Review: The Bloodhound
Blu-ray: The Bloodhound (2020)
From the first atmospheric scene of a featureless masked figure pulling its lifeless-legged body through a stream and then crawling into the closet of an unknown house, through to the final shot of this fresh take on Edgar Allan Poe’s The Fall of the House of Usher by first-time feature director Patrick Picard, The Bloodhound had me transfixed throughout its 72 minute running time.
Essentially a two-hander with Joe Adler as the mysterious house owner John Paul Laret and Liam Aiken as his visiting friend Francis, who J.P. hasn’t seen in many years, the narrative of The Bloodhound slowly draws you into its darkest recesses, mostly due to the superb and understated performances by the 2 lead actors and the wonderfully unnerving set design of the house, all complemented by Patrick Picard’s uncanny knack for composing shots which make you feel on edge, while not quite knowing why they do so.
J.P. welcomes Francis into his home, but early on it becomes apparent that all is not quite as it seems, with circumstances becoming increasingly more tense as J.P’s sister Vivian (Annalise Basso), who is permanently ensconced in her bedroom, makes infrequent trips out of there to warn Francis that he is in danger.
Or does she? Or is he!?
Nothing is quite as it first seems, and as the dialogue between the 2 friends becomes ever more unsettling, so does the sense of urgency for Francis to get out of there.
I’ll admit that from watching the trailer to The Bloodhound I was very unsure if I’d enjoy it or not, but it soon gripped my attention and kept a tight hold until the end.
No action, no big effects, just 1 location and 3 actors, but dripping with an uncomfortable atmosphere that you’ll be trying to scrub off yourself for days afterwards.
SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS:
- High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray presentation
- Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- Brand new audio commentary by director Patrick Picard and editor David Scorca
- Four experimental short films by director Patrick Picard: bad dream, the muffled hammerfall in action, the mosaic code and wiggleworm
- On the Trail of The Bloodhound: Behind the Scenes of a Modern Chiller exclusive 45-minute making-of featurette
FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated booklet featuring new writing on the film by Anton Bitel.
The Bloodhound is released on 22nd March 2021.
Review by Dave from a disc kindly supplied by Fetch Publicity via Arrow Films.
