Blood in the Water

How can I put this? It's terrible. Almost halfway through and NOTHING has happened. NOTHING. Look we all know where this is going. Guy and girl get an unplanned visit from an 'old friend'. He's sketchy. We get it he's vaguely Hispanic and talks black. He's sketchy. We know there's going to be a love triangle we know the two guys have a past that's going to come back to haunt one of them. We know the girl is going to get sexually involved with the sketchy guy. We know there's going to be some criminal activity with even sketchier dudes. We know the girl is going to get or almost gets raped by the even sketchier dudes. We know there's going to be a fight slash gun battle slash drowning between the first guy and the sketchy guy. We know sketchy guy is on a revenge trip. We know the cop who shows up at the beginning in a brilliant white linen suit isn't a cop. We know the guy and the girl are too dumb to know that. We know no one will ask how the sketchy guy even knew they were living there. We know that with Airbnb no one would rent out their top 5 most amazing homes in all of LA for $150,000 a week for the whole summer because their step daughter and her do nothing boyfriend should use it for free for their summer vacation in their mid 20s.

And that's what we know will happen. Problem is nothing happens. SLOW burn is not a synonym. It's a style. It's a tease where you spin out a shaggy dog story in a TV series so that you can stretch 3 episodes into 13. In a movie its just wasted time and film. I can't tell you how many movies now are "the first 75 minutes are terrible but the the last 15 are good. Just make those 15 and skip the rest. Just because you call your little movie a neo noir something or other doesn't mean you can get away with awful cheesy dialog terrible direction a boilerplate script cookie cutter characters and bad acting. And why is almost every actor South African? Do they come as a package deal with the house?

Blood in the Water is an intense sexy thriller that revolves around an attractive young LA couple, Veronica (Willa Holland) and Percy (Alex Russell), who while house-sitting in the beautiful Hollywood Hills gets visited by Percy's former frat brother (Miguel Gomez). Freedgood (Miguel Gomez) introduces the couple to the dangerous world of drug-dealing and other criminal activities that kept me in suspense the entire time. It shows the dangers of risky and illegal behavior and shows just how far one would go to keep the appearance of a lavish lifestyle. It also includes an edgy love triangle that adds to the deception and greed of the story. The scandalous behavior between the characters gives the plot momentum and leads to an incredible ending the I never saw coming. It also shows Veronica's skepticism of both men and includes her struggling between her feelings between the two. If you enjoy dramatic and engaging thrillers, I absolutely recommend this one.

Blood in the Water tells the story of a dangerous love triangle tangled in a web of greed and deception. Willa Holland and Alex Russel star as Veronica and Percy, a young New York couple who have been tasked with care-taking a luxurious L.A. home for the summer. Along comes their old college buddy Freedgood (Miguel Gomez) who comes to them with an alluring but dangerous business proposition. But when the couple learns that Freedgood is looking for more from them than just a little bit of assistance, this leads to a downward spiral into violence and betrayal. Featuring a colorful set and fantastic cinematography, Blood in the Water kept me on the edge of my seat!

It's a super clean story line, that takes you on a intense building plot with an unexpected twist that won't let you down. Great build to final reveal. Not a big production type movie but shot beautifully. All the actors had great chemistry and were totally believable, but Miguel Gomez intensity really stands out. They all have a great future ahead of them. If you enjoy small budget action films that rely on actors over special effects this is the movie for you. The story pacing reminds me of Sunset Blvd as you try to untangle the potential motives animating each character. Not all is what it appears to be with every twist and turn. It clocks in at a short 1.5 hours so it's an easy and enjoyable investment to make for a very entertaining film.

Although he has a degree in chemistry, "Percy" (Alex Russell) wants to be a blues musician and spends most of his time strumming on his guitar while house-sitting for a wealthy friend in Los Angeles. On the other hand, his girlfriend, "Veronica" (Willa Holland), is a bit more ambitious and even has a job lined up in New York once Percy relinquishes the house back to his friend. However, she is content to live in the beautiful home with Percy and enjoy the peace and solitude. Things take an immediate turn for the worse when Veronica's ex-boyfriend, "Freedgood" (Miguel Cortez), shows up at the door after serving time in prison and insists that Percy return a favor he has owed for several years. Yet even though Percy reluctantly agrees to help him, he remains suspicious that Freedgood wants something more than what he's asking for. Now, rather than revealing any more, I will just say that this film progressed slowly and, despite its unrealistic plot, it still managed to maintain my interest, mainly due to the ominous overtones and suspense. I also liked the suspenseful turn at the end. Be that as it may, while I don't consider this to be a great film by any means, it kept my attention for the most part, and I have rated it accordingly. Average.