Bloodline – Seann William Scott Is A Kindly Killer In The New Blumhouse Thriller | Review

20 years later, Seann William Scott is still best known for playing the crass, sexist character of Stifler in the American Pie franchise. Having tried his hand at playing the lead in other comedies and also action films, he now plays a killer in the new film Bloodline. Far more of a thriller than a horror movie, he seeks revenge on those who have done wrong to innocent teens at the high school where he is employed as a social worker.

Mr. C., as the kids call him, is very attentive to his charges and their needs. Most have an abusive parent or family member who treat them horribly. Mr. C., or Evan to his family, is a faithful family man with a new baby and finds this abhorrent. Having suffered at the hands of his own abusive father, he decides to mete out vengeance to these ne’er do well adults in an ever so grisly fashion. Conducting his murders in a sort of therapy appointment fashion, he interviews his subjects while trying to get to the root of what is causing their vile behavior. He gets away with all of this for awhile, until the bodies are found and the net of the police tightens around him as they seek to find the perpetrator of these crimes. Evan will have to rely on help from his equally sick and twisted mom and ever so loving wife if he is to escape capture and prosecution for his misdeeds.
Seann William Scott excels in his role as Evan, a man with very contradictory impulses and actions. On the one hand a loving and caring husband, father and authority figure, he is also capable of slitting throats and gutting victims on a par with the worst slasher film killer. The film posits that these traits were passed on to him by his mother and that familial violence is a vicious circle, destined to repeat itself through generations. For Evan, this is certainly the case.
Dale Dickey, who plays his mother, is just as frightening as our lead. A seemingly kind grandmother, she is capable of just as much destructiveness as her son. Mariela Garriga who plays Lauren, the wife, is the only assumedly sane member of this family, but she’s never been pushed like this before and the viewer might end up surprised to find out what she is capable of.
Henry Jacobson, a documentary filmmaker and cinematographer, makes his narrative directing debut with Bloodline. Assisted by the production company Blumhouse, makers of many a hit horror film, he shows a skilled hand at narrative directing and working with actors to get quality performances out of them. Not all documentary directors are capable of making this transition, but Jacobson does so rather adeptly.
Given a limited theatrical release by Momentum Pictures starting September 20th, it is also simultaneously available on Digital and On Demand. For those not in a big city, this will likely be your only way of seeing it. I recommend the film and think it’s worth checking out if you want to see something warped and different and especially if you are curious to see Seann William Scott playing markedly against type. Stifler stabbing people? That’s worth the price of admission alone!
Recommended if you liked: Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer, Man Bites Dog, American Psycho
 
FINAL GRADE: A-

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