Director:
Wade Ballance
Studio/Production Company:
Liberty Bell Films
Genre:
Horror
Length:
Short
Website:
http://www.bleederseries.com
Score:
4.5/5
Okay, sure, it seems like everyone and their mom is doing a web-series these days. Great, anyone can be a media personality now. Don’t get me wrong, I am tempted to throw my hat in the ring and am already in the process of developing an “anti-sit-com” by and about my own family. Imagine “The Brady Bunch” as done by Jim Jarmusch. Hold that thought.
If you read my reviews, my rants on IndieTalk.com or my blog False Climax: (http://falseclimax.blogspot.com/ )
you know that, while I am thrilled that technology has evolved to the point where anyone can make a film, I do not necessarily think that, just because someone is technically able to make a film does not always mean that they should make a film; it’s more than just hitting record on your camcorder.
So, I am encouraged by the premiere of the new web-series, “Bleeder” because, from cast to crew, it is clearly made by people who really know what they are doing. Honestly, I do not watch many web series because most of the shows I have checked out are really lacking in either technical or creative quality and quite often have deficits in both areas. Not so with “Bleeder”, which is produced in Philadelphia under a special agreement with AFTRA, which results in, you guessed it, good acting by serious pro’s with sold credentials (including Brian Anthony Wilson of “The Wire”) in addition to high quality production values.
A gritty, urban take on the vampire genre, “Bleeder” proves that, like the characters it portrays, the genre is undead and doing well. Of course, at this point, nobody feels they can merely put out a straight-up Dracula-type-of-guy in a castle story; everyone has to put their own spin on the conventions of the genre.
So, like the recent “Thicker Than Water: The Vampire Diaries” which explores family dynamics by suggesting that there is hereditary element in play, a vampire gene that lies dormant in some people, “Bleeder” also has a medical/biological angle and utilizes it to explore social issues.
Unlike a feature, which has a little bit of time to introduce characters and an inciting incident, an episode of a web series, like a short film, has to get right down to business and “Bleeder” does not drop the ball. Alex Daub (writer-producer Mark Kochanowicz) is introduced in conflict, broke, seemingly homeless and desperately ill. A hemophiliac, he loses blood frequently --- not exactly vampire bait but, dead or undead, who else in society can so readily identify with these issues and, so it is, after a chance encounter with Charlotte (Brea Bee) a streetwise but sensitive bloodsucker, he find some semblance of salvation, at least for awhile. Alex will be “adopted” to some degree by a band of bloodsucking beauties (Sarah Croce, Lisa Roman, Katie Foster) ----- raising the question, “Other than “Nosferatu” and “Salem’s Lot” are there many, if any, unattractive vampires are out there?
Well-conceived, directed and edited by co-writer Wade Ballance and beautifully shot by Jim McKinney, “Bleeder” does just what any good series does, it hooks you in and leaves you wanting more -- reportedly production of the next episode is set for November. For a series about vampires, “Bleeder” has a lot of life in it.
Wade Ballance
Studio/Production Company:
Liberty Bell Films
Genre:
Horror
Length:
Short
Website:
http://www.bleederseries.com
Score:
4.5/5
Okay, sure, it seems like everyone and their mom is doing a web-series these days. Great, anyone can be a media personality now. Don’t get me wrong, I am tempted to throw my hat in the ring and am already in the process of developing an “anti-sit-com” by and about my own family. Imagine “The Brady Bunch” as done by Jim Jarmusch. Hold that thought.
If you read my reviews, my rants on IndieTalk.com or my blog False Climax: (http://falseclimax.blogspot.com/ )
you know that, while I am thrilled that technology has evolved to the point where anyone can make a film, I do not necessarily think that, just because someone is technically able to make a film does not always mean that they should make a film; it’s more than just hitting record on your camcorder.
So, I am encouraged by the premiere of the new web-series, “Bleeder” because, from cast to crew, it is clearly made by people who really know what they are doing. Honestly, I do not watch many web series because most of the shows I have checked out are really lacking in either technical or creative quality and quite often have deficits in both areas. Not so with “Bleeder”, which is produced in Philadelphia under a special agreement with AFTRA, which results in, you guessed it, good acting by serious pro’s with sold credentials (including Brian Anthony Wilson of “The Wire”) in addition to high quality production values.
A gritty, urban take on the vampire genre, “Bleeder” proves that, like the characters it portrays, the genre is undead and doing well. Of course, at this point, nobody feels they can merely put out a straight-up Dracula-type-of-guy in a castle story; everyone has to put their own spin on the conventions of the genre.
So, like the recent “Thicker Than Water: The Vampire Diaries” which explores family dynamics by suggesting that there is hereditary element in play, a vampire gene that lies dormant in some people, “Bleeder” also has a medical/biological angle and utilizes it to explore social issues.
Unlike a feature, which has a little bit of time to introduce characters and an inciting incident, an episode of a web series, like a short film, has to get right down to business and “Bleeder” does not drop the ball. Alex Daub (writer-producer Mark Kochanowicz) is introduced in conflict, broke, seemingly homeless and desperately ill. A hemophiliac, he loses blood frequently --- not exactly vampire bait but, dead or undead, who else in society can so readily identify with these issues and, so it is, after a chance encounter with Charlotte (Brea Bee) a streetwise but sensitive bloodsucker, he find some semblance of salvation, at least for awhile. Alex will be “adopted” to some degree by a band of bloodsucking beauties (Sarah Croce, Lisa Roman, Katie Foster) ----- raising the question, “Other than “Nosferatu” and “Salem’s Lot” are there many, if any, unattractive vampires are out there?
Well-conceived, directed and edited by co-writer Wade Ballance and beautifully shot by Jim McKinney, “Bleeder” does just what any good series does, it hooks you in and leaves you wanting more -- reportedly production of the next episode is set for November. For a series about vampires, “Bleeder” has a lot of life in it.