The demanding and often torturous world of ballet has garnered quite a few horror films in its time. It is a ripe topic for sure when it comes to standard horror movie tropes with its dark backstage areas and often confusing labyrinth that theaters can often be. There’s the vicious competition of being the best and getting the lead between dancers, who often tend to be young, pressured girls either fresh off of puberty or jaded by their strict and often thankless hard work. Bloody Ballet, aka Fantasma, tries to capture the beauty of a Suspiria or Black Swan, and as enjoyable of a film as it is, it fails to hit the mark.
Director Brett Mullen and writer Matt Cloude have given us a fun time machine back to the 80’s with this weird and wonderful thriller which stars Kendra Carelli (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2) as Adriana, a girl who has just landed the lead role in The Nutcracker with her ballet company. But she is a tortured person, having survived the brutal murders of her parents when she was eight years old. Debbie Rochon plays Dr. Cassinelli, the therapist trying to treat her as Adriana begins to be plagued by terrible visions and the very real threat of a masked murdered killing off everyone around her. The film also features Katie Carpenter (The Haunting of Hill House,) and Caroline Williams.
The best part of this film is the performances. Carelli is tremendous as Adriana, navigating the vast mood swings the dancer goes through and every other actor in this film is giving as much gravitas as they can. My issue resides in the two-dimensionality of it all. At times the movie is disjointed, the subplot of the man in the abandoned asylum given no real follow-through, let alone a real reason as to why the subplot even exists since it seems to do nothing but limply bookend the film. I also take real issue with the climax being blamed on Dis-associative Identity Disorder. It is thrown over the ending like a used towel on the laundry. As someone who suffers not from DID but other mental health disorders, I take a little bit of offense to how they shrug off the ending of the film onto a label rather than taking any care into how real sufferers of DID aren’t psycho murderers. I get that they are trying to keep true to their callback of classic slashers, where you could say “split personality!” and have all questions magically be answered with it.
There is something to be said for the cheesy and nostalgic synth sound of the score. Although at times it doesn’t seem to fit the scene, you feel that might have been the vision for it. As with any dime-a-dozen slasher fare, sometimes the music didn’t quite match the scene or was a little too distracting for it when you would rent one of these bad boys back in the day. The bright, loud neon lighting in most of the death scenes also screams Suspiria and classic Italian horror in a way that would make Giallo proud. It makes the movie fun and exciting to watch, but also ethereal and more than a bit trippy. And then there are the eloquent and genuine appearance of Caroline Williams as the dance matron Ms. Valli, who holds steadfast for her girls while trying to hold herself together behind closed doors. Any Texas Chainsaw II and Halloween II fans will instantly feel in the good hands once her kind smile appears onscreen.
Keen eyes and ears will also catch the drug Ephemerol (Scanners) and the late night ghoul Baron Blood, which is a Bava shout out. The killer is also a clear nod to what a lot of people consider the mother of slasher flicks, Tourist Trap, with the murderer donning a mannequin mask and wig, along with posing victims in tableau.
Bloody Ballet is worth the watch, which is better than I can say for most films I have come across for FGN as of late. It could just do with a truckload or two of character development to back it up.
This review is dedicated to Morgan Grady, a dancer with a spine of steel, who touched everyone with her grace and strength.
