bliss? Really? Could've come up with something a bit more original. I guess the drug she is doing in the movie everyone refers to as "Bliss" but still..

I liked the actor who played the drug dealer and the main actress has some very nice freak-out/panic moments. Even apart from that the storyline here about a struggling artist looking for inspiration was well played out and even the more standard scenes played out nicely. I like the whole art agent scenario with the new pieces and the upcoming gallery show. And the stuff with the blonde was confusing but I really didn't mind because...I mean...the whole movie was a bit confusing but that's the thing about it: a little demonic mystery.

Not necessarily a masterpiece and I won't reccomend this to everyone but for me it hit the spot and I think it deserves a wider audience.

Just a note that there is a photosensitive epilepsy warning at the beginning of the film

Dezzy (Dora Madison) is a struggling artist. The muse seems to have deserted her. She spends her time high as a kite, having sex, listening to chunky grunge music and swearing. A lot. To have a good time, or to cope with a bad time, she meets up with others just like herself. Together, they get as high as a kite, have sex and listen to chunky grunge music. Oh, and they swear a lot. So much so that, at the beginning of the film, their stream of endless profanities and imaginatively arranged expletives are riotously funny - until you get used to it and it just becomes irritating. In between all these pastimes, they talk about themselves endlessly. Who would have thought being so 'bad' could be so boring?

That's the characters, though, not this film. 'Bliss' moves along at a brisk pace. 'Norm' (George Wendt) turns up as 'Pop' for the briefest time. Even he is surrounded by thick cigarette smoke and a whirl of bad language. Director Joe Begos clearly wants us to become as immersed in this grindhouse lifestyle as possible. There are eccentric camera angles and fast edits to create for us a disorientating world. There's even a warning for epileptics at the beginning.

I enjoyed the film. It's a slow build-up. Yes, we understand - these characters are hardcore! But it is a convincing environment and the horror, when it comes, alongside some excellent gore effects, is effective and above all - does something different.

It isn't possible to sympathise with someone who takes so many narcotics just so she can function enough to take *more* narcotics - and then complains, in the strongest possible terms of course, that she is not well. I get the impression, though, we're not being asked to sympathise with her. Whether we care about her is up to us - she is presented as what she is: take it or leave it. In real life, I would definitely leave it, but in this film, it is interesting to see where her increasingly deadly trips - and her equally immersive art - are taking her.

Nothing is particularly obvious in this movie until late on when the story explodes.

The acting - especially by Dora Madison - is excellent throughout with believable characters that take you into their disturbed lives.

This movie is a conceptual idea of horror from beginning to end without the cliches and with superb production.

If you like something different on your movie menu this is certainly one to watch.