Bad Blood, a Portuguese supernatural chiller, left me with mixed feelings. After watching it, I'm able to drum up as many praiseworthy aspects about the film as I can count those moments looking at one's watch was invented for.   

The Montiero clan, led by intellectual husband-and-wife pair Xavier (Adriano Luz) and Lena (Manuela Couto), is making the big move from the big city to a big old house in the countryside. The transition doesn't please their kids, who bemoan the immediate lack of Internet and TV, but something even more strange is afoot in their new surroundings. The citizens of a nearby village seem to adhere to a strict religious code, taking such ideas as demons, witches, and the Devil extremely seriously, going so far as to hold regular exorcisms and put solemn stock in what seem to the montieros to be little more than old wives' tales. 

However, it's not long before the family is beset by some weird goings-on, from strange noises emerging from all corners of the house to the oldest son (Afonso Pimentel) having a drastic change in attitude. The Montieros come to believe that maybe the villagers aren't so superstitious after all, that a centuries-old supernatural force is still lingering around their residence and won't rest until a past wrong is righted once and for all.

While reading the back cover summary of Bad Blood, the first thing I felt was a sense of dread. Would this movie be a retread of Darkness,that misfired horror yukfest of 2004? Both share similar tones and premises, but the comparisons pretty much end there, for as flawed as Bad Blood is, at least it tends to let us know what's going on most of the time. This film is a different beast from other haunted house movies like The Amityville Horror (old and new versions) and The Messengers. Whereas their aims were essentially to serve as funhouses, throwing everything but the kitchen sink out on the screen to scare you before the credits roll, Bad Blood opts to include a bit more thematic strength in how it touches upon both religion and rational explanations for superstitious phenomena. The movie at least has a semblance of a brain on its shoulders and avoids cheap scare tactics. It intends to intrigue the mind rather than overload the senses with jarring editing or screechy orchestra cues.

Still, despite its honorable intentions, that's all Bad Blood really does with its themes -- just skimming over them and briefly bringing up a point or two before letting them disappear into the story. The plot may not be stodgy or lazy in any way, but the storytelling isn't all there. It sets the stage strongly enough, then pulls off a surprisingly weak follow-through. I appreciate how the film's style is tailored to be slow and methodical instead of screaming "OOGAH-BOOGAH!" every two minutes, but there's a difference between this and letting the plot go on its own tangential jaunt through the tulips.

There are times when Bad Blood seems to be existing in its own strange little world, randomly throwing in  snippets of scenes which make no sense and bringing up such possibilities as werewolves out of nowhere, only to drop the subject just as quickly. Yes, the film is involving, but directors Tiago Guedes and Frederico Serra let their project amble on a little too much. Don't be surprised when the ending credits are only fifteen minutes away and you feel the film still hasn't accomplished much.

As far as the acting goes, it's right in line with the usual haunted house suspects: Luz's dad is inexplicably adamant on not moving out of the house, Couto's mom acts worried, and the actors playing their kids all have varying degrees of constant worry spread across their faces.

In short, watching Bad Blood is a lot like hanging out with a stoner. Sure, he says some cool and funny stuff once in a while, but he still smells sort of weird, and he can't seem to stop talking about pie.

MY RATING: ** (out of ****)

(Released by Tartan Video; not rated by MPAA.)