The Bloodhound

The godfather of modern indie horror isn't one of the big names in the '70s or '80s pantheon, it's David Lynch, whose narrative absurdities and twisted worldview is on full display in films like Heredity, The Lodge and Gretel & Hansel.  For better or worse, Lynch's detached, distorted style has seeped into the cinematic landscape with a vengeance.  Look no further than The Bloodhound (2020), director Patrick Picard's half-speed riff on House of Usher, for a prime example of indie experimental excess.

 

Francis pays an unexpected visit to JP and Vivian, twin siblings who live a life of self-imposed imprisonment in their stylish modern home.  Beset with existential ennui and inexplicable physical symptoms, his hosts proceed to drag him into their psychological whirlpool of angst and depression.  Oh, and a creature that may or may not actually exist hides in a wardrobe and army crawls down the hall from time to time to raid the fridge.

 

There's likely a very specific explanation for the events that unfold in The Bloodhound.  But the film isn't very keen on providing an answer key, which, of course, is one it's most recognizable Lynchian aspects (that and the presence of actor Joe Adler who turned up in a few episodes of the Twin Peaks reboot).  Writer / director Patrick Picard fully embraces the off-center behavior of his characters; they're not so much people as puppets for his peculiar brand of theatrical soliloquies and pretentious pocket philosophies.  For some, it may come off as profound, others profoundly boring.  

 

Even at a brisk 70 minutes, The Bloodhound is an exercise in patience.  The actors are far too young to fill out the roles as written; there's simply not enough life experience in their faces.  It's like a high school production of Shakespeare with fake moustaches and purple tights attempting to disguise a lack of gravitas.  The Bloodhound aspires to some sort of existential apocalypse, but winds up just stealing your pizza money.

 

Arrow Video's Blu-ray presentation includes a commentary with Patrick Picard that sheds some light on his intentions and four of his short films that chart his growth as a filmmaker, along with a 45-minute making-of featurette...which is only 20 minutes shorter than the feature itself.

 

 

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