The Bloodhound

Is it a psychological thriller? Is it a monster movie? Is it a haunted house movie?

The Bloodhound is just weird enough to be compelling ... but too weird to make any sense.

Possibly, that's the point

It's one of those movies that you keep checking the time stamp to see how much time is left to answer a few questions. When you realize there's only five minutes left for the movie to explain itself, you get that sinking feeling ... it's gonna end the way it began. Weird.

I didn't hate watching it. Kind of a sensory experience. But, ultimately unsatisfying. Too many unanswered and unanswerable questions.

It's beautifully shot, and the boys are cute, everything else is just plain-ass weird, even worse, 'theater' weird.

The story is a bit slow but it works in the long run. The acting is excellent and the weird house creates a very spooky atmosphere. Did I understand all of it? No, but I still enjoyed it.

If you've been exposed to the original Gothic text by Poe, then this film will make more sense than if you haven't. And while this isn't exactly 'The Fall of the House of Usher', it is mimetic in tone and spirit. The film has all the Gothic elements which give it a sense of the uncanny.

The actors are good at maintaining a sense of uneasiness, the script is sparse and the direction is very good-the director obviously understands the source material. Notably, the house itself is an Uber-stylish panopticon which compliments the atmosphere perfectly. One niggle, here, though, is that the house isn't quite as strong a character as perhaps it could have been. But, saying that, this was probably a deliberate directorial decision-given that the director is well versed with the source material. However, it is the music and sound design that keeps the tension high throughout. Both have the effect of being unsettling without being over the top.

If you like Poe, or you love the Gothic-style, then this is a good film-and it certainly doesn't outstay its welcome at under 2 hours.

At the invitation of a wealthy childhood friend to come stay at his remote home, a poor photographer arrives to find some unexpected residents.

A study in the generational decay of a family, and so peculiar that it seems integrated purely through mood and location. The two friends are mutually genial at first, but a crack opens up, to the point of rupture. A twin sister appears to the guest in dreams, her only remains apparent in her dressing-table items and a bedside bowl of vomit. And lurking in a closet is a hooded man, originating from a creek-bed, who scrabbles across the floor during the night.

The location is a brown, straight-angled house, with steel-barred staircases that slash across the cinematographer's frames. Below is a sepulchral vault, which comes in to play as the lighting of the house glows red with the approaching climax. The score uses tinkling piano, wind-chimes and clicky-sticks.

The dynamic between the friends is of the host staging a betrayal by the guest, as if to confirm his hypothesis of the loneliness of existence; that between the twins, of doomed dependency. The role of the hooded man is creepy and plain mysterious. In the end, there's a sense of a curse being handed down. The performances are excellent.

It's an engaging watch, but no matter what angle I took, it didn't intrigue me because I couldn't get beneath the mood of solemn resignation. It seems to be an adaptation of the famous Poe story, but even that knowledge didn't free up any insight.

Overall: Awaiting instruction.