Bliss

Look, there's not really a lot that happens in Bliss. There's a lot of setup, especially for a horror movie, and you have to wait a while for it to pay off. At times reminiscent of Starry Eyes, Bliss is three-quarters drama-- but then, aren't us horror fans always telling our judgmental friends that drama and horror aren't that different? Horror is just tragedy written all-caps.

But this isn't anything you'd call slow burn. It's not understated. It's loud. It's in your face. There's a lot of blood. There are a lot of boobs. There are a lot of bloody boobs. And there's no apology for any of that, not in Bliss-- there's exultation.

Eventually, I guess, Bliss is supernatural horror, playing around a popular enough trope, adding it's own fresh take on the (frankly tired) canon. I'd tell you more, except maybe you don't want to be spoiled. But really, it doesn't matter, not for this film. It's not about the plot, not about any kind of twist. It's about the character and the imagery.

There are a few reasons why Bliss really works. First, the lead is perfect. "Angsty," yes, but not to the point of parody. Madison takes us along for the ride in a way that few could. Second, the visuals are stunning. Part of this is filming. Part of it is editing. Most of it is just having the guts to follow the vision. If Bliss is part Starry Eyes, it's equally part Beyond the Black Rainbow: style above all.

At the very beginning of 'Bliss' comes a warning that there are a lot of flashing lights in the movie and that epileptic people should be warned. Now I'm not epileptic in any way but man did I struggle to watch the opening credits. It was almost hypnotic, I wanted to look away but couldn't. This was an early indicator that this would be a very visually unique movie. A lot of bizarre and fascinating imagery is thrown at the audience. It's not an aspect of movies I typically notice but I couldn't help but be aware of it in this case.

The film had a bit of a 'Requiem for a Dream' vibe about it, particularly early on. There is a lot of heavy drug use featured in the film - in fact that's more or less what it's about. If you want to give your children a "don't do drugs" lesson this could be a good film to throw at them. It doesn't particularly glamourise them at all, in fact it makes them look downright nasty.

The final third of this film really changes everything and makes it into an almost entirely different film. I guess it's what makes it fall into the "horror" category. To be honest that was probably my least favourite element to the film. I could see why they went that way, and it tied in beautifully with the painting that is central to the film, but it just didn't work for me. Because no other characters are ever given any screen time or introduced to us in anyway it was impossible to care about any of them, and so the end scenes had almost zero intensity.

'Bliss' is a very quick little film (sitting at about 80 minutes) that has some really interesting stuff going on, but just struggles to combine it all into a fluent package. The ideas are all there, the execution is just slightly off.

I get it - Why tell a movie in straight-forward fashion when you have have poor lightning, aggravating camera angles, Super-8-quality film-making, and scenes so dark, oddly-colored and unclear that it looked like it was shot in a psychedelic cave? 'Bliss' is all this and then some. I actually liked the acting of the lead painter; I think she'll go places. The rest of the cast? Not so much. (Norm was wasted in this flick!) There was an interesting, though half-done story in there somewhere, but it collapsed under the sheer weight of the drugs, profanity and violence. 'Bliss' isn't recommended unless you're a gorehound. In that case, you'll get your money's worth.

**NON-SPOILER**

I think it would have been easier to follow the film if I wasn't sober. It's very trippy and somewhat hard to follow, jumping from scene to scene without anything really developing. They probably achieved the type of film they wanted to, however it just didn't get going and it was hard to get into. The picture itself is good though and good effects were used throughout.

Nothing is particularly obvious in this movie until late on when the story explodes.

The acting - especially by Dora Madison - is excellent throughout with believable characters that take you into their disturbed lives.

This movie is a conceptual idea of horror from beginning to end without the cliches and with superb production.

If you like something different on your movie menu this is certainly one to watch.