Doomed passengers, macabre and (mostly) fun stories
Quite often, late in the evening, I find myself in the mood to watch something spooky or gory, but it's too late to start a full movie or even a lengthy episode of a series like - say - "Stranger Things" or "Slasher". For those brief time slots, series like "Bloodride" are ideal. They feature short stories of approximately 30 minutes each, and every episode is an independent tale that builds up towards a nicely sinister climax.
Think of "Bloodride" as a modest, distant Norwegian second-cousin of acclaimed anthology TV-series like "The Twilight Zone" (1960s) or "Tales from the Crypt" (1990s). None of the stories are highly innovative or extraordinarily intelligent, but they generate suspense and morbid curiosity for half an hour, and it usually ends quite badly for the main characters.
The first episode, "Ultimate Sacrifice", is a mean little thriller revolving around themes like greed and selfishness and has a delightfully bleak end-twist. Number two is titled "Three Sick Brothers", and although serving a quite familiar and derivative premise, it still managed to fool me with its denouement. "Bad Writer", #3, is less my taste because the script experiments with fantasy and meta-horror elements but lead actress Dagny Backer Johnsen is cute to look at. The fourth episode, "Lab Rats" is my personal favorite because the protagonist (the tyrannical CEO of a pharmaceutical company) is a delightfully loathsome & relentless villain. Penultimate episode "The Old School" sadly is a mundane and forgettable ghost story. The final tale, "Elephant in the Room", is my second favorite of the bunch and particularly recommended in case you have experience with working in a corporate office environment.
For more extensive and in-depth though, check my reviews on the episodes' individual pages.
Think of "Bloodride" as a modest, distant Norwegian second-cousin of acclaimed anthology TV-series like "The Twilight Zone" (1960s) or "Tales from the Crypt" (1990s). None of the stories are highly innovative or extraordinarily intelligent, but they generate suspense and morbid curiosity for half an hour, and it usually ends quite badly for the main characters.
The first episode, "Ultimate Sacrifice", is a mean little thriller revolving around themes like greed and selfishness and has a delightfully bleak end-twist. Number two is titled "Three Sick Brothers", and although serving a quite familiar and derivative premise, it still managed to fool me with its denouement. "Bad Writer", #3, is less my taste because the script experiments with fantasy and meta-horror elements but lead actress Dagny Backer Johnsen is cute to look at. The fourth episode, "Lab Rats" is my personal favorite because the protagonist (the tyrannical CEO of a pharmaceutical company) is a delightfully loathsome & relentless villain. Penultimate episode "The Old School" sadly is a mundane and forgettable ghost story. The final tale, "Elephant in the Room", is my second favorite of the bunch and particularly recommended in case you have experience with working in a corporate office environment.
For more extensive and in-depth though, check my reviews on the episodes' individual pages.
- Coventry
- Jan 7, 2025