Bloodline  ★★½

SEANN William Scott has made a decent living out of playing a serial, inappropriate slacker in a series of comedies starting with American Pie back in 1999.

He has veered slightly into dramatic territory a couple of times but nothing like the 2018 horror film Bloodline in which he plays a vicious serial killer.

If this is Scott’s attempt to do a Robin Williams style shift into uncomfortable waters for his fans then he will need a better vehicle.

Bloodline is mildy interesting but ultimately derivative of many other, similar, low-budget serial killer efforts.

What makes the film stand out slightly is the look created by director Henry Jacobson and his director of photography who seem to be following the faux documentary, stark colours and grainy style of films like Henry, Portrait of a Serial Killer.

In Bloodline, Scott plays a high school counsellor who is married with their first baby about to be born. In heavy-handed imagery, the birth is juxtaposed with his latest killing.

We are clear from the outset that Scott’s character Evan Cole is an unfeeling, calculated murderer, so what’s left are his interactions with victims and his family, the hunt to expose him or, most importantly, an examination that reveals his motivations.

The film only touches the surface of these three aspects, revealing little more than your average episode of Criminal Minds.

But what is interesting is the depiction of the relationship that Cole’s mother Marie, eerily played by Dale Dickey, has with her son and his wife.

Unfortunately the moments of atmospheric created by this unusual dynamic are hampered by the depictions of Cole’s killings which become increasingly repetitive and uninteresting.

Scott tries his best and sometimes has an impact, but overall Bloodline fails to substantially move the needle in this sub-genre.