Bliss: Movie Review

"Bliss" lacks any substantial mystery to really justify calling itself a psychological thriller while the way it develops its story was a literal mess. By the time it finally unveils its mysteries, audiences would have figured everything out long before that climactic moment. Sadly, this is one film that was obviously trying to be smart by being a film within a film but dumbed itself down in the process.

Jane Ciego (Iza Calzado) has developed into one of the most popular actresses in the country. Now in her 30s, she is actually unsatisfied with how her career turned out to be. Her next project, fully funded by herself, she hopes will change everything. But when she encounters an accident while shooting the film, she finds herself trapped and unable to escape a seemingly haunted house with a nurse who is abusive to her.

We wouldn't say that "Bliss" was incomprehensible because it was obviously designed to be that way - dream-like, mysterious, even weird. But all those were actually pretty obvious from the first thirty minutes of the film even if they were trying to hide it in plain sight. And this is where "Bliss" simply fails. Its main narrative was full of twists and turns but convoluted, the characters had their own backstories but most were stereotyped. Story-wise, "Bliss" simply falls flat on execution. While the main crux of the film was disappointing, the actual themes on the entertainment industry were acceptable especially on how each person was subtly leeching from Jane's fortune and success but again, this was heavily-affected by bad characterization. There's also no reason for the film to have that R-rating. It was just unnecessary and doesn't contribute much to the film. On the acting front, Iza Calzado was great as the lost and confused Jane while this is also the same case for Adrienne Vergara as the evil nurse Lillibeth. Unfortunately, the positives for the film are few while the negatives heavily-influence these.

Rating: 1 and a half reels


Why you should watch it:
- its themes on the entertainment industry was actually interesting

Why you shouldn't watch it:
- its main story was a mess