Audience Member
It's a crazy movie but it can happen in real life... I love it coz it's a psycho movie... simple plot but it's all about mental control or mental power..
It's a mental addiction to a particular person...
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
01/17/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Bloodstained Romance is the story of Holden (played surprisingly well by then-debuting actor Chris Burchette, who also did some effects), a slightly anti-social and shy college student who we learn has an intense infatuation with fellow student Sadie (attractive Cameron Wright), a face in the hallway and in the library thatâs impactful enough to cause Holden to lose all focus on his life and responsibilities around him. The viewer is informed at the beginning that Holdenâs problems go beyond being awkward and anti-social. We realize very quickly that heâs also a killer; one without emotion (aside from love of course) or sympathy for anyone (even Sadie at times), especially as the film opens with a jarring, brutal bathtub murder scene thatâs genuinely scary as hell as it impacted me on a personal level (a good friend of mine actually died this very way). Anyways, when those around Holden, whether it is co-workers, his friends, or her friends, inadvertently (or purposely) interfere, he begins to lose his very sanity and goes on a vicious and intensely gore-filled murder spree all in the name of his love for Sadie. As the film goes on so does the violence, especially as he gets dangerously closer and closer to Sadie until ultimately taking her for his own in a rather dark and violent climax.
The film marks the debut of filmmaker Travis (Mudd) Miller, who not only directs, but also served as Cinematographer, Editor, Producer, Writer, and just about every thing else on this highly impressive film. The best thing Miller does here is he takes this film very seriously, and as a result, all of his hard work pays off. While some of the plot points may seem a little difficult to believe, Bloodstained Romance plays it straight and goes for the jugular in terms of delivering buckets of blood and gore while trying very hard to give it a sense of realism. I can say firsthand that the bathtub death is almost too realistic, but the others seem to convey that same quality, which is good for the film. Not just that, there are even a couple of moments in the film that had me feeling quite squeamish (the razorblade scene comes to mind). As far as the acting goes, Iâm serious when I say that lead Burchette turns in a very impressive debut, not to mention a convincing one of our tortured killer. He runs the gauntlet of crossing through socially-awkward yet mildly charming to an emotionally tragic figure until finally concluding as a demented monster. Also, in this piece, heâs the main focus, so donât expect the same kind of depth and level of acting from the rest of the cast, who seem to fit the college film vibe of the movie.
With that, yes the movie does have a bit of a college film feel to it, and not because it takes place on a college a good bit of the run time, but because itâs insanely low-budget. These are the kinds of films I feed off of though and enjoy a lot, but sadly, Iâm in a small group of people who like this. Understandably, a lot of people will be thrown off by the film, but let it be the violence or the subject matter, and not because it doesnât look like a multi-million dollar Megan Fox bullshit mainstream film. You have got to put aside that bullshit pettiness and see the film for what it really is. Believe it or not, there were dipshit horror fans walking around, badmouthing low-budget gold like Henry, Portrait of a Serial Killer and wondering why it wasnât big budgeted and fancy like Poltergeist. Unfortunately for us, those morons have returned in greater numbers and all of them have balls of steel now that theyâre able to hide in front of their computer monitorâs, badmouthing todayâs low-budget filmmakers who are just trying to do the same thing Henry director John McNaughton tried doing so many years back. Our filmâs creator and its top lead are clearly talented and deserve to be noticed by a bigger crowd, especially from TRUE horror fans. One even hopes they move on to bigger and better things within the horror community, especially since nobody else seems to be getting the job right (on a mainstream level anyways). Overall, Bloodstained Romance was a hell of a watch, and a good one too. Itâs violent, itâs dark, and itâs anything but friendly. With already a large handful of projects coming out in the next couple of years, including a Bloodstained Romance 2 (!!), Miller has definitely gotten my attention and now Iâm eagerly awaiting what he has next to assault my eyes with.
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
01/21/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Chris Burchette was awesome in this movie. I was awesome too... in all of my 2 seconds of glory in the beginning.
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
01/15/23
Full Review
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