When a struggling man (David Zaldivar) stumbles across a dead body, he uses it to his advantage. He takes his clothes and his house keys and effectively makes himself at home in the corpse’s house. When he realizes that he’s put himself in a precarious situation, now at the mercy of a couple of men in suits, he must make a decision. Will he be able to get his life back on track, or will his series of unfortunate decisions be his downfall? Bloodworm is his story.
Toward the conclusion of the film there is a man standing in the background, and this is inexplicable and inexcusable. This individual isn’t credited as one of the actors in the film, as the the three actors in the film are appropriately credited. That means only one thing, someone accidentally ended up in the shot–and no one caught it (or they thought viewers wouldn’t notice). Does this ruin Bloodworm for the average viewer? Probably not. However, the reality is that Writer-Director Kai Wen didn’t give this film as much attention as it needed. It’s details like this (and, honestly, this isn’t a small detail) that can make or break a film–they can change a viewer’s perspective on the film as a whole, and to a degree this does change the way I feel about the film. This oversight will effectively dismantle the viewing experience for many–which is a shame.
I found the story present in Bloodworm to be intriguing–at least part of it. I appreciate the idea that a man who’s down on his luck stumbles across a seemingly great opportunity, and that he’s willing to take the plunge in an attempt to shake things up in his favor. This aspect of the film is lovely, and it’s truly entertaining. The rest of the story, however, extends itself too far in a sort of unbelievable fashion. I can’t fully understand how two hitmen find their way into this film, and the lack of exposition makes it challenging to connect the dots. There’s issues in the middle of the film that never really go away–and they hinder the second half of the film, stripping it of cohesion and balance.
I get what Wen is going for in the final act of the film, throwing the characters into the woods in the dark night. It’s intended to develop drama and intensity, and to reel in viewers just a bit further before the film’s conclusion. The fact of the matter is, however, that Bloodworm has strayed too far off the beaten path (plus that aforementioned, unnamed man in the background) to solidify itself is this stoic drama. What Bloodworm needed to do was remain true to the first few minutes of the film and focused on the film’s protagonist (I guess we can call him that) rather than adding another, unnecessary layer.
It was brought to my attention by someone familiar with the area in which Bloodworm takes place that there are even more issues than may initially meet the eye; and for a viewer like me, they may go unnoticed. These things don’t matter to me in the grand scheme of the film, but what does matter are the unattended to issues that plague the film, and those things somehow went unnoticed by the filmmakers. There are things about Bloodworm that I genuinely liked–but the lack of attention to detail makes me think that this film wasn’t a priority to the filmmakers, and that makes me struggle to appreciate it.
Written & Directed by Kai Wen.
Starring David Zaldivar, Dan Berkey, & Evan Feist.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐½/10
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