Bliss of Evil (2022) Poster

(2022)

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5/10
A likable enough but somewhat flawed Australian slasher
kannibalcorpsegrinder29 October 2023
Arriving at a music recording studio, a band looking to lay down tracks for a new rehearsal demo with a new bandmember after a tumultuous turnover recently, but when they find themselves trapped inside and hunted down one by one, they have to figure out who's responsible for them to get away alive.

Overall, there's a lot to like with this one. One of the brighter factors here is the generally strong and likable setup that manages to bring about an intriguing starting point. The introduction of the group to the studio and the reaction to what's going on at the studio is a fine start to what's going on later as a series of fun encounters with the other members of the band allow us to get to know them before the other factors get involved. This shows up in their discovery of the dead friend and the immediate jump into a slew of paranoia-fueled encounters that showcase their characters before getting to the horror later on with the dead bodies here showing the killer appearing and setting about his hunt knocking them off one by one in the various confrontations that take place around the studio. It's a solid mix of stalking and brutal kills that take place here which have enough to raise this one quite nicely. There are still some issues to be had with this one. The main issue with the film is the main killer here who has one of the weakest and stupidest motivations for going after the group which strikes as immensely short-sighted and petty to the point of feeling underwhelming more than anything. His lack of imposing physique and generally non-threatening nature are also big detrimental factors in keeping him from being anything more than a joke which is even more apparent in the utterly confusing and scattershot finale that shows him to be ineffectual while also going through some confusing means of confronting him. It all makes no sense and is way too confusingly shot to make any kind of impact on top of the flimsy means it's all shot compared to the far more effective scenes earlier on so to suddenly switch it up here is a big mark against it and are what all end up bringing this one down.

Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Violence and Graphic Language.
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5/10
Decent slasher
BandSAboutMovies24 April 2023
Warning: Spoilers
Based on true events - when has a movie ever lied to you, this one claims that something much like this happened in 1997 in a Brisbane, Australia recording studio - Bliss of Evil is about the band Prom Night as they practice at Elephant Studios. It's a family-owned studio, with Uncle Michael (Wayne Bassett) as the boss and Isla (Sharnee Tones) as the recording engineer.

She's also the girlfriend of the band's leader Nic (Shanay De Marco). The band has a new guitarist named Lee (Jordan Schulte) as well as bassist Roy (Brendan R Burman-Bellenger) and drummer Rhea (Emily Rowbottom). Hey - they even have a groupie named Courtney (Chenaya Aston).

Things seem to be going fine. But then, why are they in a horror movie, right?

Then Lee kicks this movie into horror business by asking to play the band's song "Bliss of Evil." This causes Isla to freak out and undergo a panic attack, but she tells everyone that she can handle it. Obviously, there's some trauma behind the music.

Enter Bloodface (Corrie Hinschen).

Directed by Josh Morris, who wrote it with Connie Hinschen, this is a movie long on both style and substance. Everything seems filled with dread from the very open, as we see the studio and everything in it covered in blood. We know something horrible is going to happen. We don't know what, but that worry permeates every second.

Soon, everyone is locked inside with that killer. He just might be the dead guitarist of Prom Night - and the reason why Isla is so filled with nerves and trauma - and maybe, just maybe, this night of bloody horror means something to Isla more than it all seems.

I liked that the kills stay off-screen and that Morris made something pretty stylish for the budget and two weeks or less of shooting time. It's definitely different than your typical by the numbers slasher.
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