I've seen enough (too many) films churned out by Uncork'd Entertainment that I should know better by now than to watch a title released onto the Internet before first checking to see whether or not they were involved. The Asylum has shown themselves to be more capable of producing good movies than Uncork'd Entertainment. Yet here we are, with 2013's 'Blood shed.' By the time only about fifteen minutes have passed we're treated to poor dialogue and scene writing, including touches of ableism, racism, and classism, the direction seems a bit blunt, and there are signs of weak pacing. Still, hope remains this early on. After all, I appreciate the makeup, costume design, and art direction that are applied in terms of the antagonist, and the practical effects; there are good ideas here in that regard, and even the post-production visuals are welcome subtle additions rather than the glaring eyesores we've seen elsewhere with Uncork'd. This has these qualities going for it in the very least.
Doubts do continue to surface as the length advances, however. The weak pacing seems to be intended as a substitute for honest atmosphere; randomness seems to be intended as a substitute for honest creepiness. I don't know whether the fault can be chalked up to Patrick Hasson or Juan Carlos Saizarbitoria, but either way the direction most certainly continues to be majorly heavy-handed, an issue that's evident partly at those times when the horror facet is emphasized and even more so in all those other scenes where characters do, well, anything else. The latter is unquestionably true in at least some measure because the dialogue and scene writing - and the characterizations, for that matter - prove to be not just poor but altogether abysmal. I feel bad for the cast, for they had to struggle against all this in an effort to not come off just as tawdrily. Bai Ling, for example, is given nothing to do but be a walking stereotype, and much the same is true of Jillisa Lynn; even the acting of "star" Gabriel De Santiago is brusque and forced. Of anyone I think Bree Essrig and more so Cherie Jiminez come off fairly well, whether through sheer earnestness and skill or in combination with the benefit of slightly better writing for their characters and scenes.
In addition to the primary notion of a malevolent entity in the storage facility, there are suggested story threads of the sleazy manager, some mystery for kind-of-sort-of protagonist Gabriel, and the comings and goings of other characters. I don't think every last element here is a good or necessary inclusion, and that's to say nothing of any hint of a romantic element (far too often wholly contrived, in a vast preponderance of films, and no less so here). 'Blood shed' could and should have been streamlined. Credit where it's due, though, because Hasson did pen a complete, cohesive, compelling narrative. Even that core narrative doesn't receive the best treatment (not even on paper) - there was definite room for improvement - yet it's suitably strong that it provides a minor anchor for the proceedings. I also observe that in addition to the qualities mentioned above that were the first admirable notes to present, the feature can claim some fine use of aspects like lighting and sound effects. Why, to my surprise, this was able to achieve at least one thing that can't be said for anything else that Uncork'd has been involved in, or The Asylum for that matter: a chill. It was only one, and the scene where I got it had some issues, but it was there all the same.
Would that the writing bore more quantifiable strength, or demonstrated more care and sincerity. Would that the direction illustrated a more mindful, delicate touch; were the writing and direction better, I trust that the actors would have had a chance to show more of their own skills. Most of the nudity here is genuinely unnecessary, but I suppose that's not the worst flaw to deserve criticism. These problems are unfortunate, because I recognize the hard work that did go into 'Blood shed,' and there's real value here. In fact, as far as pictures put out by this company, this might be the best I've seen. That's sadly not saying much, for I believe the troubles here are so ponderous that the end result still falls below average; for what it's worth, though, "below average" is better than "rock bottom." All told I somewhat want to like this more than I do in consideration of what is truly done well here; on the other hand, for what is done poorly, maybe I'm being too kind. I don't really know who I would recommend this to in light of the substantial difficulties, and there are too many other flicks that are more deserving of one's time. If one does come across 'Blood shed,' though, I guess there are worse ways to spend ninety minutes.
Doubts do continue to surface as the length advances, however. The weak pacing seems to be intended as a substitute for honest atmosphere; randomness seems to be intended as a substitute for honest creepiness. I don't know whether the fault can be chalked up to Patrick Hasson or Juan Carlos Saizarbitoria, but either way the direction most certainly continues to be majorly heavy-handed, an issue that's evident partly at those times when the horror facet is emphasized and even more so in all those other scenes where characters do, well, anything else. The latter is unquestionably true in at least some measure because the dialogue and scene writing - and the characterizations, for that matter - prove to be not just poor but altogether abysmal. I feel bad for the cast, for they had to struggle against all this in an effort to not come off just as tawdrily. Bai Ling, for example, is given nothing to do but be a walking stereotype, and much the same is true of Jillisa Lynn; even the acting of "star" Gabriel De Santiago is brusque and forced. Of anyone I think Bree Essrig and more so Cherie Jiminez come off fairly well, whether through sheer earnestness and skill or in combination with the benefit of slightly better writing for their characters and scenes.
In addition to the primary notion of a malevolent entity in the storage facility, there are suggested story threads of the sleazy manager, some mystery for kind-of-sort-of protagonist Gabriel, and the comings and goings of other characters. I don't think every last element here is a good or necessary inclusion, and that's to say nothing of any hint of a romantic element (far too often wholly contrived, in a vast preponderance of films, and no less so here). 'Blood shed' could and should have been streamlined. Credit where it's due, though, because Hasson did pen a complete, cohesive, compelling narrative. Even that core narrative doesn't receive the best treatment (not even on paper) - there was definite room for improvement - yet it's suitably strong that it provides a minor anchor for the proceedings. I also observe that in addition to the qualities mentioned above that were the first admirable notes to present, the feature can claim some fine use of aspects like lighting and sound effects. Why, to my surprise, this was able to achieve at least one thing that can't be said for anything else that Uncork'd has been involved in, or The Asylum for that matter: a chill. It was only one, and the scene where I got it had some issues, but it was there all the same.
Would that the writing bore more quantifiable strength, or demonstrated more care and sincerity. Would that the direction illustrated a more mindful, delicate touch; were the writing and direction better, I trust that the actors would have had a chance to show more of their own skills. Most of the nudity here is genuinely unnecessary, but I suppose that's not the worst flaw to deserve criticism. These problems are unfortunate, because I recognize the hard work that did go into 'Blood shed,' and there's real value here. In fact, as far as pictures put out by this company, this might be the best I've seen. That's sadly not saying much, for I believe the troubles here are so ponderous that the end result still falls below average; for what it's worth, though, "below average" is better than "rock bottom." All told I somewhat want to like this more than I do in consideration of what is truly done well here; on the other hand, for what is done poorly, maybe I'm being too kind. I don't really know who I would recommend this to in light of the substantial difficulties, and there are too many other flicks that are more deserving of one's time. If one does come across 'Blood shed,' though, I guess there are worse ways to spend ninety minutes.