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Director |
J. Michael Lewis, Jerod Brennan |
Cast |
Louie Cowan
Jason Morris
Suzanne Camilli
Bryan Arnold
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Gore Gauge |
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Skin-o-Meter |
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Bottom Line |
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A Thousand Words-
Bloodline
(Tempered Zealot Productions Screener)
(2007)
review by Catwalk
Meet Stephen. He’s a pathetic, squirrelly teenager who cowers from the other boys while secretly taking photos of neighboring girls. His hair is greasy, his skin is pale and he’s as timid as a newborn gerbil. Stephen (Morris) comes from a single-parent family, living under the watchful, spectacled eyes of his father, Ian.
Here’s where the fun begins.
Stephen’s secretive crush on Jennifer (Camilli) incites the wrath of her boyfriend Jack (Arnold), and his meathead buddy, Shawn. Naturally, it’s two jocks vs. one camera-weilding geek, and since this pansy doesn’t have a mop or super powers a la the Toxic Avenger, the results are obvious.
What follows next is a tender moment between father and son, where viewers find out not only why Stephen’s mommy isn’t around anymore, but just how far Ian is willing to go to protect his boy. From there, the film ramps up into its core action scenes, as well as an ending worthy of the title.
Bloodline is a sequel to 2005’s “A Thousand Words”, which depicted the sins of the father. This more ambitious sequel, partially a product of the producers’ exposure to the Saw franchise, continues and expands the story line at once.
The shots are well-groomed, with multiple camera angles and a lot of effective post-production work. Admittedly, the film suffers in the effects category, but such is the way of the ultra low-budget movie. The writing serves the core characters well, showing the beginning traits of many of history’s most famous serial killers, and the cast delivers. Louie Cowan portrays the protective, murderous Ian with the same passion Terry O’Quinn brought to 1987’s “The Stepfather”.
Overall, the short film (26 minutes) meets its goals. The foundations of an effective story are evident, and there more than a few times I wanted to see a full-length version. It remains to be seen if the Tempered Zealot boys get their wish and put the franchise into a full-length package.
For more information on the film and other offerings from Tempered Zealot Productions, check out: www.temperedzealot.com
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