Blood Deep

I just saw this movie on the Brussels International Festival of Fantastic Film, and really, I can't believe they actually made this. The acting was bad, the filming was bad and pointlessly blurry, the sound was even off at (many) times, and the story was completely ridicules. In the summary we read beforehand it said that it was a slasher, that first tried to show some character background, before getting to the slashing part. But really, i don't know why they bothered? All the characters where just plain stupid.

Such a waste of time that I could have spent way better watching reruns on TV.

Wow, it's rare that I see a film soooo bad that I can't find a SINGLE good thing to say about it. But Blood Deep is that kind of film, the kind of film bad enough to taint an entire film festival. If this was the only movie you saw at the otherwise great "4th annual Another Hole in the Head film festival", it might turn you off to the entire program, which would be a damn shame. Here are a couple of notes, just for the "director", Todd Kniss; I know it was your first time at bat and you struck out with the wood still on your shoulder, so here are some tips so next time you can at least go down swinging.

First thing I want to bring up to you is the title. If you are going to name you film "Blood Deep" it better be bloody as hell or at the very least have some depth. This timesuck has neither....NEITHER! There is for all intended purposes, no gore in this film, and less blood than the average episode of any crappy prime time crime drama, which coincidently is where most of these horrible, just plain awful "actors" busted their chops. But a great or even adequate film doesn't need gore and blood to entertain, as long as the story and characters are engaging. All the characters in "Blood Deep" are flat and boring as hell with all the depth of a puddle of urine. But I can't fully blame director Todd Kniss for that, some of that fault must rest on the shoulders of the writer, which unfortunately is Todd Kniss!

Second, don't hire three "actors" that all look alike down to their silly haircuts to play the red herrings! , I don't care how good of friends you are with them, or how cheap they are, casting actors that have similar features in a film like this makes it confusing for the audience. All of those "possible killers" look alike and with the horrible lighting and sloppy camera work neither I nor the people I was with could tell them apart.

And the third and final pointer, don't make anymore "movies" it's going to be embarrassing enough trying to explain to your parents and friends (soon to be ex-friends) where the money you borrowed went. Because I can't believe it went into production costs. But to be fare, the THIRD time I started drifting off to sleep in the last half hour of the film, I just gave into the warm comforting "Blood Deep"-less arms of slumber. So who knows maybe it got really, really good after I zonked out. But according to my friends that accompanied me, the fools that were willing to see this hunk of junk until the end, the answer would have to be a resounding "Hell No!"

This movie sucks, everything sucks but let's go in order starting from the plot because you rarely see such flat, obvious, soulless and even ugly crap, then going in order we find the acting that really makes you cry for how bad it is. But the nice thing about the film is that at least you don't understand absolutely anything so at the end of the film you don't even realize the disgust you've been subjected to because you don't understand absolutely anything about what happens even though everything is so stupid and meaningless as to transcend the crap and become just a mess without purpose and meaning, in conclusion the film is just a waste of time.

Good acting and well shot, but the plot is too confusing to follow. This is a thriller/murder mystery with no real conclusion to speak of.

I had really hoped to come here with the announcement that the slasher sub-genre is NOT dead… That there still are enthusiast young directors with bright ideas and a passion for vicious gore or insane plot twists. "Blood Deep" surely looked like such a promising new horror project but, alas, it disappoints. The story revolves on a gang of childhood friends that come together for a reunion at the parental house of pivot character Kate. During a random hypnosis game, one of them suddenly confesses to a murder that was committed in the area over 20 years ago. The synopsis really appealed to me as it reminded me of classic films like "Stand By Me" or Stephen King's "It", only with a genuine slasher-twist! Unfortunately, Todd S. Kniss (cool name, though) makes the mistake of introducing too many characters and dedicates too much of his time on detailed but unnecessary character drawings. Creating a background or building up atmosphere is good, but "Blood Deep" eventually features too many pointless flashbacks and dead-end story lines. Then, when the long-awaited killing spree breaks loose, the story regretfully reverts to old clichés and predictable situations. Every character has his/her own repressed trauma or hidden teenage crush that comes to the surface during the reunion. The murder sequences are tame (sometimes even off-screen, God forbid!) and the whole film remains politically correct at all times, which was quite a letdown. Perhaps in order to attain wider audiences, Kniss put a lot of effort in stylish cinematography and a creative use of light. He definitely isn't a bad director, also since the entire cast deliver above-average performances and the choice of music is effectively creepy. Maybe "Blood Deep" was just wrongly promoted? With a slightly less gruesome sounding title and a more coherent plot, this could have been an acceptable psychological thriller.

On a totally unimportant side note: I saw this film at the Belgian horror festival and supportive actress Kelci B. Lowry came along to introduce it. Let me assure you she's one gorgeous looking angel with a smile that nearly makes you melt in your seat.