Ben McKenzie is Stuck Behind a Computer, Trying to Save His Son From an Ancient Japanese Demon in New ‘Screenlife’ Horror Thriller “Bloat”
Ben McKenzie's Son Becomes Possessed by a Legendary Japanese Lake Demon in the Trailer for New Screenlife Horror Thriller with Bojana Novakovic
Here’s the funny thing about Ben McKenzie. Yes, he’s an actor who famously starred in the popular show The O.C. He also appeared in the critically acclaimed cop show Southland and portrayed a young detective Jim Gordon in the Batman-prequel series Gotham, where he met and married actress Morena Baccarin.
But the funny thing about Ben McKenzie isn’t his acting career, but rather the fact that he took a break from acting to spend the last couple of years researching and co-writing, alongside journalist Jacob Silverman, the investigative financial book Easy Money: Cryptocurrency, Casino Capitalism, and the Golden Age of Fraud. The book provides a well-researched and detailed explanation on why crypto is a fraud, debunking any notions of its potency and effectiveness in the market. McKenzie, who majored in economics at the University of Virginia, is an outspoken critic of cryptocurrency—a rare thing to see, especially during a time when most celebrities would happily take a hefty paycheck to appear in pro-crypto commercials. And for that, we salute Ben McKenzie!
Now watch Ben as he returns from his break to star in this new awesomely cheesy horror thriller where he's stuck behind a computer screen, screaming lines like, "There’s seriously something wrong with our son!" and "Do you see what's going on? Open your eyes!" Okay, it’s not Shakespeare, but he’s dipping his toe back into the waters of acting again. And we’re down for that.
Hailing from the producers of Searching and Unfriended, Bloat is yet another "screenlife" horror thriller. That’s where all the action takes place on either a computer or smartphone screen, with actors communicating through phone calls, FaceTime, or other videoconferencing apps. It’s basically a type of found footage—or, you could say, the digital-age version of the found footage subgenre.
In Bloat, Ben McKenzie plays a NATO army officer stationed behind a desk on his base. He receives a video phone call from his wife (played by Bojana Novakovic), who is visiting Japan with their young son. They’re at a riverbank near the Japanese forest when the phone call takes a dark turn. He notices that his son has experienced some kind of accident—he has mysteriously passed out near the water. After several frantic phone calls, McKenzie’s character learns that his son, still stuck in Japan, has come down with a mysterious illness after a near-death drowning. With his stressed-out wife, overwhelmed by the incident, McKenzie’s character reaches out to a few friends for help. After a few days of internet research, he uncovers the chilling possibility that his son might have been possessed by an ancient Japanese lake demon, known as the Kappa. — Well, we did say this is an awesomely cheesy horror thriller! Okay, maybe just cheesy.
Written and directed by Tokyo-based filmmaker Pablo Absento, who makes her feature film debut. Absento previously made a couple of horror shorts, Slit (2016) and Shi (2015), that were based on Japanese urban legends.
Produced by Russian filmmaker Timur Bekmambetov (Wanted), Bloat is scheduled to open in theaters and on VOD and digital platforms starting on March 7th.