Bleeder - Dark, disturbing, but definitely dull

I really wanted to like ‘Bleeder’ – a Danish thriller with a young Mads Mikkelsen and The Bridge’s Kim Bodnia.  It started off well – it introduced us to four men who hung around together with a mutual love of films.  This led to some nice dialogue exchanges which built character and created a genuine atmosphere among them.  However, the best thing about the build up was the sense that something not very nice was brewing and it was all going to explode sooner or later.  Unfortunately, it all exploded later rather than sooner.

Yes, there were a couple of pretty horribly dark moments towards the end of the film, but we’re talking VERY near the end of the film.  Therefore, by the time you’ve got the pay-off you’ve been waiting for it’s all over.

Now, I can hear the fans of the movie claiming that I hate films with slow build up that focus on character development and that the only movies I watch involve car chases and over-used CGI.  That’s not true.  I have nothing against slower non-Hollywood output.  In fact, I prefer them to constant Michael Bay-style offerings.  It’s just in this case I felt everything that was good (and there was a lot of good) just seemed not enough when it came to the minuscule moments of ‘pay offs.’

I just sat there through one long drawn out dialogue scene after the next waiting for something that, when it did finally come, seemed like too little too late.  

There’s also a romantic sub-plot that seems to be have been crowbarred in.  And, finally, there’s Mikkelsen himself.  When it was all over I realised that his character (despite being one quarter of the film’s protagonists) could probably have been omitted all together.

Bleeder is a good film.  There’s too much right with it to condemn it all together.  It will definitely have an audience, but just don’t expect wall-to-wall fight scenes or explosions.  It’s the very definition of a ‘slow burner.’

6/10 Should probably keep you awake if Freddy Krueger was haunting your nights