Serena Stalin (Ariauna Albright) has some major issues, the least of which is that she saw a serial killer rape and murder her friend. That’s got to ruin any normal young woman’s day, but Ms. Stalin is pretty damn far from normal. She gets it in her mind to hunt down the killer and force him to teach her everything he knows about the underrated art of serial murder. What follows is a twisted, amusing thriller/horror/love story with a fairly decent surprise ending (though the dialogue that gets us there is often a little too over the top).
In addition to the skilled actors and interesting story, kudos must also be given to gifted newcomer Nicholas Wodzisz. Good ol’ Nicholas’ first movie role in life is “The Amazing Exploding Baby,” which is every bit as messy as it sounds. This small role going to look good on a resume when he’s finally old enough to get plum acting jobs that don’t involve him getting blasted to bits in his crib.
Dark humor, when done well, can make us remember why it is we hate the human condition. “Bloodletting” does that, though you won’t come away from this feeling disgusted to be alive (mores the pity). Are there better films out there with this sort of theme? Yes, but few are as entertaining as this one, which knows just when to take itself seriously and when to go for laughs — traits other films of this ilk would be wise to learn.
