Bloody Bridget Featured, Reviews Film Threat

Bloody Bridget Featured, Reviews Film Threat

AWARD THIS! 2023 NOMINEE! After doing television for a while, the incomparable Richard Elfman has been on quite the creative streak. From Aliens, Clowns, & Geeks to helping celebrate Full Moon’s many classics with the Carnage Collection, the filmmaker is once again reveling in the sheer absurdity of what cinema does best: transport audiences into the vision and mindset of the director. Elfman sends prospective audiences into the gonzo world of his latest creation, which he directed and wrote, Bloody Bridget. Bridget (Anastasia Elfman) is a performance artist and burlesque dancer at the rundown bar Tony’s Tavern. Its owner, Tony (Tom Ayers), is a terrible stand-up with a booze problem who loves to sexually harass his employees. Bridget’s significant other, Edwin (Christian Prentice), is a serial cheater who pays for nothing. So, Bridget’s life is not going the way she hoped. But one night, she’s called into a different realm and meets Baron Samedi (Jean Charles). The Voodoo father of the Iwa (spirits) believes Bridget to be his wife, Maman Brigitte, the Irish saint. Samedi gives her the powers of a full-fledged vampire. Now, Bridget uses her supernatural talents to eat the hearts of deprived men who don’t deserve to live.

Bloody Bridget

The first sex scene in the film involves Edwin cheating on Bridget with a woman he met at Tony’s Tavern. This woman had an interest in English people, and her version of foul language was to ask Edwin to “speak English” to her. So he says things like Tally Ho, Harry Potter and Tea’n Crumpets. If any audience members aren’t laughing out loud at the absurdity of that then they should turn Bloody Bridget off. Such people will not be amused by Elfman’s scandalous characterization. Others will be treated to a different and delicious camp. Anastasia Elfman is fun as the title character. She skillfully handled Bridget’s unusual points from the beginning, easily winning the sympathy of viewers. As the story takes a supernatural and gruesome turn, the actor becomes believably scary yet hilarious. Marcos Mateo Ochoa plays Pepe, Bridget’s mute best friend. His body language and facial expressions are used perfectly. Charles commands the screen and really sells the weirder parts of the film with sincerity. Evan Eckenrode and Rick Howland are both Bridget’s lawyers, as is Daniels, and they probably get the most laughs out of the whole thing.

Richard Elfman doesn’t really maintain a true tonal balance. Instead, he breaks things up, hoping that the kitchen sink approach means things will stay. Luckily, the man behind the wonderfully strange Modern Vampires (which, no kidding, cast Casper Van Dien in Sleepy Hollow) is now a veteran in the field. By tackling every aspect of Bloody Bridget, the filmmaker proves that he believes in the material and knows what his hoped-for audience will respond to. For example, the blood from murders is exaggerated to the point of becoming comical. But the danger Bridget faces before gaining her powers is very real and helps strengthen the story as much as possible. Additionally, the prosthetics of the Devil, played by Elfman himself, during the song’s battle ending, are really powerful, completely hiding the fact that it’s him. Bloody Bridget will not appeal to everyone. The meshing of comedy and horror with an in-your-face style results in a production that has “cult” written all over it. If the film sounds appealing, chances are you will enjoy it. If nothing discussed so far seems enjoyable, skip it entirely. As for me, I can’t wait to rewatch this in anticipation of the proposed sequel.

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