User reviews

'Bleeders' is known as 'Hemoglobin' in the UK which I will proceed to refer to this films as.

At the beginning of a film a young couple, Kathleen (played by the gorgeous Kristin Lehmann) and John Strauss (Roy Dupuis) arrive by boat on an island. Shortly after docking John has a kind of seizure and is quickly taken across the island to Dr. Marlowe (the legendary Rutger Hauer). It is here that we learn that John is suffering from some sort of blood disorder and has come to this island in hope of tracing his family and finding a possible cure.

At the same time, while excavating a graveyard to move the bodies due to the highly annoying local business woman using poor quality wood in her coffins it starts to become apparent that there are a number of bodies missing from the coffins.

'Hemoglobin' deals with themes rarely tackled by films in any genre. We have genetic mutations caused by incestuous relationships and also hermaphrodites. Despite only having occasional nudity, there is a strong sexual context to the film, though that seems there more to shock than to titillate.

People tend to slate the acting from this film, but I personally see no problem with it. The problem with the film in my opinion is to do with the extreme lack of useful dialogue and the overall execution of the idea. 'Hemoglobin' is a slow movie, therefore it's quite easy to lose interest, but at the same time when an event happens in the film that is of importance it is quick and often dealt with in a short amount of time. So to fully understand some of what is going on in the movie you really need to pay attention.

The ending was also somewhat of a disappointment and also feeled tacked on. There are so many questions left by the ending that one begins to wonder whether it was worth watching to begin with. Unless perhaps a sequel was planned but due to the negative reactions to the film was scrapped I can't actually see how the ending could have happened the way it did. But despite this there are some rather dramatic parts in the ending, you just need to sift through the rubbish.

The monster costumes are also a bad-point. Some of them look like they were made out of plasticine, and while they are fairly original looking it doesn't detract from the stupidity of how they look and move. But at least they didn't go for CGI, and other than the costumes there are some good make-up effects in 'Hemoglobin' that are actually quite praise worthy.

It's a slow moving movie that many people will find too dull to watch. I personally give it 4/10 and I'd say this film is for serious horror fans who are looking for something different.

This is an average horror flick that really should be better than it is. The initial screenplay adapts Lovecraft's "The Lurking Fear" and was by Dan O'Bannon and Ronald Shusett. The film sports a beautiful location (Grand Manan Island, Canada) that maintains that same creepy boating town vibe as their earlier DEAD & BURIED, but gets bogged thanks to flat direction from Peter Svatek. Dupuis, who also has the O'Bannon penned SCREAMERS on his resume (his mom must be proud), looks a tad out of place, more like a TWILIGHT reject with his pale skin, flowing hair and bad fashion sense. Hauer is decent in the film and actually survives. Oddly enough, half of the cast also popped up in THE SWEET HEREAFTER the same year. The film does earn points for having harm come to several children through out. Svatek must have some kind of fetish because he moved on to TV movies like BABY FOR SALE (2004) and STOLEN BABIES, STOLEN LIVES (2008).

I recently rented 'Hemoglobin' (also known as 'Bleeders') expecting the typical A-Pix film -- horrible acting, bad script and annoying children. So, when I got home and popped it in the VCR I was rather surprised to see an interesting not-so-horrorish film.

Sure, it still had the annoyingly fake children that A-Pix are known for, but in the end 'Hemoglobin' was rather interesting. The storyline was quite good -- a young man with blood problems and his wife visit the island on which he was born. This man searches the island to try to find out who his parents were and why he has his problems and ends up running into quite an interesting story. All while this is happening, townsfolk are disappearing or getting scared to death.

I think this film would probably be of interest to anyone who's a fan of the A-Pix style or people interested in the Suspense/Thriller genre. It's not the greatest film that your ever going to see, but it's something worth catching on late night television or if you have a dollar to spare.

Also, take note of one fact pointed out twice in the movie -- the main actress is pregnant. Can anyone smell a sequel?

These days, I tend to get all my movies from Blockbuster video sales. They have piles upon piles of VHS that they'll sell for either very little money or a completely expendable body part. I simply can't get enough.

It was at one of these sales that I found Bleeders. This wasn't the first time I had shopped for cheap movies, and I had already amassed a collection that included some of the all time classics ("Elves," "Jack-O"). I found Bleeders and thought it would fit in nicely with what I already had.

I wasn't so much disappointed as I was completely apathetic. I simply didn't care about Bleeders. I didn't care what happened to the townsfolk. I didn't care what happened to the increasingly ugly John Strauss. I didn't even care what happened to the Bleeders themselves.

Sure, it seems neat in theory. A pale, scrawny, utterly intolerable mainlander named John Strauss comes to a small island community looking for clues to his past. Why? I'm not really sure. Whoever he's looking for is probably just as hideous and obnoxiously dull.

Anyway, he uncovers a deadly secret in the form of the Bleeder beasts, who proceed to terrorize the town blah blah blah blah blah. It really isn't worth it to elaborate. Put simply, a story is told that could have been exciting, but is instead overacted and underproduced. While I wouldn't call it a complete failure, its shortcomings place it somewhere in the middle, where I'm sure it will quickly fade into obscurity.

I didn't turn the movie off early, but I was reading a book while it played. That's the kind of film no one needs to see.

But since I did, I suggest all of you do too. Please.

This film first appeared to me via the television and yes, I watched it. Even found a copy of the DVD too. I think one of the reasons was that it really creep ed me out. I mean...REALLY. And it is not like me to be creep ed out but I was eating a sandwich about half-way through the film. That sandwich did not get finished LOL.

The plot and idea is a shocker (not unheard of) but if it had been taken to even more nasty levels my god, it would have been one hell of a...*shivers*. But it does have its good points and its bad points, as any film.

5/10

What? A lousy 2.7 rating out of ten around here? That's at least two whole points to few. I'm not claiming it deserves a rating higher than five, but still "Bleeders" isn't nearly as awful as indicated by this low rating and it actually features a handful of good & fairly original ideas! This movie handles about macabre topics like deformed monsters caused by generations of incestuous relationships and even freaking hermaphrodites, so I'm tempted to honor it with more points just for NOT being another uninspired teen slasher flick or uneventful ghost-story. This low-budgeted B-effort opens with a young couple arriving at a remote island where the atmosphere is clearly ominous and unwelcoming. The man, John Strauss, suffers from a rare blood disease and came to the island to find a cure, as all his ancestors were living there. Along with his loving wife Kathleen and the local doctor (Rutger Hauer), John learns he's the last survivor of the notorious Van Daam family; a line of highborn Dutch perverts who fled their own country after it became illegal to fornicate with each other. The hated family supposedly got extinct now, but they're still living underneath the island in a network of caves and they feed on corpses stolen from the local cemetery. So the plot is a little stupid and quite the opposite of scary, "Bleeders" is still an entertaining flick that often feels like an old-fashioned and cheesy 80's effort. The Van Daam monsters look like little trolls and they don't really do much, apart from munching through corpses and pulling people under the ground. It's really not a bad movie story wise, after all it's adapted from a Lovecraft story by no less than Dan O'Bannon, but the execution is undeniably tacky. Most of the locations and scenery look really ugly and there also is a severe pacing problem. The first half of the film is rather slow, whilst the second & more entertaining half often gets interrupted for pointless reasons, like the completely gratuitous sex sequence for example. The dialogs are laughably inept, Hauer is underused in his role as town's doctor and the climax is too easy to predict as well. Come to think of it…maybe it does deserve the 2.7 rating! Nah, it's good fun when you're in an undemanding mood.

First, a caveat. Rutger Hauer is one of my favorite actors and I usually enjoy sci fi/horror films. This movie, however, is just a mess--poorly written, poorly acted and utterly senseless. (Although the Canadian location is beautiful. I loved the long shots of the island and the lighthouse. Maybe the filmmakers should have made a travelogue.) Unless you have a fetish for really bad movies, stay away from this one.

I managed to catch this movie after work the other night, having seen it in my local Blockbuster many times, i've come close to renting it, and now, i'm thanking god I never did, or I think I shall have been forced to demand my money back. I was slapped stupid with Rutger Hauer's acceptance of a role in such a horrible film. I am an avid fan of horror, scifi, and "sciency" movies, so just because this falls under the horror category doesn't discourage me from the rest of the category. This plot, (as much as I could follow anyhow) takes place on an island, there's these mutated, inbred, horrible looking creatures that live underground and eat dead human flesh. There's the "as close to normal" as you're going to get alive people living above ground. They start getting eaten, very predictable. However, one of the "normal" (and I stress normal) people, turns out to be inbred and related to the things underground, I think there was some side story about some "blood disease" but this movie honestly didn't hold my attention, or my ability to care long enough to really pay attention. At any rate, this man's wife & pardon me for not having actor/actress names, I didn't take the time out to find out who anyone else was. is pregnant with his baby a scary enough thought, pregnant with the mutant/inbred's baby but knowing that her husband could die from his "disease" NEVER tells him she is. She was a total un-necessary character if you ask me, she served no real meaningful purpose other than to sit there and whine a lot. Well anyhow, what it boils down to "things" come after people, of course there is a storm, no power, etc., but rather than hop on boats <which you assume a great many people who live on an ISLAND would have they stick it out in a lighthouse, this could be seeable if the power had gone out at night, but folks the power was out ALL DAY LONG. I won't even go on about this fiasco any further, but i'll say this: Shame on Rutger Hauer for being in this movie, his role as a DR. serves no real purpose, and if you want campy, horror fun, rent the Evil Dead instead.

This movie is a great B movie a lot better than most. It's a horror-mystery that will keep you on the edge of your seat. Aside from the all the blood shed there is also a little bit of a romantic side to the movie.

One of the worst movies ever. Thing is i dont really know why. I really like horror movies. Low budget is something i dont care about. Actually this movie is better made then many others i really do like. But it just doesn't happen. The movie is so slow and boring. Even the few action sequences when Rutger Hauer is chasing the monsters are slow and boring. The ending isn't quite what i expected, so i guess that's the only good thing to say about it. Don't see it!!!

I had to leave a comment on this one because so many people seem to hate it and its a personal favorite of mine. It's based on the Lurking Fear and personally i thought it was one of the best HP Lovecraft based films that I've seen and stays pretty close to the original story. Of course having said that I'm a big fan of both Unnameable films which seem to have been similarly slaughtered and Reanimator (only the first one!) so perhaps I'm more predisposed to these movies than the average guy. I thought Roy Dupuis and Rutger Hauer did a really good job. Maybe the US release title of 'Bleeders', which is pretty awful gives a negative impression to begin with, in the UK this was released a Hemoglobin, not nearly as painful. If you love Lovecraft then you'll probably enjoy this.

Now, it isn't for everybody mind you, not even every die hard horror fans; but if you like freaky monsters under the ground from origins to awful to speak aloud, then not only are you a Lovecraft fan (see Shadow Over Innsmouth), but you'll probably enjoy this movie. Not fully incorporating the Cthulhu Mythos, huge parallels are seen in the backwoods MA people, the fish like monsters and something that came from a long time ago. Surprisingly, unlike the vicious scheiBfare Lovecraft renditions that came out of the eighties, this is surprisingly well done. It has actors and actresses that don't foul up the Lovecraftian nightmare that the director has in store for the audience, and a good plot. My only question was, so what happens next.

First off all, the story line was horrible, but, because it was made on the island that I live on, and my mom and my aunt were in it, I like it a little more, and have sympathy for it. It has some pretty famous actors in it, and it might have been OKAY if it had a better story line. I mean come on, a girl that could have sex with herself?! thats a little weird. Some of the actors were a little ... odd, but others were pretty good, and pretty famous, and it makes me happy to know that it was filmed where I live. It was kind of odd at one part, when they had a war scene, and this girl got killed with a fork, but it rocked my world. Anyways, the movie makes for a good laugh, so, I think that you should watch it because low quality films rock, and this is CERTAINLY low quality.

I wrestled with myself as I took this off the shelf. "Look! O'Bannon and Shusett co-wrote it! Y'know, 'Alien' and 'Dead And Buried'. And Rutger's in it!". I still knew in my heart it was gonna stink, but I rented it anyway. And much to my surprise, it was nowhere near as awful as I feared it was going to be. Okay, it has many faults, especially the two no-name Canadian leads, a hack director, and a predictable plot which offers absolutely nothing unexpected whatsoever (which is made even worse by a DVD slick which doesn't even attempt to keep anything to itself), but I found it quite watchable just the same. I'm a sucker for Lovecraftian movies, Rutger has little more than a cameo really, but he's pretty cool in it, and there are one or two effective scares and creepy touches. So the verdict is utter trash but fun. Goes well with beer!

Like Lurking Fear, Bleeders is also inspired by Lovecraft's short story The Lurking Fear. Basic premise is taken from Lovecraft, but plot is completely different than both previous movie and original story. Although, this time it's pretty solid. Screenplay I liked a lot, movie not so much. I have no specific objections, it's simply that overall impression is white-livered. Decent entertainment for genre fans.

5/10

Don't know if anyone remembers the box for this or not, but it had a packet of fake blood taped to the front and you could squish it with your fingers. You gotta miss that kind of showmanship now that VHS has become obsolete! Well anyway, back to the film...

A pale, terminally sick man (Roy Dupuis) arrives on a secluded Canadian island with his blonde nurse wife (Kristin Lehman) to trace his family lineage in hopes of finding a cure for his "degenerative congenital blood disease." Turns out he's actually a descendant of the incestuous Van Daam clan, whose keeping-it-in-the-family lifestyle has resulted in little, legless, rubbery, bright-light-hating monsters who lurk beneath dark catacombs and emerge with claw hammers to nosh the blood of townspeople. First off, you might expect better coming a from a film scripted by Dan O'Bannon (ALIEN) and Ronald Shusett (FREEJACK), but there are several glaring plot holes and the premise, despite perverse sexual elements, is overly familiar. Rutger Hauer is also wasted yet again as a boozy doctor. However, it's not a complete washout and that's largely due to very good performances from Dupuis and Lehman, who make you believe in their characters and their plight, even though this thing is downright stupid much of the time. Watch for them in other things, but this horror exploiter will be best remembered by me for that nifty box.

I first watched "Hemoglobin" quite some time ago and quite honestly couldn't remember a thing about it, recently got a copy dirt cheap on DVD and I felt that I got my monies worth. A word of warning, the DVD artwork gives Rutger Hauer top billing, the great man is indeed in it but in a smaller role than some of the other cast. Secondly it says "From the creators of "Aliens" and "Total Recall" ", please don't go into this with high hopes as this movie was made on a fraction on the budget of those two blockbusters. Things kick off with a prologue set in the 17th Century, a young woman called Eva is seen making love to her lover - her twin brother!! Then it's on to the present day. Watching this I thought of HP Lovecraft but it wasn't until afterwards when I Googled the movie that I discovered that it is based on his story "The Lurking Fear", so if you are a fan of the author then check it out. The plot features hermaphrodite mutants that live under ground and live on human flesh. These are hideous looking creatures and the make up is quite good, there are also some good gory effects too (plus a couple of sex scenes in the uncut version). The rugged Canadian coastal location is bleak and the cemetery and lighthouse are the settings for much of the horror action. I found the acting to be acceptable. The plot is nothing special but the creatures, gore and nudity make up for that, worth a watch but it's no classic.

Original name for this waste of tape was to be 'Hemoglobin'. Guesse they had to dumb it down. Even though my mom and sister are extras in this thing, I have to say, absolute garbage.

Also, the islanders where it was filmed took some offence to the concept of inbreeding being suggested. Nuff said.

This film serves best as a doorstop.

Actual production looked promising, the film is entirely cliché and seems to have been edited by commit tee.

SFX suffer entirely, the latex puppets looked great in person, I have no idea how they didn't realize they were filming it too dark.

This is an excellent, if not a pleasant, movie. While not an especially good adaptation of The Lurking Fear, it draws effectively on other Lovecraft, notably The Rats in the Walls, Pickman's model, and even The Shadow Over Innsmouth. The end result is a movie that should appeal to any horror fan with a strong enough stomach, but particularly to fans of Lovecraft's post-Darwinian take on the Gothic.

The word dumb does not do justice to this movie. The plot is laughable and the monsters are so silly looking that you can hardly be frightened by them. I watched it with a bunch of friends and we had a blast talking about how stupid it was. If Mystery Science Theater 3000 is ever revived, this one is a prime candidate.

This is really an _adaptation_ as far as the lovecraft story is concerned, but in my opinion a rather good one. (at least if you've watched some of the other films 'based on' H.P Lovecraft stories.) It is loosely based on "The Lurking Fear" by H.P Lovecraft, and explores some cool and horrible ideas about inbreeding and other goodies.

The movie in itself features mostly good acting, and a really cool storyline. The effects aren't bad, and there's lots of blood and other goo. I truly recommend this to lovecraft fans, or just horror fans, out there. Don't go by the ratings on this one. Even if it won't scare you, some scenes are a bit on the creepy side (mostly just funny and/or cool).

Not a "HOLY CRAP THIS IS AN EXCELLENT MOVIE"-movie, but if you like B-flicks with monsters, blood and gore, this is one for you!

Now I won't say this is an excellent Lovecraft adaptation, but I will say this is a decent horror-drama based on a Lovecraft story (called "The Lurking Fear"). The acting was okay, with Rutger Hauer and leading lady Kristin Lehman being among the best of the cast. The story developed at a slow but satisfying pace. There was one jump-scene that actually worked (the arm bursting through the widow's coffin). The mutant inbred-crawlers were creepy (some of them were real amputated people as actors with monstrous make-up). And there's a pretty redundant, but nonetheless steamy and mildly exciting sex-scene near the end. Some children were even killed in this movie! And the ending is slightly sad or tragic or whatever... This film is known in Europe under the title "Hemoblobin", and I honestly don't understand that very low rating it has on here. You guys should try watching some of the real crap out there.

probably one of the worst movies ever made. The acting is fine, but the plotline is terrible. I know if i was an actor i would be embarrassed to put this on my resume. The opening made it sound like it could be good, but the film dragged and it not once made me care about the characters