Dietmar Stork

Tribeca: „The Bleeding House“ – don’t let strangers in, not even Christians

A family with a dark history, which should rather be left alone, a house far away from the next city, a person whose car broke down on the road and who needs a place to stay – this of course is the perfect setting for some chills and kills. And killings you will see a lot in „The Bleeding House“ by Philipp Gelatt, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and which is on VOD right now.

Gelatt’s debut „The Bleeding House“ is a nice, but not really surprising serial killer movie. We know something is wrong with the Smiths. A house burned down, people were killed and almost no neighbor ever wants to talk with the parents and their two children again. Even the parents seem to be scared of their daughter Gloria (Alexandra Chando) who is not allowed to go outside or to touch any knives at all.

And then one night Nick shows (Patrick Breen) up – a nice, Christian stranger with only one weird characteristic: his Southern accent. Nick’s car broke down, and even if the Smiths don’t want anybody in their house, they can’t let him sleep outside on this freezing night. And of course things go nasty from here.

„The Bleeding House“ is an old-fashioned thriller with a very dark side – if you have ever seen any slasher or horror movie you will be able to figure out where the story goes easily (the way people die is intestering though, hence the title). But anyhow – Gelatt’s debut is enjoyable (even though Breen is a bit too young and not totally convincing in the lead role), a small movie not necessarily for the big screen, but for a stormy Friday night.