‘Bloat’ is a movie that had a cool concept, but was a bit too ambitious for its own good.
Bloat Synopsis
A young boy becomes possessed by a legendary demon after almost drowning in a lake. As his parents race against time to save his soul, the evil monster tries to tear the family apart and destroy everyone in its path.
My Thoughts on Bloat
Bloat is one of those movies that flirts with being good, but unfortunately it’s a movie that just keeps tripping over its own shoelaces.
The setup isn’t bad, and we get some backstory with some emotional weight, but then it just doesn’t go anywhere, and while there’s a nice slow-burn tension that works well early on, it just ends up doing that thing where it builds up all the atmosphere and mystery and then just sort of goes, “Nah, I’m done,” and walks off before the good bit.
It’s shot as a ‘screenlife’ film (Well, when it wants to be one), and you have this constant jumping between screens and livestreams with weird camera angles happening, and after a while, it starts to feel like the film doesn’t trust its own format, and the film isn’t as tight or clever as it needs to be for this to work.
Which is maybe why they abandon the format whenever it seems to please them?
But anyway, you watch everything through Jack’s computer screen, as his family’s off in Japan, and weird stuff starts happening, and Jack’s just sitting there, clicking things.
The actual creepy stuff? You don’t see it, you just hear about it. Someone tells Jack what happened, and then you, the viewer, get to sit there and go, “Oh, that sounds scary.”
The characters are also kind of dull and boring, and while I don’t need a full backstory on everyone, you could throw me a bone? Give me someone to root for or at least not get annoyed by, but instead, I’m watching people be haunted while also being boring, which is a hell of a combo.
You keep waiting for it to really do something, but it never does, as it all just fizzles out meekly towards the anti climatic ending, and by the time the credits roll, you’re not scared and you’re not moved.
You just feel nothing, as the film doesn’t really give you a lot to feel, it’s just full of empty space with nothing to actually chew on.
It was a cool idea, but one that really fails to hit the mark, and I am not really sure what else to say.
Bloat Good Points
Cool Setting – Japan as the backdrop is nice, and especially all the connections to Japanese folklore.
Ambitious Concept – The filmmakers clearly tried to do something bigger with the screenlife format, which is a cool idea in theory, and I applaud them for that, even if it doesn’t work.
Bloat Bad Points
Wrong Format for the Story – The screenlife style actually weakens the story, and most of the action happens off screen, which basically kills any suspense, and you’re left with not much to chew on.
Cliché Possession Plot – The possession story hits all the usual horror tropes.
The Ending – The ending is rushed and underwhelming, and the climax just kind of happens, and then, that’s it
Is Bloat Watching?
Not really, I mean, if I am being kind, if you’re into films like Unfriended, Searching, or Host, and don’t mind when the format gets a little loose, you might find some value here.
But probably not, as it is all quite underwhelming, with everything just feeling flat, with little immersion or anything to grab hold of.
Where To Stream Bloat?
Bloat Director and Cast
Director – Pablo Absento.
Main Cast – Ben McKenzie, Bojana Novakovic, Malcolm Fuller, Sawyer Jones, Kane Kosugi.
Found Footage Horror Movies 
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