While this movie does not have high production values by today's standards, it is about a subject that few filmmakers broach so openly--the hallucinatory effects of drugs. Many famous historical personalities had experiences with drugs, notably poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge and the painter Modigliani, whom Picasso admired greatly. I enjoyed this "B" movie as a thrill ride, because, like Coleridge's poem Kubla Khan, it was the product of a drug-induced state. The protagonist is an artist whose whose work appears to be enhanced by the drug experience, despite its other more frightening aspects which include turning her into a vampire. Like many other horror movies released in the past year, "Bled" fills a gap now that was filled by Stephen King, and a few others, 20 years ago, and previous to that, by The Twilight Zone and The Outer Limits. "B" horror movies come in many different forms but they are a distinct genre, just as gangster/crime films form a (usually) distinct genre, and war movies, and comedies.
I use the B label to distinguish it from A movies, which have higher production values and are more profound: in my opinion, A movies from last year include Star Trek,The Hurt Locker,The Taking of Pelham 1-2-3 (remake), and Brothers.
While last year may not have been the greatest year for "B" horror movies, I did watch quite a few, and I liked them all at least some, for various reasons. Some fall more in the sci fi category, and some are better considered in both categories. Many were poorly reviewed, and some were only reviewed by horror film aficionados. Some were clearly made only to make money, and are not that good, particularly those that have already been explored previously. The best film I have seen in the past year, in this category, is "Shutter Island." It may end up with some Oscar nominations, and if it doesn't, it should. Second, perhaps, is "Drag Me To Hell" in which Sam Raimi piles on the supernatural special effects in a story of a gypsy's curse. The others include, "The Wolfman", "The Crazies", "The Graves", "Pandorum", "The Thaw","Pandemic", "Hardwired", "The Butterfly Effect: Revelations", End Game (2009),"The Devil's Tomb", "Deadline" and "The Train" (both with Thora Birch),"Mirrors","The Uninvited" "My Bloody Valentine", "Hard Candy" (actually from 2-3 years ago and with a younger Ellen Page), "Farmhouse", "The Last House on the Left" (remake), "The Strangers" (stands out to me, despite a mediocre review from Rogert Ebert), "The Horsemen", "The Box", "Final Destination 3-D" "Dark Country", "Hydra", "The Killing Room", "The Fourth Kind", "Children Of The Corn" (remake) and "District 9". This is a selective list.
