The Bloodhound Review

3 star brooding and atmospheric thriller.

The Bloodhound is the first feature film from writer and director Patrick Picard and is a very impressive debut.  It is a fresh and interesting take on the well known short story The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe (The Raven, The Tell-Tale Heart).

My dear Francis. It’s been forever now and I miss you. I just do. To be perfectly honest, I’m not well and I could use a little help. I know you’re having problems of your own and maybe the moment is right. Why not stay here a while? It’d be like one long sleepover.”

Francis (Liam Aiken – Stepmom, Road to Perdition) is a struggling young man. Currently homeless and with his belongings in storage, he receives a call from his childhood friend J.P. asking him to visit in his time of need.

He heads straight over there, to be greeted by a very strange creepy house. Jean Paul Luret aka J.P. (Joe Adler – The Maze Runner) lives there along with his twin sister Vivian (Annalise Basso – Standing Up). Vivian is also suffering from a mysterious illness and Francis is told that he must not bother her.

As he and J.P. try to bond, things become increasingly awkward between them and Francis begins to feel trapped. This isn’t helped when J.P. announces that he has had his belongings transferred to the house to avoid storage fees. It’s almost as if he isn’t expected to leave.

Underlying all of this is a dream of J.P.’s about a man who crawls into homes and hides in wardrobes, the Bloodhound. Can this unlikely trio make this weird situation work?

The Bloodhound is a very interesting film. I love The Fall of the House of Usher and transferring it to a modern setting works very well. The addition of a new element of peril is also good, especially for fans of the original as it adds an unknown element to the tale.

The direction is excellent and although it’s slow-burning, the tension ramps up beautifully. The acting is strange, very stilted and awkward and uncomfortable to watch and I couldn’t decide whether that was deliberate or not. Either way, it works really well on this occasion.

It is also thought provoking and raises questions about the nature of loneliness, friendship and mental health issues. A well imagined feature debut, I’m looking forward to seeing what is to come from Patrick Picard.

This is a very good watch and well worth adding to your collection.

“I am an old man in many ways, I’ve figured out what I want from my life and it’s being here.”

The Bloodhound is available to buy on Blu-ray from 22nd March 2021.