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The Bloodhound
USA 2020
produced by Leal Naim, Thomas R. Burke, Jason Don, Alex Don, Elliott Kahn (executive), Robert Pfaff (executive), Frederick Pfaff (executive) for Love & Death Productions, Kahnfusion, Pfaff & Pfaff Productions
directed by Patrick Picard
starring Liam Aiken, Joe Adler, Annalise Basso, McNally Sagal, Chad Kotz, Gaby Santinelli, Dylan Gentile, Kimleigh Smith, Patrick Picard
written by Patrick Picard, music by Ali Helnwein, Christian Munk Scheuer
review by Mike Haberfelner
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Available on DVD! To buy, click on link(s) below and help keep this site afloat (commissions earned) |
Always make sure of DVD-compatibility!!!
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After then years of non-talking, Jean Paul (Joe Adler) sends for his
best friend from childhood Francis (Liam Aiken), as basically, he just
needs a friend. Sure, he lives in a mansion inherited from his grandmother
while Francis is technically homeless, but he really doesn't feel fit to
go outside let alone meet strangers, he has no friends, and his twin
sister Vivian (Annalise Basso), who lives with him, evades him the best he
can, and according to Jean Paul, she's showing signs of insanity, so he
demands that Francis to stay out of her way. However, during his stay at
the house, Francis notices that things are actually not ok with Jean Paul,
he suffers from memory loss, has delusional fits, and every now and again
outbursts of violence. Also, Jean Paul seems to have built a wall around
himself, so he and Francis find no common ground anymore other than games
they played at kids, games nowadays only Jean Paul enjoys. Apart from all
that, there's something creepy about the mansion, so much so that the man
without a face living in one of the wardrobes Jean Paul has had a
nightmare about might actually be real. So the longer he stays, the more
everything is getting to Francis, as if Jean Paul was dragging him down
with him. And when it seems things can't get any worse, Vivian dies ... or
does she? Now one doesn't have to be very well-versed in the
works of Edgar Allan Poe to notice the similarities of this movie to Poe's
The
Fall of the House of Usher - but even if so, the film feels
very modern in approach, with a focus on the psychological underpinnings
of the story. But what really makes the movie is that it leaves much of
its horror only in the shadows, totally avoids spectacle, and also refuses
to over-explain, and maybe even actually explain things, all the backstory
the characters might have is at best hinted at, and yet they feel
well-rounded out, thanks to clever writing and strong performances. And
the result of all this is one pleasently disturbing film indeed.
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