'Bloodride' Review: The Norwegian horror anthology uses twisted, dark humor to offer legitimate chills
Spoiler alert for 'Bloodride' Episodes 1, 2, and 3
A bunch of random strangers, all with different levels of injuries and blood splattered across their self, riding a disheveled bus with unsettling, ominous music playing in the background. What could get better? An equally sinister, creepy looking driver, gearing to start the ride with a smirk that will force one to stare at those slightly darkened bits of the screen before checking over their shoulder for an entity waiting to pounce.
Such is the opening sequence for Netflix's Norwegian anthology horror 'Bloodride' — a delightfully crisp compilation of six different stories, that promised their own uniquely twisted horrors ranging from superstitions to seven deadly sins. It definitely doesn't disappoint.
Created by Kjetil Indregardm, and directed by Atle Knudsen, 'Blodtur' aka 'Bloodride' presents to its audience the ever so morbid tales of characters one wouldn't be easily suspicious of. In the three episodes provided for screening, we see a frustrated urban mother and wife trying to adjust to the countryside, a docile corporate slave trying to escape the wrath of a coworker scorned, and of course — the ambitious entrepreneur whose greed becomes his downfall.
Ahead of the show's release, Netflix had teased 'Bloodride's 30-minute episodes to be a "tongue-in-cheek" saga, "where each story is set in its own realistic, yet weird universe" and "told with glee and enthusiasm.” But what really strikes one amidst all the grim monotony of corporate lives and the dull lack of thrill in life beyond urban hustle is the dark humor that resonates with at least the first three episodes the series has to offer.
The first episode, 'The Ultimate Sacrifice', delves into countryside lores of Viking sacrificial stones and the wealth each sacrifice wins, taking overly obsessive pet-owners to a whole other level. The second episode, 'Lab Rats', is pretty much what Mandark from 'Dexter's Laboratory' would have evolved into as it tackles power-hungry men and their invincible ego boosts. The third episode addresses the titular 'Elephant in the Room' by breaking into a bloodbath of gore and violence, while also showing the desperate struggles of fitting into a new work environment.
Be it Molly's inner conflict to adapt to the country after maxing out their family's credits, or William's erratic way of coping with a coworker's accident that was actually his fault — 'Bloodride' is both intense and hilarious at the same time, if not always for the faint-hearted. Even as the creator of the first-ever antidepressant pill, Edmund's struggle to trust his close-knit employees is a satirical take on power trips and the incumbent karmatic b*tchslap with a fatal fall. And that's right where 'Bloodride' manages to establish its biggest forte: little dosages of karma biting back, without getting preachy or condescending at all.
In an age of anthology being explored as one of TV's biggest booms, especially in the horror genre, 'Bloodride' comes with fresh writing and dry humor where viewers find themselves relating to the perpetrator, while also chuckling at the gory, bloody fate they are met with finally. Much like Netflix's 'Love, Death, and Robots', 'Bloodride' manages to do in at least three out of six episodes what FX's 'American Horror Story' does in a full season, or Hulu's 'Into the Dark' accomplishes in a month.
While six short episodes might feel like a YouTube compilation of horror shorts, it is the whole Norwegian blend of articulate execution, salient hues, and undertones of all things dark, gloomy and insidious, and an impeccable cast that does the trick in keeping one hooked to the ride.
'Bloodride' premiers with all six episodes on Friday, March 13, only on Netflix.
