Bloat Review: A Surprise Unfriended Spinoff?

PLOT: It follows a mother and two sons vacationing in Japan. Their younger son almost drowns in a lake, and soon after the accident, the parents realize that something is wrong with their boy.

REVIEW: Screenlife: a form of visual storytelling told entirely through a computer, phone or tablet screen. Hollywood has already found plenty of success with this found footage offshoot with films like Missing and Searching. Now they’re taking that same concept and giving it more of a supernatural twist. Not that we haven’t also already seen that as well. But hey, lack of originality isn’t always a death knell as it’s really about the execution. So does Bloat manage to excel where others failed? Eh…

Bloat is seen through the eyes of Benjamin McKenzie’s Jack, a soldier who’s away on leave. Thankfully, he’s behind a desk, so he gets plenty of screentime to stalk his family. I mostly say that in jest but it is kind of strange how well he takes to the stalker lifestyle. His family has an incident while vacationing in Japan where one of the sons almost drowns. He starts showing signs of being possessed, and starts acting out. Jack has to contend with all of this through his screen, making him look and feel like an absentee father.

I’ve never really found Benjamin McKenzie to be very believable but he’s convincing at times here. I was very impressed with Bojana Novakovic, who has the much more interesting role of the mother being put through the ringer with her newly possessed son. As much as they want us to care about Jack’s distance from his family, it adds a barrier that is hard to overcome. He’s such an outsider participant in their lives, that he may as well just be another audience member. And when he does finally interact with them, he screws the pooch royally. Makes him a lead that’s really hard to root for.

This is the type of film that is built almost entirely in the edit. It sounds kind of silly to say since all films technically fall into that category but with this being screen based, it may as well be an animated movie with how much they’re just having to create from scratch. The edit is what gives the film all of its energy as there are plenty of ways to just show a screen, but to show it and tell a story takes some skill. And as an editor myself, I tend to like this style of film to identify some of the tricks they’re doing. Outside of the edit, it was hard to find much else of interest.

I was surprised to see this has an actual connection to Unfriended, a film that I consider to be underrated. But unlike that film, which utilized its supernatural element in an intriguing way, Bloat stops dead in its tracks the moment the spooky stuff is introduced. Still, the fact that this is technically a spinoff blew my mind a little. I like that they pulled from folklore for their demon and the Kappa has a cool name. There are moments where I wish it was executed better so that it could have been better utilized. It’s really just a generic demon that likes bugs and gross stuff.

Ultimately Bloat is a failure. The horror comes across as humorous and most of the intrigue comes from Jack’s research. The performances feel restricted by the screen gimmick and come across awkward. The supernatural element is terribly handled and completely craters any good it had going for it. I enjoy the concept of these types of films so much yet so few manage to cross the finish line in a satisfying way. Which is really too bad, as I would have loved a series of films following a different monster.

BLOAT IS IN THEATERS, ON DIGITAL AND ON DEMAND ON MARCH 7TH, 2025.

Bloat

NOT GOOD

4

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