Bleed (2002) (V)

Directors:

Devin Hamilton
Dennis Petersen

Writer:

Devin Hamilton (writer)

Release Date:

24 December 2002 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

Join the club.

Plot:

A young woman with murderous tendencies tries making new friends by joining an elite social club and in so doing, becomes the target of a masked killer bent on killing all her new friends.

Plot Keywords:

Murder | Nudity | Flashback Sequence | Swimming Pool | Slit Throat

Cast

Debbie Rochon	...	Maddy Patterson
Danny Wolske	...	Shawn Banning
Allen Nabors	...	Chris
Orly Tepper	...	Tillie
Ronnie Gene Blevins	...	Peter
Laura Nativo	...	Laura
Julie Strain	...	Linda
Brinke Stevens	...	Phyllis Patterson
Lloyd Kaufman	...	Carl Patterson
Tuesday DeCarlo	...	Todd
Jordan White	...	Simon (as Jordan Allen White)
John Treacy	...	Stalker
Lizzy Strain	...	Tammy the Receptionist
Anne Star	...	Karen
Barry Bedwell	...	Keith
Brendan Mica	...	Pool Party Person
Danny Guiragossian	...	Pool Party Person
Mace Jackson	...	Pool Party Person
Crystal Levine	...	Pool Party Person / Holly
Dora Salgado	...	Pool Party Person
Jeff Cooper	...	Pool Party Person
Rachel Myers	...	Pool Party Person
Devin Hamilton	...	George
Natalie Recalde	...	Lady, That's My Car
Debra I. Smith	...	911 Operator (voice)
David Sellman	...	David
Jennifer Kessler	...	Susan
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Nick Oram	...	Jason

Directed by
Devin Hamilton
Dennis Petersen

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Devin Hamilton		writer

Produced by
Charles Band	....	executive producer
Jennifer Kessler	....	line producer
J.R. Bookwalter	....	executive producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
James T. Sale

Cinematography by
Mike King

Film Editing by
Dennis Petersen

Costume Design by
Jeff Cooper

Makeup Department
Crystal Blair	....	key makeup artist
Crystal Levine	....	makeup artist

Special Effects by
Joe Castro	....	special effects supervisor
Joe Castro	....	special makeup effects

Other crew
Darren T. Knaus	....	burger flipper
Allen Nabors	....	script supervisor
John Treacy	....	intern

Production Companies

• Full Moon Pictures
• Shadow Entertainment

Distributors

• Full Moon Entertainment
• KOCH International (Canada)
• Shadow Entertainment

Also Known As:

Make 'Em Bleed (USA) (working title)
The Murder Club (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong violence/gore, sexuality and language.

Runtime:

82 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Singapore:R21 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Full Moon Pictures

Trivia:

Much of the same cast and crew worked on this film and "Delta Delta Die! (2003) (V)" simultaneously, even using some of the same locations and furniture for each film.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: Several times throughout the movie, crew members can be seen reflected in the glass framed photos hanging on the walls in the office.

Movie Connections:

References Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981)

Unique take on slasher genre

"Bleed" surprised me. Rented this at my local national video retailer. The box caught my eye with its bright white mask -- sort of a "Michael Myers w/ big ears". From the description on the box I expected another post-modern/wise-cracking slasher item like "Scream". Not interested. Starring Debbie Rochon, perhaps the most ubiquitous "scream queen" of the past ten years. Another bad sign. Still not interested. Charles Band, executive producer.

Really bad sign. With few exceptions, his Full Moon Pictures have never lived up to the promise of their high concepts. Good looking cast though, especially the women. The film I wanted to rent was out. What the Hell. I knew I'd probably live to regret this.

Happily I was wrong. While "Bleed" itself is also guilty of not quite fulfilling the potential of its premise, it was really a lot of fun. Devin Hamilton's screenplay is built on a great concept: a lonely girl who wants friends buys into a party prank which turns out to be deadly.

Through the course of the film I imagined all sorts of scenarios which could result. Sadly, the resulting story is more paint-by-numbers than I imagined, yet along the way it sort of subverts the usual expectations of the slasher genre despite itself.

Believe me, that's a good thing.

There is nary a wink or reference to other films to tell us how clever the film makers are for poking fun at a genre they despise. No, they actually attempt (however awkward the script) to build suspense through character. When was the last time a slasher film did that? And though I'm sure the budget was about $1.98, there is some stylish direction by co-directors Petersen and Hamilton which make for a few nice gory set pieces.