Bleed with Me (2020) User Reviews

Untapped potential...

[wildblueyonder · 5/10 · 4 September 2021]

To me yes there are some good concepts and ideas floating around somewhere in this slow burner... I appreciate this type of movie - that is a more slow moving, well shot psychological drama but sometimes... I mean I absolutely loved the Blackcoat's Daughter but this film is well short of that....

So sure, build to a crescendo... string us along... give us little bits and pieces and clues. This is why I give the movie a 5 because at times it was interesting and I'm wondering.. 'what is really going on here?'

For some here I read reviews that are happy with this film, and while not a total waste of time for me it just fell short. Less sometimes... is just less.

Tedious

[thundertick · 3/10 · 16 September 2021]

Three characters that I didn't like and didn't care for. Uninteresting back-stories for each of them. Within half an hour I was hoping they'd all die in horrible ways. Instead, they all got so miserable and dreary that I lost interest in whether or not they'd die. It was *that* boring.

Trust the people who rated this 3 stars or less

[jlotze-48394 · 3/10 · 2 October 2021]

The first 30 minutes of this movie is very good after that you keep scratching your head thinking to yourself hmm where's this plot going.

I wanted to like this but I didn't

[PutuNix · 1/10 · 10 August 2021]

I had hoped this would be cerebral or clever, or at least an interesting story and despite painfully wooden acting and an indistinct storyline I thought it would 'go somewhere' because it was pretty well constructed.

Unfortunately it didn't.

Dull and predictable

[kjak-69010 · 1/10 · 10 August 2021]

I watched this movie because the reviews were decent on RT. This was one of the most predictable movies that I have seen in a while. I would have been fine with predictable if it was at least an enjoyable watch. It was not. So boring..

Disappointing!

[dizznmo · 1/10 · 24 April 2022]

Seemed interesting but at the end, a total waste of time. If you are going to slowly drag an audience through an entire movie at least tell them what the hell they just watched.

Not A 1 Star But A 2

[Rdz916 · 2/10 · 11 August 2021]

I looked this title up for an explanation on the ending and seen it has a 80+% rating on RT lol did I miss something?? I wouldn't say it deserves a 1 star, but a 2.5 all day long. Acting was "ok" and some background scenes were really nice. But like the comments say, the script was so predictable like eating a Cup Noodles, consistently bland.

Drink this.

[nogodnomasters · 2/10 · 15 August 2021]

Emily (Lauren Beatty) works at a restaurant and invites the socially awkward greeter Rowan (Lee Marshall) to join her and her husband (?) Brendan (Aris Tyros) at her family cabin in the woods. Emily is undergoing "recovery" whatever that was, but seems fine. Rowan seems to have real issues including cuts on her arm. She has visions of Emily drinking blood which she believes is her blood as Rowans' condition worsens.

They introduced the characters for about 30 minutes and then I though something good would happen, like Emily being a vampire, or a home invasion, or even zombie aliens. And all we got was a freakin' dead bunny. Web site claims it was a story on co-dependency. I still didn't get it. Very boring.

Guide:F-word. Sex. Near nudity.

Slow pace but well done

[kay_rock · 7/10 · 16 August 2021]

It's not a horror movie, it's a psychological movie. Get that out of the way first. A lot of reviewers are upset that there weren't zombies or vampires. And some seem upset about "diversity" and "women films," but we know where the come from so... yeah.

Both women in the cast are damaged in various ways, but one is definitely more damaged than the other, and the slow unfolding lets you know who that is (although I suppose there is some ambiguity if you would like to keep wondering at the end). I thought they did a great job of evolving the characters, dropping casually into the dialog little clues that explain the backstories and motivations of the characters.

Over all it is sad, not horrifying. It's not the greatest film ever made, but having spent a lot of Covid watching some truly terrible films, I thought this one was well worth the time spent watching.

Needs fleshing out

[aeongale · 4/10 · 10 September 2021]

All the technical aspects are fine. Marshall does a great job of portraying an awkward introvert. It's just that the overall story is very thin and stretched out slowly. Couple and a new friend go off to a cabin, there's talking, lots of talking, I get they're establishing the characters but this drags out. Anyway, it's a "is this really happening or am I crazy?" plot once it gets going, and it does that part well. There's just not much to it to make for a solid film.

Stripped down horror about the dangers of co-dependency

[emmajawilkin · 8/10 · 15 August 2021]

This has a lean cast (three people) and a lean runtime. It's an ambiguous slow burn with two impressive central performances (the third isn't bad either, but has less to do). If you like stripped-back horror that leaves things to your own interpretation then this is well worth your time.

It was a long watch

[mbprocter · 6/10 · 12 August 2021]

It wasn't bad but it wasn't very good either. A bit slow. I paused it to make a brew and actually forgot to put it back on as I went googling for something else to watch. I watched the rest and was, overall, unimpressed. I don't know who made it and I didn't know the actors but they were good. I hope they get a chance in something better.

So many questions

[jeroduptown · 4/10 · 11 September 2021]

This girl is a 3rd wheel with a couple in a cabin in the woods. Things are odd, but become even weirder when she notices she's got some strange cuts on her arms. Is her friend drinking her blood? Good luck...no answer is ever given.

Mildly intriguing and then ultimately pointless

[jtnite · 4/10 · 30 August 2021]

This is the particular type of indie horror movie that aims for "evocative" but ends up "dull." There are endless closeup shots of characters' faces in which we're meant to read all sorts of emotions or glean information, but it's impossible to tell what they're going for.

If there were a meaningful resolution to the whole thing, it might retroactively make the whole movie worth it. But it doesn't resolve, it just stops. I was left wondering what if anything the filmmaker was trying to say.

Bad acting, meaningless plot and very dull

[juboy70 · 1/10 · 19 August 2021]

While it's competently made, this film really is quite pointless. It makes almost no sense, isn't as remotely clever as it appears to think it is and doesn't go anywhere. I quite like a slow burn horror but this is just tedious and bland. The acting is quite atrocious at times and the plot doesn't hang together at all.

Can't even recommend giving it a casual watch, it's just too sub-par.

Snails move faster than this movie.

[dracforever · 1/10 · 18 August 2021]

I'm not usually hard on movies but this one imho is a total snoozefest. If you need some sleep watch it, otherwise, I do NOT recommend.

A Full-length Short film

[serranojbc · 1/10 · 13 September 2021]

Girl 1 is grieving. Girl 2 is lonely. Both want to be friends with the other for the wrong reason.

A simple but interesting premise. Unfortunately, this movie never did anything interesting and just stayed simple.

Watch it if you want to be underwhelmed.

You can't separate the story from the film

[kuarinofu · 4/10 · 11 August 2021]

Bleed with Me (2020) was probably meant to be a short film.

Instead, what we got is 50 minutes of pure filler with mundane dialogue and scenes with supposedly disturbing imagery, which aren't going to impress a single horror fan.

After these, we get to a potentially usable plot point (which was done a million times, but ok), and then the film ends. It's like watching a series pilot (but with no cliffhanger) or a prequel to an interesting film that preps you on the more interesting events. Like if the main story wasn't the focus of the film.

If your story is so obvious and has no twist whatsoever - build up interesting dialogue, uncomfortable scenes, hints, anything that might interest the viewer, not just everyday talk that goes nowhere.

The main lead is just a "victim" type character that can be used to provide some interesting twists. The boyfriend could've been written out. He has nothing to do in the film at all.

Like, ok, great, you have this obsessive girl and her colleague who has never seen anything good in her life. Make a play around that, let them interact with each other, change each other. Wouldn't it be great if they would agree to live like that while the boyfriend wasn't into it, and eventually, they would kill him instead. Then, after some time, the supposed victim would become dominant in their relationship? It would've been at least something interesting.

If the idea was to fill the film with metaphors and allusions, why not go full arthouse so the viewers would not understand anything and think the film was just too clever for them?

I don't know. It looks like a tiny project, which is fine. But if you got a release, why not do your absolute best to impress the viewers? Do something crazy with your story?

Basically, the movie has the seeds of an interesting story, but it never develops, and even after 50 minutes of filler, the story doesn't go anywhere. The ending feels like absolutely nothing.

Good luck next time.

A great idea, too understated for its own good

[I_Ailurophile · 5/10 · 25 October 2022]

I enjoyed filmmaker Amelia Moses' short film 'Undress me,' and even more so her second directed feature 'Bloodthirsty,' so it seemed only appropriate to also check this out. As low-key as the latter is, this is substantially more so, with a significant portion of the length simply focused on the awkward, somewhat stilted dynamics between the characters. Any abnormalities are stirred in only very quietly, coming and going in soft waves; whether the gradual build is worthwhile, or the payoff it yields, is something each individual viewer may have to decide for themselves. For my part I do like 'Bleed with me,' and I admire the daring of the deeply understated approach Moses takes with the material - but I also understand why it may not find favor with others, and I'm kind of on the fence myself.

Subtlety and nuance and the words of the day, applying to the acting, the dialogue, the interactions between characters, and certainly the overall progression of the course of events. This is echoed as well in the distinctly delicate touch Moses employs as director. Why, even with some instances of heightened emotion or louder sound - including at the climax - the audio itself, including Dominic Caterina's hushed score of ambient themes, follows the same tack. I think the cast perform well under these circumstances, and 'Bleed with me' is well made from a technical standpoint. All this is well and good, either commendable in and of itself or with the choices of how this was made. Still the question remains, though, of how well it serves the story.

I like what Moses has tried to do here, but I don't think the result entirely paid off. For any disquieting imagery, uneasy tension, or bloodletting that may present, there's a certain lack of vibrancy in the slow march of the narrative. The climax itself is the peak of a crescendo, by all means, yet even recognizing the broad slant of the film, I don't think it achieves the desired spark, either. The result is a picture that rather maintains a flat tone with slight blips, and when one steps back and looks at the entirety of the viewing experience, those blips are scarcely detectable.

I wish nothing but the best for Moses and the stars; again, I did quite enjoy 'Bloodthirsty,' and I look forward to seeing what they all go on to do hereafter. As for this feature itself - I don't think it's bad, but it never inspires any particular reaction, and that's the last thing that should ever be said of a work of cinema, let alone the horror genre. This may be most recommendable for the patient and open-minded viewer, and I applaud 'Bleed with me' as a first-time effort. Here's to the sharpening of the blades in the future.

Better than expected

[Horror_Flick_Fanatic · 8/10 · 13 August 2021]

I am glad I watched it before consulting with it's IMDb score. It's definitely an underrated film on IMDb. It's not a jump scare movie. It's a slow burn psychological film. The acting, quite to the contrary is quite good. The film keeps you guessing who of the two women, Rowen or Emily, lost her marbles. Is it Rowen hallucinating what she sees? Is it Emily with a blood fetish because she hasn't gotten over her little sister's premature death? But the film does lean more into Rowen as the nutter. But I felt the ending could have been better. But still a good watch.

Sumptious dark drama

[marc-cheyne · 8/10 · 17 August 2021]

I love this movie. The people who found this boring were watching the wrong movie! It's not a fast-paced drama, thriller or horror. For me, there isn't a dull moment in the 1:20 hr movie.

But to be fair, while there is an omnious air of anticipation throughout he movie, nevertheless, it isn't exactly a horror movie.

What it is, is a dark, psychological drama i.e. Is the heroine being preyed upon by her apparent? Friend - or is she delusional. And the three young actors enacting this drama are riveting - especially Lauren Beatty!

And the setting is the 4th character! A charming log cabin within a beautiful winterland wilderness. Which was so captivating, that I almost felt that I was there on vacation with them!

Suspenseful!

[flitz35-633-627650 · 10/10 · 19 August 2021]

So a rating of 4? I am a horror fan and I watched the entire movie. For the people who rated this low weren't either. Not a horror fan and didn't watch the entire movie. I understand its not a 10 but I'd gove this a solid 6.5.