Peter Falk is just great in his second screen role in this Canadian depiction of the "Beat Generation". Nico (Falk) is the self-appointed ringleader of a bunch of beatniks who deals drugs and violence, but still has to find ways to amuse himself. Determined to "make a statement" in regards to the topic of death, he ends up feeding a burger laced with broken glass to an unsuspecting delivery boy (William R. Kowalchuk). Soon, the boys' grieving older brother (Jack Betts, who's done everything from two "Sartana" films of the early 70s to mainstream titles like Sam Raimis' "Spider-Man", and "Gods and Monsters") decides to do some investigating of his own, infiltrating Nicos' crowd.
"The Bloody Brood" may not be truly "great cinema", but it deserves some respect for being one of the earliest Canadian-made films of any note. (The producer-director Julian Roffman went on to make the trippy, surreal 3D horror flick "The Mask"). Its depiction of the Beat Generation is quite a hoot, complete with "artistic" types like the poet Paul (Kenneth Wickes), and a bespectacled goofball named Dave (Ron Taylor). Cliff (Betts) does develop an attraction to Ellie (Barbara Lord), a lovely member of this crowd. Overall, this picture is well-paced (wrapping up in just 72 minutes), generally agreeable nonsense, with impressive, atmospheric photography by Eugene Shuftan, who won an Oscar a few years later for his shooting of the Hollywood classic "The Hustler". The jazzy score is quite engaging.
The acting from the able cast (also including Ron Hartmann as TV commercial director Francis, Robert Christie as Detective McLeod, and W.B. Brydon as thuggish greaser "Studs") keeps this consistently watchable, as well as a funny script with its fair share of loopy dialogue. (Four people collaborated on the screenplay: Anne Howard Bailey, Ben Kerner, Elwood Ullman, and Des Hardman.) But make no mistake: Falk, in a performance that commands ones' attention, is the main reason to watch.
This makes an interesting companion piece to another, much better known 1959 film, the Roger Corman / Dick Miller classic "A Bucket of Blood".
Seven out of 10.
"The Bloody Brood" may not be truly "great cinema", but it deserves some respect for being one of the earliest Canadian-made films of any note. (The producer-director Julian Roffman went on to make the trippy, surreal 3D horror flick "The Mask"). Its depiction of the Beat Generation is quite a hoot, complete with "artistic" types like the poet Paul (Kenneth Wickes), and a bespectacled goofball named Dave (Ron Taylor). Cliff (Betts) does develop an attraction to Ellie (Barbara Lord), a lovely member of this crowd. Overall, this picture is well-paced (wrapping up in just 72 minutes), generally agreeable nonsense, with impressive, atmospheric photography by Eugene Shuftan, who won an Oscar a few years later for his shooting of the Hollywood classic "The Hustler". The jazzy score is quite engaging.
The acting from the able cast (also including Ron Hartmann as TV commercial director Francis, Robert Christie as Detective McLeod, and W.B. Brydon as thuggish greaser "Studs") keeps this consistently watchable, as well as a funny script with its fair share of loopy dialogue. (Four people collaborated on the screenplay: Anne Howard Bailey, Ben Kerner, Elwood Ullman, and Des Hardman.) But make no mistake: Falk, in a performance that commands ones' attention, is the main reason to watch.
This makes an interesting companion piece to another, much better known 1959 film, the Roger Corman / Dick Miller classic "A Bucket of Blood".
Seven out of 10.