The Bleeding House

A stranger only known as “”Nick” runs into some car trouble on his way out west and asks for the hospitality of the Smith family and a place to stay the night. Marilyn Smith is skeptical at first, but she decides to give him a chance. She clearly is the alpha male of the family. Nick is invited to the dinner table and the awkwardness of the family ensues with her husband Matt and daughter Gloria (Blackbird). He discovers the Marilyn has cut his food for him, which is a bit of literary irony on the fact that he turns out to be a surgeon, and he cuts people up.

Clearly, something is amiss, After dinner Nick ends up wandering into Gloria's room in which she proceeds to snap the neck of a blackbird in front of him. After Marilyn witnesses the debauchery, she rushes him to the attic. She is embarrassed and explains her daughter is not considered “normal”.

Nick reminisces about the last family he “helped” and the madness begins… This movie is very unexpected and deserves credit where it is due. The characters are multi-dimensional and their dialogue is crafted well in a way that creates believability. The reasoning behind the title “Bleeding House” becomes apparent halfway throughout the film and it’s worth the wait.

6.10

Horror movie about a family that is heavily dysfunctional. Something happened with them that makes all the townspeople shun them and the father is unable to get a job. They have one son (Quentin) and a shy, quiet daughter (Gloria). One night a mysterious stranger (Nick) shows up at their door. He says his car has broken down up the road and he needs to call for help. They reluctantly let him in...and things take an evil turn.

The plot becomes fairly predictable from here on. It is well-acted (especially by Alexandra Chando as Gloria), has some gory killings and moves fairly quick...but there's no buildup in suspense. It just sort of lays there. Also I was expecting some sort of twist at the end...but there wasn't one. I also saw the ending coming from a mile away. This is not a terrible film just not a very good one. If you're a horror fan you might like it. All other stay away.

A family harbouring a dark secret invite a stranded traveller, genial southern gent Nick (Patrick Breen), into their home only to discover that their loquacious guest, an ex-surgeon, is now a self-proclaimed 'bearer of secret punishments'. Equipped with a variety of surgical instruments, Nick proceeds to teach his hosts the error of their ways, but meets his match in Gloria (Alexandra Chando), the very disturbed daughter of the household.

Like the drip, drip, drip of blood from a tube into a bottle, The Bleeding House builds slowly and inexorably, the facts gradually accumulating to reveal a delightfully twisted tale of death and deception. Even as the film enters darker territory, with nasty Nick attempting to recruit Gloria as his disciple, writer/director Philip Gelatt steadfastly refuses to reveal all of his cards at once or placate the viewer with cheap thrills (there is some gore, but it is used sparingly). While this measured approach may prove frustrating for some, the film should prove thoroughly absorbing for those viewers able to appreciate atmospheric, thoughtful slow-burn horror with a dash of mystery.

It amazes me that a good deal of the horror watching public passed this movie over or looked at the characters as hollow or awkward. That is what this movie was all about, strained relationships, pulled emotions, and people behaving like they do in a normal family. Their relationships are petty, full of kind of masked grief, and longing each of the characters looking for a way out of themselves and out of where they are. The visitor they invite into their home, although he turns out to be their downfall, is exactly what they are looking for, someone to just talk to. Each of the members of the house in turn try to talk with this newcomer, and each time a little more of the story unfolds. It is a beautifully shot movie as well, wide panning shots around the small family table, the hallway up the stairs being narrow and tall. Even the doorways and the rooms only slightly decorated, as though they were planning to leave at a moments notice, or had only been there for a few months. This claustrophobia builds as the movie progresses, and becomes ever more intimate until the end. That building sense of dread is the hardest thing to capture in a horror movie, and this one does beautifully. We as viewers know what is coming, we know the outsider is either in for a shock or going to cause one, but it is the anticipation of such an event that drives us to keep watching. I loved watching this movie with its subtlety and poise, keeping you on the edge with the back story being slowly revealed and the veil lifted a little bit minuet by minuet.

Driving this indie film is the "Devil" sent me to collect your soul story. The white-suited silver tongued Dude with the well worn doctor's bag is a pulp-fiction icon. So we have a blood-letting that is neither surprisingly sordid or unusually gruesome.

It is all done matter of fact with a sermon like accompaniment of Southern Preacher platitudes and ironic overtones. Nothing here is exceptionally creepy or scary and is not profound just functionary. There is very little suspense and even less that is horrifying.

One is reminded of a tale from the dark side or an E.C. Comic adaptation without the twist ending or a satisfactory denouement. This movie is all surface with no penetration into a warped mind that seems to be the point of it all. Only a home (is where the heart pump is) invasion that clicks off the victims in a predictable pecking order.