Bloodline Killer

This is a movie that started with some promise but then quickly devolved into a low budget feeling movie highly evocative of Halloween but with characters with very little conviction to the tasks at hand..

There's nothing new here, and the villain - who apparently is inexplicably super human - is neither sympathetic nor cunning. And victims needlessly see this imposing figure and decide to wimper in place until the killer casually approaches them and kills them.

The plot and rationales of everyone involved are massively convoluted - much more than they need to be. And the sister of the killer, aside from the fact that she is horrid at holding someone at gunpoint, alternates between coddling the killer and taking potshots at him with a handgun.

The movie is neither scary nor fun. Even the Halloween franchise had a devilish pride to it.

And, comically, APPARENTLY, the producers felt they had a winner on their hands, because they set the movie up for a sequel.

I wish I could tell you you should see the movie "just for Tyrese Gibson" but this is not that movie.

It's pretty much Halloween, but with no chemistry between ANY characters. Op, Samantha actually has chemistry with her brother (one sided tho -funny but true). It even begins on 10/31. One of the sons was so far removed I kept thinking, is he the killer 😂. Plus, he seemed old enough to be the dad! The dialogue is HORRENDOUS. There's no backstory of Shawnee's character and Skully, just bits and pieces that things happened. Samantha is the only one who seemed real. Even the cops were lame and I'm a fan of Tyrese. The few fights that happen are dreadful too. This was tough to watch and I don't mean because I was scared. Zero idea how people are giving this good reviews. Maybe they're too young for 1978 Halloween 🎃 to know what great is.

The DUMBEST part (there are a few) is the rando female stopping in the SUV to ask if the cop was alright (when she saw what happened). Oh my goodness.

Poorly written, poorly acted and the ending is just plain stupid. The "main villain" is a bullet proof copy of Jason Voorhees from Wish and everybody else is a one dimensional caricature made out of cardboard. People seem to trip and faint at the slightest gust of wind so that the plot can happen, if there was an actual plot.

They kept flashbacking to something that didn't connect to anything else except on the writer's head. What was the deal with the flashbacks and why were they relevant, we'll never know. The script was probably written in 10 minutes on a napkin by someone on their way to their work. Would not recommend to anyone.

Shawnee Smith (SAW FRANCHISE) her role as a mother reminds people that mothers in horror films do appreciate their sons very much. The premise is intriguing, with the killer's identity and motivations revealed early on as well as the sister shows up, stripping away the mystery that could have propelled the narrative. While the performances, particularly by Taryn Manning as Sam Marrin and James Gaudioso as Connor Cole, are commendable, they're not enough to elevate the predictable plot. The film's pacing is inconsistent, with a setup that takes too long to unfold and a climax that, despite its potential for excitement, is marred by dim lighting that leaves viewers squinting rather than shrieking. The twist of focusing on male victims is a refreshing change from the genre's norms, but it feels like a missed opportunity to delve deeper into the characters' psyches. "Bloodline Killer" tries to pay homage to classics like "Halloween," but it falls short of delivering the suspense and terror of its predecessors. The script's lack of subtlety and the film's over-reliance on clichés make it a forgettable addition to the horror roster. Is a film that might appeal to die-hard fans of the genre looking for a casual watch, but it won't leave a lasting impression. It's a middle-of-the-road effort that neither fully disappoints nor excites.

Given my love of the horror genre, of course I had to sit down and watch this 2024 movie titled "Bloodline Killer", as I happened to come across it by random chance. In fact, I didn't even know that the movie existed, so I wasn't sure what I was in for here. But I figured that a movie with another masked slasher couldn't possibly be all bad.

Writers Anthony Gaudioso and James Gaudioso, however, put together a script and storyline that I found to be somewhat bland and generic. It wasn't a particularly innovative or overly interesting story and narrative. Sure, if you're a newcomer to the horror genre, then you would perhaps get a kick out of watching "Bloodline Killer", but having been watching horror movies for 40+ years, this movie just really didn't impress me.

Sure, it was a watchable movie, but nothing outstanding or memorable. It was suitable for a single viewing, but hardly a movie that I will be returning to watch a second time. Nor is it a movie that I would be expecting a sequel to.

The acting performances in the movie were fair, but the actors and actresses were somewhat held back by an interior script that was lacking in the story and character department. There were a couple of familiar faces and names on the cast list, to help make it a bit more bearable to sit through, with the likes of Shawnee Smith, Taryn Manning, Tyrese Gibson and Bruce Dern.

The killer in "Bloodline Killer" was insanely generic and devoid of anything to make him interesting or scary. And the movie suffered terribly from that, because the killer was essentially just another random guy with a mask bought off of Wish. So writers Anthony Gaudioso and James Gaudioso sort of dropped the ball here, especially since there are so many other slasher movies out there with masked killers that shine in comparison to "Bloodline Killer".

Would I recommend you to sit down and watch "Bloodline Killer"? No, not really, especially not if you have seen a fair share of slasher flicks, then "Bloodline Killer" just simply doesn't cut it - pardon the pun.

My rating of director Ante Novakovic's 2024 movie "Bloodline Killer" lands on a very generous four out of ten stars.