By Mike Imboden
Normally here at “The Good, the Bad, and the Verdict”, both Joseph and Mike give their thoughts on a slice of cinema. However, here and there they will be taking the reins in a solo outing. For this installment, it’s Mike with a solo review of the music driven horror-comedy Bloody Bridget, by Richard Elfman (with music by his brother Danny!)
Synopsis
Bridget O'Brian has a trailer park background and big aspirations. After a series of extremely abusive events, she meets the Haitian voodoo deity of life and death, and becomes empowered as a "valentine vampire". Bridget becomes the "Sword of Justice," defending women against the most evil and oppressive.
The Good
The only other full length Richard Elfman film I’ve seen is 1980’s Forbidden Zone which is an absolute trip-fest so I wasn’t sure what to expect with Bloody Bridget other than I was sure it would be… interesting.
Treading the line between being all out camp and just being campy, Elfman succeeds in delivering a darkly humorous and bloody take on voodoo mythology and female empowerment*.
There are some great and gory practical effects on display as Bridget deals out her particular form of punishment and fans of this aspect of filmmaking will be pleased with how gruesome and well done they are. There’s also some catchy and very well done illustrated work during the opening that gives some background to the character of Baron Samedi and his wife, Maman Brigitte.
Everyone turns in a great performance - Anastasia Elfman as a slightly ditzy yet confident Bridget is wonderful, Tom Ayers is hysterical with his overtly rude and sexist club owner, Tony, and Richard Elfman himself is devilishly entertaining as Satan. Throw in an ample amount of nudity, a couple of Oingo Boingo songs, and an original score featuring Richard’s brother, and Boingo frontman, Danny, and this is quite the eclectic and memorable experience.
*see below in ‘The Bad’ for an explanation
The Bad
The female empowerment I mentioned comes with a bit of an asterisk (hence the asterisk). While Bridget certainly becomes powerful after being turned into a “valentine vampire”, her actions and their consequences are - to a point - still dictated and addressed by men. It’s a bit of a mixed message if that’s indeed how you choose to perceive it.
Other than that, I didn’t have any other issues with Bloody Bridget. Honestly, I don’t even know if I’d consider what mentioned to be a strike against the film, but am aware that some people will most likely notice and not be too fond of it.
The Verdict
A couple mixed messages may cause some viewers to scratch their heads, but if you’re a fan of Richard Elfman or just eclectic films in general, have no problem with a fair amount of nudity, and a ton of blood, there’s no way you should let this escape without catching a viewing. Elfman’s take on Haitian mythology is sure to reel you in if only to see what he can do with a premise of a Celtic vampiric goddess and a voodoo deity.
Plus, fans of Richard’s brother Danny will get a couple of Oingo Boingo songs, a track off of his recent “Big Mess” album, and an obvious hand in the musical score (all of which was a big bonus to me)
Bloody Bridget
Directed By: Richard Elfman
Written By: Richard Elfman
Starring: Anastasia Elfman, Marcos Mateo, OchoaJean Charles
Run Time: 1h 21m
Rating: NR
Release Date: April 22, 2023 (Brazil)
No trailer was available at the time of this review