Seven on the list of dead From documents and testimonies that came to us from the secret bunkers of the Third Reich, we learned that the Nazi henchmen of Adolf Hitler carried out not only traditional research experiments, but also tried to conquer the supernatural forces with which it was planned to conquer not only Europe but also the rest of the world. Of course, serious academic historians try once again not to cling to such information, considering it to be nothing more than an illustration of the occult amusements of Hitler, Himmler and other leaders of Germany, but the mass consciousness of ordinary people could not so easily forget about the search for immortality by the Reich, attempts to recreate an invulnerable soldier and even find the rarest biblical relics with incredible mystical energy. Moreover, our imagination in certain things reaches such proportions that even a small insignificant lead becomes the basis for a whole conspiracy theory, delving into which, you begin to believe in it and believe that this is how everything once happened. Conspiracy theorists most actively associated Germany with the zombie virus, which most spectacularly blossomed in popular culture, gave us dozens of books, films and games about the living dead in German military uniforms. However, zombies are not the only living theories about Hitler’s occult experiments. In addition to the inexorably advancing hordes of the dead, we also had the honor of watching the angry ghosts, monsters and other products of the restless fantasy that turned Germany during the Nazi era into a bulwark of the science fiction revolution. And now it’s time for the master of special effects, artist and director Justin Dix to say his word in this field along with the production of the film ' Bloodship' in which, despite the many flaws, you can find a lot of interesting things.
So, the plot of the film takes place in 1945. The final surrender of Germany and Japan will take place very soon, but it is too early to relax. Despite the widespread offensive of the Allies, the Germans are not going to give up the fight and sometimes take suicide steps to postpone the fall of their Reich. Especially difficult is the situation in the North Atlantic, where German submarines continue to operate, with orders to destroy all aliens that appear in their sight. And one of these ships was not lucky enough to fall under the onslaught of a German torpedo, which left no chance to stay afloat. Moreover, the Germans did not even care that the ship belonged to the category of medical and was essentially defenseless. Now, after the attack, only seven lucky survivors remain, including the Soviet military Alexander Teplov (Alex Cook), performing his special mission. Once on the raft, the tired, motley company of the poor man was already preparing for a long and painful death, when suddenly an abandoned minesweeper with the distinctive signs of Germany materializes right next to them. And since there are no better options for salvation a priori, the heroes decide on their own to explore what is inside. But the answer will not please you.
Having written the script ' Bloody Ship' for a couple with his co-author Jordan Prosser, Justin Dix went on a winning path, because he connected two popular plot leads in one film at once, capable of attracting a whole army of viewers to view. Deeks took as the basis of the story mysterious German experiments and combined them with ancient stories about ghost ships, frightening people since the beginning of world navigation. Especially demanding viewers should not count on any special genre revelations here, and nevertheless among similar in content paintings, such as ' Ghost Ship' with Gabriel Byrne, ' Bloody Ship' is not lost at all. It becomes in this friendly series and tells a largely predictable, but still intriguing story in which the forces of evil can present a serious surprise. This time, the creators have dispensed with the traditional idea of monsters raised in the secret laboratories of the Third Reich, and this feature of the film is his greatest asset, since monotonous zombies and ghosts are no longer able to inspire fear, and something fresh and unexpected is always welcomed by the public, who have studied the genre from one end to the other.
But despite the fact that the film has an ominous atmosphere and in some moments even frightening, it is impossible not to admit that periodically it just takes and tramples on the spot, it is unclear what to expect. Most likely, Justin Dix thereby wanted to demonstrate the feeling of inexorable approach of hopelessness for his characters, but instead caught up with boredom, which, of course, was diluted with action and all sorts of horrors, and yet this film was expected to have a little more dynamics, as in the same 'Ghost Ship'. In addition, do not add the interest and characters of the vast majority of survivors, because they are needed here not for the dramatic development of the plot, but in order to periodically die and thereby demonstrate the tangible danger of what is happening. And it turns out that the numerous quarrels and mutual accusations occurring inside the company of the heroes, the simplicity shook the air and did not lead to anything. And in general, the abundance of dissatisfied, their claims and stupid actions, committed absolutely out of place, do not benefit the audience’s perception of the picture, which has in fact many strengths floating in the long list of directorial mistakes of Justin Dix.
Speaking about the technical component of the film, it is worth admitting that it is also far from perfect, although it is not a failure. The author of the film Justin Dix is known in the circles of professional filmmakers as the author of quality effects, artist and designer. At the time, he worked on several high-profile projects, including the Second episode & #39; Star Wars' which means that the audience had the right to expect something spectacular from him even though the producers did not allocate an impressive production budget to Deeks. 'Bloody Ship' distinctive in that the main scenery here was a real ship, and it is definitely good. However, as for the use of graphics and especially makeup, especially concerning the sinister force registered on the minesweeper, then the film is not all right. You can see that there was not enough money, and Deeks himself was more worried about quarrels between the characters and the arrangement of lights in dark corridors than for other technical aspects of his work. And the result was frankly mediocre, although with the available capabilities, the director could create something more impressive, that’s for sure.
In the end, I want to say that ' Bloodship' is a rather memorable genre work, but it is impossible not to admit that the film will appeal primarily to fans of stories about Nazi experiments and cursed ships. In this area 'Bloody Ship' feels great, and yet there was too much unnecessary tinsel in the story itself, which prevents it from becoming anything more than a standard mystical horror.
5 out of 10