Bleed (2016)

Starring: Chelsey Crisp, Riley Smith, & Michael Steger

Director: Tripp Rhame - Rating: NR - Score: 2 1/2

With a baby on the way, Sarah (Chelsey Crisp) and Matt (Michael Steger) decide to have some friends over to celebrate their new home and new family. It should have been a quiet day, until Sarah's unique brother Eric (Riley Smith) shows up. Eric is a drifter and a ghost hunter, whose bad behavior and odd ball girlfriend threaten to ruin the whole event. Eventually Eric gets into a discussion about what he does, and wanting to silence the skeptics, suggests a ghost hunt at an abandoned nearby prison, that's supposedly haunted. Well how could a woman who is six months pregnant not agree to hike through the woods to a haunted abandon building in the middle of nowhere? That part was a little ridiculous, but the backstory of the prison and the family dynamic actually wasn't too bad, especially for a B-horror movie without any big names attached to it. However that is what also becomes it's downfall, as once the action begins, the lack of experience and money for special effects comes into play, and this film quickly turns more into what I expected it to be. At 40 years old, Riley Smith seems to have been around forever, with over 75 IMDB credits under his belt. He was a pretty interesting character, why there wasn't more of a focus on Eric in the second half of the film, I don't know. I'm just a critic, but I can tell you from my experience, when you lack funds for better special effects, focus on the story and the experienced cast. The filmmakers didn't do that, and the whole thing just kind of falls apart at the end. Bleed wasn't bad for what it was, the first half half was better than expected, the second half, where all the fun stuff happens, was pretty much a disappointment.