When Phillip (Danny Dyer), a sculptor who specialises in prosthetics for horror films meets Jane (Zoe Grisedale), a model who has just arrived in the UK after leaving America, the two strangers form a connection. As Phillip becomes more drawn to Jane, he discovers she hides a shocking secret.
Danny Dyer gets a raw deal in my opinion. He’s a “working” actor and considering the amount of films made in the UK every year is nowhere near that of America, he does really well. I defy anyone to say he wasn’t entertaining in both ‘Severance’ and ‘Doghouse’ and he was great in ‘The Business’. Since joining UK soap ‘EastEnders’, he’s been branching out a bit and that is most likely why he chose to do ‘Bloodshot’.
The film is well made and features a strong core cast (both Keith Allen from ‘The Others’ and Neil Marshall regular Craig Conway of ‘The Descent’ and ‘Doomsday’ fame show up). It also has a good idea at its core but sadly, the film never lives up to viewer expectations and I think the problem is with writer/director Raoul Girard’s meandering screenplay.
The film begins as Phillip finds Jane wrapped in a sleeping bag in the local park. As he tries to find out what she’s doing there, she displays strong signs of being a tad irrational (she even pulls a knife on him at one point). Despite this, he takes her home with him. I found this to be wholly unrealistic. She continues to blow hot and cold to extremes for far too long before we actually get to the point.
The film excels when it focuses on Dyer’s character and his day to day life. Some later set-pieces bring to mind Franck Khalfoun’s recent ‘Maniac’ remake. Sadly, this only serves to remind you that you could be watching a better film on Netflix.
OVERALL SUMMARY
Raoul Girard definitely has an eye, but I fear his original concept/story were lost in translation. Bloodshot has euro-horror sensibilities at its heart, but unless you’re an avid art-house fan, I doubt you’ll find your horror fix here.
