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Click here to return to the main site. DVD Review
Out for a night time run, Philip chances upon a distressed Jane, who tells him that she has been robbed of her belongings, having flown from the States. As the two get to know each other Philip discovers some very disturbing things about her... Blood Shot (2013. 1 hr, 41 min, 52 sec) is an indie thriller written and directed by Raoul Girard. It’s not a thriller in the traditional sense; there is no running around and no real villain, just people with a lot of dark secrets. When the film starts, we are not quite sure who is the weirder of the two. Philip (Danny Dyer) is having conversations about someone split in two and when he takes Jane (Zoe Grisedale) home, he is evasive about telling her what he does, he finally admits that he is a sculptor, but insists in going into his locked room and returning covered in blood. She behaves like an outright loon, aggressive and frightened of the man who rescued her, you’ve got to think if she was that worried why did she go home home with him in the first place? It’s a very strange start; I’m not really sure why Philip keeps helping her, he ends up spending his money on new clothes for her and she talks about how things work in the States in a thoroughly British accent. Had she spent any time in America, surely she would have picked up some level of a mid-Atlantic accent. Slowly the barriers between them breaks down and Philip shows her his prosthetic work that he does for horror movies, however Jane’s reaction is not what he expected, as she freaks out again, something he must be getting used to by now, either that or she should wear a flag disclaiming that she has a very freaky, scary secret and that he has taken up with the wrong girl. He tries to talk to his friend Peter (Keith Allen) about the strange girl, but Peter is distracted by the bevies of beauties who want to engage in carnal pursuits. Does Jane have a secret, well of course she does and one which drags poor Philip into a walk on the wild side. If the film has a fault, and perversely it ends up as its biggest strength, it’s that for most of the time the audience will have absolutely no idea what is going on. Philip's acceptance of Jane’s bizarre behaviour finally makes sense on the basis that only a man who is an emotional teenager would spend his time making mannequins for movies, which are designed to be mutilated. Certainly, she is pretty and that is alluring and the film does redeem itself when even Philip has enough of her violently changing moods. Poor Zoe Grisedale spends so much time on the verge of a panic attack that she must have spent the first half of the film's shooting in a state of hyperventilation, that said she does crazy very well and her performance keeps you on the edge of the seat. The film will probably not appeal to everybody, mostly because of the way it is promoted, which gives the wrong impression of the film's plot. Overall, the movie questions the relationship between what Philip does for a living - creating rubber women to be slashed and abused for the entertainment of an audience - and the trauma of violence in real life. More than one character points out to Philip that he is only able to do his work as he has never had any real experience with pain and violence. What the film does well is tension. By keeping the audience ignorant of what is really happening it is able to skirt through aspects of the horror genre, even dipping into one gruesome nightmare sequence. Even at the end I wasn’t quite sure of how much Jane had told Philip was real, I think nor was he, but it’s a piece of his own nightmare which I’m sure he would be willing to revisit on Jane’s account. The disc has a clear picture and you get the option of either 5.1 Surround Sound of Dolby Stereo. The former is preferable. 6 Charles Packer Buy this item online
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