Review: Bleed With Me

Director: Amelia Moses

Screenplay: Amelia Moses

Year: 2021

After passing through film festivals, including the Fantasia Film Festival, director Amelia Moses gets her debut film to reach Shudder’s platform. Now, to the delight of horror fans, there is one of what I understand will be one of the most polarizing films of this year in terms of opinions because of its style.

Emily goes with her boyfriend Brendan to a cabin in the mountains for a few winter days and invites her friend Rowan. As time passes in the cabin, Rowan begins to suspect that her friend is secretly stealing her blood. Rowan's reality becomes distorted as she tries to decipher if her injuries and blood loss are due to her self-destructive behavior or if it is her friend’s doing. 

"Bleed with Me" is the kind of psychological suspense that manages to get under your skin and make you feel uncomfortable with its subtlety. However, it is not a movie for everyone. This is not a conventional horror film; instead it relies more on studying its characters, and its development is simmering, sometimes too slow for its own good.

During most of the plot development, we follow Rowan, from whom information is soon revealed to make us think that she is not a reliable narrator and that we may be seeing the distorted reality that takes place inside her head. This detail helps greatly to create tension and keep the mystery of what is happening alive. 

Based on a desolate cabin, where we only have a single location and three characters, the performances are critical in that the film can grab the viewer. If you are someone who values ​​this more technical and artistic side, the film’s protagonists, Lee Marshall, Lauren Beatty ("Bloodthirsty"), and Aris Tyros ("Slaxx") do a phenomenal job in this department. Again highlights the subtlety with which they can demonstrate certain emotions and reactions that in turn offers information about the characters and helps in the development of the plot. 

"Bleed with Me" is not a conventional psychological suspense but uses subtlety to develop and create tension and suspense. The performances, the location, and the structure of the script are key in taking the viewer by the hand through its development while, little by little, it captures it in its mystery. However, it requires patience on the viewer’s part, but if you are willing to give it, you will be rewarded with one of the most interesting character studies in recent times.