BLOODLETTING

Written, Directed, and Produced by Matthew Jason Walsh Edited by J.R. Bookwalter Director of Photography - David Wagner Butch - James L. Edwards Serena - Ariauna Albright Patti - Sasha Graham Lori - Tina Krause Boog - Scooter McCrea

Below you'll find my original review for Matt Walsh's BLOODLETTING. Written three plus years ago when I was still new to the whole reviewing thing and micro-budget cinema in general, you'll see that it's everything I accuse the movie of being, long winded and badly written. I've gotten flack for it from both Walsh and Bookwalter, not for being harsh (well not entirely) but by being inconsistent on my stance. I always remembered liking the movie, and often state so publicly, but after reading the review one would think I dreamed of felating James Edwards while giving Walsh and Ariauna Albright the foulest of fetish "showers."

I won't make excuses for the lack of tact displayed on my part, but I do apologize for the cruelly harsh tone of the piece, especially to Albright who takes a worse lashing than Walsh. While I still don't think her work is as good as it is in the WITCHOUSE titles, she does NOT give a bad performance as Serena the serial killer wanna-be, as my original review would lead one to believe. Inconsistent, maybe, but that's more Walsh's fault than hers. Listening to the commentary track and viewing the Making-of featurette you learn how first-time director Walsh allowed the egos of the cast and crew to bully him into situations he never should have been placed which includes the quality of performance.

Those criticisms I have of Walsh's writing style are exactly what make him a consistent staple of modern horror film. His lengthy Tarantino-inspired dialogue effectively convey both character and exposition in an economical fashion. It saves on both time and money, something producers just love. That doesn't mean I'm suddenly endorsing KINGDOM OF THE VAMPIRE, or excusing Walsh and Bookwalter for it, but it helps understand where those movies are coming from. Everyone has a style that's all their own and should run with it no matter what others, like myself, think. To his credit, Matt is able to do what many other Tarantinites can't - he keeps the long exchanges from becoming dull.

Albright and Edward's have chemistry, there's no doubt about that. Comfortable friends when BLOODLETTING went into production, the two also had a chance to refine their roles earlier on in I'VE KILLED BEFORE, the Ron Bonk lensed short film which was eventually expanded into BLOODLETTING. Comparing the two, one sees how the principles grew during the gap in productions. Walsh, while still passive, became more sure of himself as a visual stylist, and Albright and Edwards found the inner-psychos that would eventually make Butch and Serina the beloved icons of micro-cinema that they are today. Not only does the DVD include the short film, but also a commentary from DP Bonk.

Not the most packed Tempe DVD, it's still a worthwhile purchase. It goes without saying that the remastered movie looks better than it ever has. In addition to those features mentioned above, the disc also includes deleted scenes, trailers, and galleries spotlighting production stills and review blurbs. Listed on the insert are two features somewhat difficult to locate, a PDF version of the script and an MP3 soundtrack. You have to access these through your DVD-ROM directly.

Ironically enough, the harsh nature of my original review directly led to my acquaintanceship with Walsh. He's a damn nice guy who's always more than willing to share advice with novice writers looking to break into the business. In my book, that goes a long way, and maybe it makes me biased towards the film. Who's to say? Maybe it's the recent barrage of no-effort productions that have come my way and curdled my appreciation of no-budget horror, but I feel comfortable stating that BLOODLETTING is a movie deserving of its reputation as an example of what micro-cinema can be. It might not be perfect, but it's better than 90% of everything else out there.

Original review

Every time I think I’ve seen it all, you people surprise me. There’s a scene in BLOODLETTING where a newborn is shotgunned and simply explodes before your eyes. I had to rewind it four times to be sure of what I saw. The image has stayed with me for the past few days and I don’t think it’s anything I can shake anytime soon. While I was in shock at the lack of taste director Matthew Jason Walsh exudes, the cruelest moment comes next when the killer, Butch (James L. Edwards) casually dismisses the moment in dumbfounded awe. As he explains, he’s “never killed a baby before.”

I’ve never been a fan of Walsh’s writing in the past; I’ve found it trite and sophomoric. In the past he’s written such fare as J.R. Bookwalter’s KINGDOM OF THE VAMPIRE and Full Moon’s WITCHOUSE. KINGDOM is easily Bookwalter’s weakest film and WITCHOUSE is a sub-standard Full Moon kids-in-a-castle formula film. BLOODLETTING proves Walsh does have talent. His dialogue, while overly melodramatic, is marvelously brought to life by James L. Edwards, a Bookwalter staple that I wish never bowed out of the industry. Edwards portrays serial killer Butch Harlow with a to-hell-with-it attitude and a spit-in-your-eye glee. Try to picture a cross between Eurkle and Fonzi and you have a pretty good picture of Harlow.

Ariauna Albright is another animal all together. As an actress she isn’t much, or at least she doesn’t try to be in this picture. She plays Serena Stalin, a serial killer wanna-be who tracks down and black mail’s Harlow into teaching her the tricks of the trade. A true killer would have cut from her stem to sternum at the very thought, but Butch falls instantly in love and goes along for the ride. Picture a low-rent Natural Born Killers. For the record, I liked this much more than I did NBK; there’s no mastabatory mixed media.

Like his previous work, Walsh relies on clichés to tell his story. We have the abusive boyfriend, the victim who escapes, and inevitable break-up between Butch and Serina. I’m not ruining anything when I tell you they get back together. But every once is a while we get a sequence like the exploding baby or something witty such as a scene where a group of video store eccentrics try to bond with Butch. Walsh’s strong point isn’t originality, it’s calm moments of understatement punchlined with extreme chaos (or vise versa). I don’t know if know if Walsh even realizes this, as I’ve never seen a follow-up film where he uses these techniques. Fortunately he’s found an actor like James Edwards who understands what’s taking place and can run with it. Edwards really is what makes this film delightful. I’ve seen him miscast in other films, like POLYMORPH, where he has to take himself seriously. With BLOODLETTING, there’s no reason for him to play anything other than himself, a goofball, and he really does shine. He’s the reason I recommend you pick up a copy of BLOODLETTING.

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