Painted in Blood

As the title says and another reviewer pointed out there is little budget to this film and there's plenty of those you just turn off straight away. I was tempted to do the same when I realized this going into the film but I'm glad I didn't. The story is good, the acting is good and I enjoyed the original concept. I hope more people realize there is something to this film - its worth a watch. Not quite as good as the latest Mr Harrigan's phone that I watched but certainly a film I also enjoyed. I don't know why this has received so many 1 stars. To receive a 1 star a film has to make less than sense, have wonky camera work and terrible acting. This had none of those and is 10 times better than something like the blair witch project for example. What rating has that tragedy got? This director has potential and I love watching a new original concept I haven't seen in a film before. For people that are looking for something new, I think it is worth a watch without switching off after the first 5 minutes and giving it a 1 star review. I suppose ghost stories are not appreciated as much as I enjoy them but if you like Mr Harrigan's phone then I think you will enjoy this one too.

People should hear some background on this film before they judge it.

One guy essentially wrote, directed, shot, and edited this feature length film. In addition this was not a low budget film, this was a micro or no budget film. If you put all those factors together you have to give the guy credit where credit is due.

The film is pretty decent. What it lacks in is production value, along with the backing of a studio and a full film crew. This film essentially would have needed a few hundred thousand dollars up to a few million dollars to give it that Hollywood feel that most people are all so accustomed to.

One caveat, this is amateur level production with writing, directing, filming, editing and producer credits belong to the same person. , it has a tight and original story line. The shots are very thoughtful and rival big budget films. Mostly, it's an entertaining film from beginning to credits. Definitely falls into the horror genre, but at know point was it truly scary for me. But the unraveling mystery and character development keep the audience pulled into it. The main character is convincing, not so much the other three or so characters. I don't know if weak acting or directing. But I wouldn't be surprised if all the talent was donated. For me the amateurish nature that leaks through doesn't weaken the movie. I enjoyed this as much as many big budget films. If this were a big budget film I'd lower the rating to a 4 or so, but I am not rating it as a school project either. I thing some aspects rank an 8, some a 6 and some less. A 6 is right, with the preceding caveats, I can easily recommend the film.

A spoiler-free review.

A sympathetic main character with practical hopes and regular-person problems provides 100% of this movie's charm. Our starving artist isn't struggling to afford his trendy loft apartment, he's struggling to afford a room in regular suburban house of some crappy subletting dude. We see him adding up his freelance income, including paintings in gift shops and his Etsy store.

The story is compelling and the source of antagonism is interesting. Deiondre Teagle's Malik oscillates between believable and furniturish in solo scenes.

You can detect hints of Candyman, Michael Medaglia's Deep Dark, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Everything else is terrible.

Where this movie really suffers is in dialogue. The script, direction, and line delivery are awkward to the point of embarrassing in any scene with two or more actors. The video quality gives it a distinct indie film vibe, but shoddy editing, blocking and camera work don't help this movie outperform the limited budget.

This is the kind of movie there would be 1 copy of on the New Releases wall or in the "I've never heard of this" RedBox folder. It is quite appropriately placed in the Free-with-Ads type of streaming service. Painted in Blood is one of the best films in the "shot with my friend's adult film camera" genre of horror movies. Go in with that level of expectation, and you might have a kind-of-good time if you're in the right mood.

--Josh from Loathsome Things: A Horror Movie Podcast.