Rovdrift (2009) User Reviews

unoriginal and shortcutted

[bradleybean86 · 2/10 · 15 December 2012]

in an attempt to not slam any other artist's work by being meanspirited, i'll "shortcut" this review in order to keep suit with the film. in it's original language, this is a botched effort to make a scary/gory/exploitation movie. Why? For one, most of the killings (while brutal in nature) have little to no actual gore because the camera pans away to something else so we are staring at boring shots of walls listening to odd dark euro house/poptrance song that's actually the HIGHLIGHT of this film. The lyrics to the song are in English, very repetitive, and if you contrast them in comparison to what's actually occurring in this movie you can't help but wonder if this was in an attempt to foreshadow/be ironic or if the person who produced the song just happen to write lyrics that shamelessly nod to the plot.

About the plot, it's there. It's not pretty, though. The leading actress is not an attractive woman, she is not aesthetically pleasing or remotely likable, and you probably won't care what happens to her - or be even remotely surprised by any part of this movie unless you're a complete newbie to the horror genre. And if you are, please pass this up for one of the many other Tremendous independent/low budget euro films from the past decade(s) that exist. This one weighs the genre down in comparison.

Bleed all over - with me

[kosmasp · 4/10 · 10 February 2023]

No pun intended - the movie as any movie, does try and wants to give us the viewers the best result it can. Arguably it does not achieve that goal. And depending on your ability to suspend your disbelief and if you like horror thrillers or not - well that will determine how much slack you will give the movie and its actors.

The effects are quite ok, the story is predictable. The video quality is not really good. Technically we have evolved a lot in the last couple of decades. So the low budget nature of the movie does really show - a lot. We can circle back to the suspension of disbelief here. Try to remember that for a lot of things.

Not the best dialog either, but I didn't expect anything in that department to be honest. It's almost funny, if you have met the bad guy of the movie, he is such a sweet and nice guy in real life ... so kudos to him for living out and playing it the way he does. Still the movie will not get many likes - or whatever you want to call it. And not just for the nature of the plot ...

Brilliant, subtle and extremely effective

[filmfreak-5 · 10/10 · 26 June 2009]

Barmaid, Laura (Camilla Metelmann) has not had a good day. After an upsetting phone call from her alcoholic mother, a long and tiring evening at work is rounded off by a late night troublemaker. Having missed the last bus home and and feeling both spooked and understandably paranoid, she climbs into a taxi. She doesn't know it yet but her evening is about to get worse. A lot worse.

The nameless taxi driver (Kim Sønderholm) into whose cab Laura has stepped has his own plans for the evening and, although it takes a while for her to realize this, Laura is in a great deal of trouble.

For a large part of its running time, Bleed With Me takes place entirely within the taxi and writer/director Emil Ishii uses this confined space to put us through what may well be the most tense and gripping taxi ride screened to date. The film draws you right to the edge of your seat as Laura slowly realizes that her driver is more than just a bit quiet, and then it becomes genuinely nail-biting as it slowly reveals just how badly events are going to turn.

That things are going to turn very bad indeed is quite clear pretty much from the moment that Laura steps into the cab. The fact that you know this, without knowing exactly where the plot is going to go, is what makes the film is so effective. The tension starts building relentlessly as soon as Laura climbs into the cab and keeps on building, with no let-up whatsoever, as the film progresses.

There is a lot more to this film, though, than just two people in a taxi and when the film reaches this point, it manages to very efficiently convey the taxi driver's back story. This approach tells us everything we need to know about the character, making him both believable and sinister, without sacrificing an ounce of tension.

Bleed With Me is a taut, claustrophobic thriller that grips you from the outset and doesn't let go until the final credits roll. It's a very brutal film that manages to achieve this sense of brutality without being particularly gory. Indeed, the sense of brutality is achieved largely because of the absence of excessive gore.

Rather than relying on blood and guts, the film achieves its impact through a combination of very tight plotting, grimly atmospheric and outstanding performances on the part of both of the lead actors.

Both of the two lead characters are very well drawn and superbly brought to life by Metelmann and Sønderholm who both deliver shockingly powerful and utterly believable performances that really do keep you on the edge of your seat.

Bleed With Me is one of the most frighteningly effective thrillers I have seen in a long time. Although not particularly long, the film has no padding and allows you absolutely no relief as it builds an atmosphere that is both tense and unnerving. It's a psychological thriller that exploits the fear of getting into the wrong taxi to tremendous effect and one that will stay with you for a long time after it's finished.