Bloodletting

This amateurish but nonetheless spirited gory mess was produced by sleazebag J.R. Bookwalter's company "Tempe", which offers young ambitious directors like Matthew Jason Walsh the chance to share their enthusiastic horror ideas with a modest but loyal group of B-movie fans. The budget was really really low, resulting in poor editing, only a limited number of set pieces and very bad acting performances. In fact, "Bloodletting" pretty much looks like a rookie project of some film school student, as the story is a simple "Bonnie & Clyde" or "Natural Born Killers" variant (a serial killer couple in love), only with loads of nauseating gore and extra-crazy characters. The idea is okay, but the leads are very irritating and they talk way too much which only makes their lousy acting skills more clear. The gore highlights are quite memorable, including a pleasantly deranged "This Little Piggy..."- game and of course the absurd baby-killing sequence. The last half hour is dreadfully boring, though, and filled with totally ridiculous story-twists. Overall, I expected "Bloodletting" to be a lot worse, but that still doesn't mean it's good. "Bearable" is the word.

"I don't trust anybody who doesn't smoke." Is that the first requirement for becoming a serial killer? If so, I am on my way.

Truly, watching Ariauna Albright learn from Butch (James L. Edwards) was very interesting, and a bit funny.

When they went into action as a priest and nun, I almost lost it. How funny!

When Ariauna turned the tables on the psycho chemist, it was poetry.

But, the best comes at the end. It's to die for!

Quality? Sorry. the story and the lines, are much better than the acting, but it was still interesting enough.

Now, you've seen it, what do you want, a serial killer diploma?

The problem with so many zero budget films is that they really spend too much time on talking. Too talky equals dull. Scenes of talking heads that go on forever pretty much ruin many low budget efforts. this one is no exception. It feels like the author thinks he has something important to say so he makes sure every member of the cast says it. For an hour and a half. Talk and talk and then kill a person and talk while doing it and then talk some more. The film wants to be edgy. A nd shocking. And it may have worked, if I had not been talked to sleep. The ultimate sin for any movie is to bore an audience. This one has a budget against it. Uneven acting. Bad lighting. But to bore me, now THAT is the final straw. I love low budget films. I like zero budget films like films by Todd Sheets, Mark Polonia, JR Bookwalter and more. But this one is not able to sustain tension, suspense or interest. The direction is flat and takes no chances and the ideas behind the film deserve more. Watch natural Born Killers again instead.

I struggle reading through reviews saying any movie was the "worst ever made," as most of those reviews contain something like:

• "I'm a producer/director/writer, I should know..."
• "Not a single redeeming quality ANYWHERE!"
• "The acting is sooooo bad..."

I mean come on folks...it's not like Steven F'ing Spielberg signed on for this. It's J.R. Bookwalter and his company, giving first time filmmakers a shot at making something gory and fun. It's not supposed to be Ben-Hur.

That said, most of the reviews are correct. The movie is crap, from the acting to the production to the lighting, all the way through post and editing. But that doesn't mean it can't be enjoyable. Not in a perfect 10 kind of way, but for what it is - a cheesy B-flick made on less than a shoestring budget. I will say, the script is not to shabby, other than it tends to drag on a bit. There's also a ton of cameos from industry B-horror folks, which makes this fun. The slapstick back-and-forth between the killer and his trainee is hilarious...truly hilarious.

Look...if you've read the synopsis and it sounds appealing, if you are prepared for what you're about to see (eg cheesy, poorly funded, crappy) and know the history of the production company, then you're gonna dig this...crap and all. If you watch this expecting to see the next Fulci flick, you're here for the wrong reasons. If you expect schlock, you'll get it. Just don't watch it thinking you're going to get anything other than a bad B-flick. If you do this, you might just enjoy this as much as I did.

Parental content notes:

• quite a bit of profanity, but what do you expect from a tongue in cheek slasher?
• some sexual situations, and sex, but not gratuitous nudity all over the place.
• intense situations? Hardly. The most intensity this movie illustrates is the witty banter between the leads.
• violence and gore? Yep. It's a friggin serial killer komedy, of course. Not nearly as gory as I thought it would be, but it's there.

Look...take it at face value, as noted above. Don't compare it to anything, don't expect anything other than sleaze and schlock, and maybe even get a cold beverage in you (or 8) before you start watching. You'll be fine.

blah blah blah. Already boring but hey, the opening credits contains some really nice moments. It's better then the movie. A lot of talking, stupid conversations. An unbelievable serial killer. Again some talking, boredom arises. Some stabbing.

Nothing happens except....talking Almost over, one nice scene, the guy loosing his mascularity. And then again a lot of talking. Ahaaa, the end of the movie, you wouldn't believe it, stabbing while they are...talking.

End credits Don't waist your time on this turkey, a waist of time and money. Better watch "man bites dog" a Belgian movie