Bloodwork Plot

University students/best buds Greg (Travis Van Winkle) and Rob (John Bregar) agree to be the test subjects of an experiment that pays enough to have a good vacation. Even though Rob is reluctant, Greg persuades him and they go the facility to start the trial of what they know as an allergy drug. But as they get their doses, they notice more and more anomalies at the place, as well as the weird attitude of some of the patience. Interestingly the more sensible Rob becomes more and more adjusted to the system as Greg grows uncharacteristically uncomfortable. Greg realizes that he might be the only one who is holding on to his sanity but saving himself or Rob will prove to be very difficult as he increasingly becomes more loyal to the program. And even though Greg knows they are being lied to, he is still unaware of the terrifying truth…

Bloodwork: Interesting, but Not At All Refreshing.

(*Some spoilers)

I am not a gore fan. I don’t even like seeing blood that much, and apart from the vampire feeding moments in the highly entertaining but not scary or disgusting The Vampire Diaries (or Angel or Queen of the Damned, etc.), I am not a fan.

I don’t like bugs (for an example on why it is a bad idea, see Colin Firth’s Trauma) or zombies.

That being said, I love a good thriller-especially where the thrills come from human psychology getting all screwed up. The more normal the guy was in the beginning, the bigger the effect of the transformation becomes.

If done well, humans being experimented upon and then all hell getting loose is a great idea. For decent examples, see The Killing Room or Das Experiment.

Bloodwork is decent up to the point where every single element that I don’t like comes together in a row: bugs, worms, dead animals, people turning zombies…And they are pretty bad at foreshadowing. Never mind the fact that you already predict many of the things that will happen (you are just on the lookout for the when/who and why), it doesn’t help that they either spell something out after it has happened, or they talk about how disgust works so that we stay human (as opposed to cannibalism and then the zombie thing happens.

Then there is the lack of security of the premises, the naiveté of everyone involved, underusing of the only better-known actor (Eric Roberts) in the film…..

I’d rate the movie 6 for the first half, 3 for the second. The acting is OK, but what good does that do while the story disappoints the hell out of you? 4/10 from me.

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