| Bleeders | |
|---|---|
 DVD cover | |
| Directed by | Peter Svatek |
| Written by | Charles Adair Dan O'Bannon Ronald Shusett |
| Produced by | Julie Allan Pieter Kroonenburg |
| Starring | Roy Dupuis Kristin Lehman Rutger Hauer |
| Cinematography | Barry Gravelle |
| Edited by | Heidi Haines |
| Music by | Alan Reeves |
Production companies |
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| Distributed by | Fries Film Group |
Release date |
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Running time | 89 minutes |
| Country | Canada |
| Language | English |
Bleeders (also known asHemoglobin) is a 1997 Canadianhorror film directed by Peter Svatek and based uponH. P. Lovecraft's story "The Lurking Fear". It premiered at the Fantastisk Film Festival Lund inSweden on September 14, 1997, and was releaseddirect to video the following year.[1] It is the last original script written byDan O'Bannon produced during his lifetime.
John and Kathleen Strauss are aFrench-Canadian couple attempting to uncover the secret to John's rare blood disease. They encounter Dr. Marlowe, who is intrigued by the case. They are unaware that theGrand Manan Island inCanada'sNew Brunswick which they are about to set foot upon is home to the Van Dam family, mutant-like creatures who have become deformed and bloodthirsty from centuries ofinbreeding. Their mutation began with their relative Eva Van Dam, who had aincestuous relationship with her twin brother. Also, they are fully functioninghermaphrodites, capable of reproducing with themselves. They need to survive on (dead or alive) human flesh.
John discovers that he is a Van Dam, born normal looking and taking part in normal society, but his rare blood disease can only be suppressed with human flesh and sex with his siblings.
HorrorNews.net panned the film overall, criticizing it for its "abundance of clichés" and commenting that they would "be damned if there was anything in this picture worth seeing again".[2]Moria gave the film two stars and stated that "one can see that a number of sequences have been designed on paper in a way that could have had some shock impact had they been directed by someone with half an ounce of talent."[3]