Rogue Cinema - The Blood Shed (2007)

The Blood Shed (2007) - By Duane L. Martin
Posted on Monday, October 01 @ Mountain Daylight Time by Duane

Man, this film... John Waters would be proud! Before I even get into the actual review though, let me tell you what this thing was about. The Blood Shed is about the Bullion family. Fair enough, there are lots of movies about different families. What makes this family different however is that they're all inbred and completely insane. Add to that the fact that at least three of them are mildly retarded, none of them are educated and they're all into incest and cannibalism...oh, and of course I can't forget the insane grandmother that lives upstairs that everyone's afraid of who looks like Meatloaf in a bad wig and you've got yourself one unbelievably bizarre film.

This is one of those films that you just kinda sit there and watch with a big smile on your face because...well, you just have to. The story and events are strange enough, but what really made this movie awesome was the acting. Oh my god, everyone, especially the people who played the Bullion family, just went WAY over the top with their roles, and you could tell they were having an absolute blast doing it. Think about the most messed up, inbred family you can think of, and then multiply that by at least a factor of ten, and that's what you get in this film.

The great thing about The Blood Shed is that no matter how messed up it gets, it's still incredibly fun. It never really manages to get into that range where it becomes so messed up that it loses all sense of fun, which unfortunately is a problem that has ruined many of the John Waters' films for me. If you've seen Pink Flamingos, you'll know what I mean. I don't necessarily mean to compare this film with films by John Waters specifically, but it's a comparison that could be made in many respects.

Alan Rowe Kelly, who played Beeftina, the 40 something retarded daughter who thinks she's like twelve years old so brilliantly, will be at the It Came From Lake Michigan film festival at the end of October. I'm looking forward to talking with him about this film, because I'd love to hear about some of the stuff that was going on behind the scenes.

The long and the short of it is, if you love movies that are bizarre, surrealistic and insanely fun, then you have to see this film. It's a ride you won't soon forget.

If you'd like to find out more about this film you can check out it's website at http://www.thebloodshed.net, and if you'd like to pick up a copy, it's available at various outlets including Amazon.com. You can also check it out on the Heretic Films website at http://www.hereticfilms.com/genre/films/bloodshed. Seriously folks, make sure you grab yourself a copy of this one. You won't regret it.