Bloodletting (1997) User Reviews

Come on people...what do you expect from a J.R. Bookwalter produced film?

[Mike_T-Little_Mtn_Sound_Archive · 5/10 · 5 March 2019]

I struggle reading through reviews saying any movie was the "worst ever made," as most of those reviews contain something like:

• "I'm a producer/director/writer, I should know..."
• "Not a single redeeming quality ANYWHERE!"
• "The acting is sooooo bad..."

I mean come on folks...it's not like Steven F'ing Spielberg signed on for this. It's J.R. Bookwalter and his company, giving first time filmmakers a shot at making something gory and fun. It's not supposed to be Ben-Hur.

That said, most of the reviews are correct. The movie is crap, from the acting to the production to the lighting, all the way through post and editing. But that doesn't mean it can't be enjoyable. Not in a perfect 10 kind of way, but for what it is - a cheesy B-flick made on less than a shoestring budget. I will say, the script is not to shabby, other than it tends to drag on a bit. There's also a ton of cameos from industry B-horror folks, which makes this fun. The slapstick back-and-forth between the killer and his trainee is hilarious...truly hilarious.

Look...if you've read the synopsis and it sounds appealing, if you are prepared for what you're about to see (eg cheesy, poorly funded, crappy) and know the history of the production company, then you're gonna dig this...crap and all. If you watch this expecting to see the next Fulci flick, you're here for the wrong reasons. If you expect schlock, you'll get it. Just don't watch it thinking you're going to get anything other than a bad B-flick. If you do this, you might just enjoy this as much as I did.

Parental content notes:

• quite a bit of profanity, but what do you expect from a tongue in cheek slasher?
• some sexual situations, and sex, but not gratuitous nudity all over the place.
• intense situations? Hardly. The most intensity this movie illustrates is the witty banter between the leads.
• violence and gore? Yep. It's a friggin serial killer komedy, of course. Not nearly as gory as I thought it would be, but it's there.

Look...take it at face value, as noted above. Don't compare it to anything, don't expect anything other than sleaze and schlock, and maybe even get a cold beverage in you (or 8) before you start watching. You'll be fine.

The Idiot's Guide to Serial Killing

[lastliberal · 5/10 · 31 July 2008]

"I don't trust anybody who doesn't smoke." Is that the first requirement for becoming a serial killer? If so, I am on my way.

Truly, watching Ariauna Albright learn from Butch (James L. Edwards) was very interesting, and a bit funny.

When they went into action as a priest and nun, I almost lost it. How funny!

When Ariauna turned the tables on the psycho chemist, it was poetry.

But, the best comes at the end. It's to die for!

Quality? Sorry. the story and the lines, are much better than the acting, but it was still interesting enough.

Now, you've seen it, what do you want, a serial killer diploma?

B-movie film school?

[Coventry · 4/10 · 23 December 2005]

This amateurish but nonetheless spirited gory mess was produced by sleazebag J.R. Bookwalter's company "Tempe", which offers young ambitious directors like Matthew Jason Walsh the chance to share their enthusiastic horror ideas with a modest but loyal group of B-movie fans. The budget was really really low, resulting in poor editing, only a limited number of set pieces and very bad acting performances. In fact, "Bloodletting" pretty much looks like a rookie project of some film school student, as the story is a simple "Bonnie & Clyde" or "Natural Born Killers" variant (a serial killer couple in love), only with loads of nauseating gore and extra-crazy characters. The idea is okay, but the leads are very irritating and they talk way too much which only makes their lousy acting skills more clear. The gore highlights are quite memorable, including a pleasantly deranged "This Little Piggy..."- game and of course the absurd baby-killing sequence. The last half hour is dreadfully boring, though, and filled with totally ridiculous story-twists. Overall, I expected "Bloodletting" to be a lot worse, but that still doesn't mean it's good. "Bearable" is the word.

Bloody and bloody awful

[VeronicaJ · 1/10 · 13 May 2006]

A girl who tracks down the assumable killer of her best friend. She wants him to teach her how to become a serial killer. The story of Bloodletting is somewhat weird, but it sure does draw attention. High hopes, but very disappointed: Bad camera, bloody horrible acting, fake blood: it all makes you reconsider the story. If there is one word to describe the movie, which is hard, awful would be praising; it is complete and total crap. While the minutes are ticking away, the movie loses its credibility. Making love on a bed where a dead body is: OK. Killing for kicks and orgasms: fine by me. Tearing of somebody's private parts, including jeans: no way. 'Waste your bucks on something else' I thought. Like hell continues, the ending is also terrible and terrible. If I had to make this movie, I would start it. The film is doomed to fail.

Worst Movie Ever?

[23pictures · 1/10 · 10 April 2007]

Perhaps I've been fortunate to have avoided all the garbage out there for so long, but for the first 26 years of my life, I have never seen a movie so bad. Usually I will watch a bad movie just to see what I would do better (I'm a Producer), but this one was so bad that I couldn't bear the thought of wasting one more minute of my life viewing it. Acting, Directing, Lighting, Sound... well, you get the idea -- EVERYTHING about this movie was bad. And by bad, I mean horrible. And by horrible, I don't mean good horror. I mean horror in knowing I have to use up my costly gasoline just to return this POS to the video store. To the cast & crew: sorry I hated it so much. At least you got distribution.

Good story, bad problems

[yojimbo999 · 4/10 · 26 January 2003]

The film, though interesting, is marred by some initially bad acting by the female lead (who does eventually get better, though). The script is sometimes too wordy for its own good, and after a while you wonder why these people are still talking and not doing anything. The whole serial killer angle is rather silly. The film suffer badly from lame direction; the film's cinematography ranges from poor to just incompetent. Yes, it's a low budget movie, but that really doesn't excuse the filmmakers from making a film that has some LIFE.

Good Idea, dull execution

[Amanda-Girl · 14 January 2007]

The problem with so many zero budget films is that they really spend too much time on talking. Too talky equals dull. Scenes of talking heads that go on forever pretty much ruin many low budget efforts. this one is no exception. It feels like the author thinks he has something important to say so he makes sure every member of the cast says it. For an hour and a half. Talk and talk and then kill a person and talk while doing it and then talk some more. The film wants to be edgy. A nd shocking. And it may have worked, if I had not been talked to sleep. The ultimate sin for any movie is to bore an audience. This one has a budget against it. Uneven acting. Bad lighting. But to bore me, now THAT is the final straw. I love low budget films. I like zero budget films like films by Todd Sheets, Mark Polonia, JR Bookwalter and more. But this one is not able to sustain tension, suspense or interest. The direction is flat and takes no chances and the ideas behind the film deserve more. Watch natural Born Killers again instead.

bore letting

[trashgang · 2/10 · 20 October 2008]

blah blah blah. Already boring but hey, the opening credits contains some really nice moments. It's better then the movie. A lot of talking, stupid conversations. An unbelievable serial killer. Again some talking, boredom arises. Some stabbing.

Nothing happens except....talking Almost over, one nice scene, the guy loosing his mascularity. And then again a lot of talking. Ahaaa, the end of the movie, you wouldn't believe it, stabbing while they are...talking.

End credits Don't waist your time on this turkey, a waist of time and money. Better watch "man bites dog" a Belgian movie

Cheap and uneventful indie

[Leofwine_draca · 2/10 · 14 July 2017]

BLOODLETTING is a very cheap and uneventful indie horror flick from 1997. That means it was shot on video and feels very dated, more so than Hollywood fare from the same era. The plot is about a maladjusted young woman who tracks down a notorious serial killer and becomes his apprentice, but don't go in expecting lots of gore and frightening incident; this cheapie is all about the chit chat and little else. The film tries for quickfire dialogue a la Quentin Tarantino but the writer isn't adept enough to carry it off and although the acting isn't the worst, it's not enough to make this remotely good.

A Lot of Fun!

[hbeeinc · 7/10 · 4 August 2018]

This one of those movies that you read the description and say, "Hm. Maybe this'll be good." And then you watch it and it's amazing! I'm sure that the one-star people are all "Duuuuude. This movie about serial killers is just weeeeeeeird." Guys? Serial killing is weird to begin with.

The plot is simple. Girl gets off seeing her best friend raped and killed by a famous serial killer. She tracks him down to become his apprentice and they move in together. Could that happen in real life? No. That's why it's a GODDAMN MOVIE.

The premise is a set up for some great jokes, interesting situations and a logical view about how two serial killers can (or can't) live together.

The script is tight. The leads are great. Most of the supporting cast, with some notable exceptions, give wonderful performances. It reportedly cost $10k to make so, yes, the production values are severely lacking but, you know what, for 10k they did a helluva a job.

Here's the analogy for the idiots who don't like this: My mom LOVES the movie Ghost. That movie is crap. *I* love the movie Truly Madly Deeply, which is basically the same ghost/love story but it towers over Ghost. Thinking she'd love it, I showed it to her. She thought it was "weird" because the ghosts watched old movies in the living room.

Don't be an idiot. Find this movie and watch it. It's so much fun!

Dead movie from the start

[tonycollums · 1/10 · 20 March 2022]

If you like pathetic filming. F bombs every 15 seconds. No talent acting. Low budget movies, then this is the movie for you. Don't waste your time or money buying a dvd or streaming it. I'm only sorry that 1 is the lowest you can rate a movie.

A truly great lowbudget horror/thriller.

[SUTTER CANE · 9/10 · 28 December 1999]

This movie got great acting and a great story with quite a few surprises. It´s about a girl (Ariuanna Albright), who blackmails a serial killer into teaching her how to kill. A very dark (and funny) movie, but not for everyone. Produced by J.R. Bookwalter and starring Tina Krause from W.A.V.E.-Productions, this is must for all b-movie lovers. Be sure to watch after the end credits. I give it 9 out of 10

A veritable smorgasbord of b-movie cameo's.

[cannibalcam · 6 October 2006]

A veritable smorgasbord of b-movie cameo's. You wouldn't believe what this guy pulled in for this one. Mike Gingold (Fangoria Magazine editor), Ariauna Albright the main star (WITCHHOUSE 2, URBAN LEGEND, CURSE OF THE PUPPET MASTER, and so on), James L Edwards (THER DEAD NEXT DOOR, OZONE, POLYMORPH), Sasha Graham (RAGE OF THE WEREWOLF, PSYCHO SISTERS), Tina Krause (NIKOS THE IMPALER, WITCHHOUSE 3, and so on) plus many many more directors, writers and industry people in general. I can see why also just for the fact that this is not just another typical horror film. More of a NATURAL BORN KILLERS of love and massive murder.

Ariauna and James are the leads in this exploitive little serial fest. She wants to learn the tricks of the killing trade from James and away she goes and tracks him down. "Teach me everything you know" cries Ariauna and slickly he explains the do's and don'ts of not getting caught, how blood sprays, and other finer points. A few sprees of bloodshed and she catches on. A little more than he hoped for. She gets into it on a psychotic level (like this movie isn't already eh!) and begins a careless ride of splattering proportions. He can't control her new love for the shedding and a few twists arise amongst the ultra exploitive fest. A baby is blown away with a shotgun, an excessively light bloody ass of James is nicely shot, and tons of spraying becomes immensely entertaining. A few slow spots and sometimes just plain boring dialogue conjures up a few zzzzzz's or 2 but overall, a very entertaining flick.

Well lite, flashy camera shots (I like the short better which started this off entitled I'VE KILLED BEFORE) and pretty descent acting. I wouldn't say like the quote on the box insists, "This is NATURAL BORN KILLERS done right" is accurate, but for this micro shoestring budget I was immensely enthralled with the drama styled action horror thriller.

The coolest things about Tempe Video's releases are the extras involved are usually massive, commentary, first short film which lead to this full length also with a commentary from Sub Rosa Studios Ron Bonk, deleted scene's , making of featurette with the whole cast, and trailers. For an enthusiast to tread new grounds in the indie scene, this is a must. No stupid monsters, bad acting, shitty editing, just great killer fun.

Bloodletting, and odd little horror gem...

[Katatonia · 20 July 2003]

------- WARNING: POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD -------

Bloodletting is one of the better low budget horror flicks to come out in the 90's involving the serial killer theme. The main characters are Butch and Serena. The basic plot involves a demented tale of murder and mayhem with many twists and shocks.

Bloodletting was not an easy film to make. It's shooting time was only 3 or 4 days with a very meager budget. There was high tension on the set throughout filming and several friendships were tarnished for years. It's amazing that the final cut turned out to be a decent little movie, although it's not without mistakes

A newly released official DVD of "Bloodletting" is packed with many bonus features. Although the picture and sound are nothing to rave about, it looks as good as it will ever look on DVD, especially considering it wasn't shot on 35mm film. It is presented in Full Frame, which is it's original aspect ratio. The new sound remix is leagues better than the old vhs edition. Now for the actual special features:

It includes the short film "I've Killed Before" which was shot before Bloodletting and also starred Ariauna Albright & James L. Edwards. This is basically a shortened version of Bloodletting with some minor differences in the story and names. Shot on video, it had a poor production that made the final product suffer...however it is still entertaining, if only to compare with the later Bloodletting.

A new and interesting "Making Of" feature sheds some light on the problems that plagued the production. Some deleted scenes are also worth it to buy this DVD. Trailers for Bloodletting and many other Tempe movies are also included. A still gallery is also very nice, with production photos and artwork of the various old vhs editions. A large section of Text Reviews from various sources are also included.

The DVD does include an inner insert with notes from Tempe's J.R. Bookwalter. Perhaps the nicest feature is the DVD-ROM feature. If you place this in the DVD drive on your computer you can access the FULL SOUNDTRACK for Bloodletting (previously for sale on CD) in high-quality MP3 format!

Not everyone will enjoy Bloodletting as much as some. Several scenes could be quite offensive to certain people. Especially the baby killing scene and the grotesque scene paying homage to Wes Craven's classic "Last House On The Left". But, if you're a fan of low-budget horror then you really need to check it out......