In the horror comedy Blood Paradise, the author (Andrea Winter) of lurid best sellers is wallowing in malaise after her latest book bombs. For a change of pace, she gets away to the Swedish version of an agriturismo, a remote and spartan farm. The farm has every earmark of Gothic horror, and Blood Paradise has great fun with every creaky door and ominous scarecrow. The farmer explains his wife’s grave out back, “she loved the garden but now it’s only a garden of death”. The farmer’s creepy middle-aged sister is obsessed with dolls. His menacingly silent, paunchy son is mostly shirtless and fondling a shotgun. And the author’s driver is her biggest fan – and seriously unhinged. Just when the blood starts splattering, the author’s hunky, dim and besotted boyfriend Teddy shows up for a surprise visit in a white suit.
Part of the fun is that the author has adventuresome sexual fantasies and makes a living envisioning gruesome scenarios; her especially rich imagination makes every ominous cue seem even more alarming.
Blood Paradise is written by its star Andrea Winter and directed by Patrick von Barkenberg (who also plays Teddy); it is the first narrative feature for both. Winter is a good sport about her own nudity, and has fun playing the author as a brat. She also has fun with Teddy’s allergies, which erupt at the most importune times. And there’s a very amusing homage to Psycho.
This is a Swedish movie set in Sweden, but almost all the dialogue is in English. Blood Paradise plays at the 2019 Cinequest.