Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

Lack of good storyline.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

A creepy cover. One of the best concepts for any low-budget film seen recently in my "low-budget film quest for curiosity sake". An appreciation for the film's genre. Reasons enough to check this out and had real potential to be somewhat of a guilty pleasure.The good news is that the concept for this is nowhere near as wasted as those for other films seen recently, having seen my fair share of frustrating wastes of good potential with failed execution. Compared to other recent viewings for low-budget films, this is oddly enough, despite the lacklustre rating, one of the better and more watchable ones. Not a great, or even good, film by any stretch. Not a terrible one either, it left me frustrated at how it didn't do enough with what potential it showed but at least it didn't leave me angry. It starts off well, with a startling, effectively creepy opening that is one of the film's most inventive scenes. There is effort at making some of the characters interesting, parts are creepy and suspenseful in the first part and there are a few brutally inventive kills. My intelligence at least wasn't insulted anywhere near as much as other recent film viewings, it didn't get excessively stupid and the location was an atmospheric one. Sadly not matched in the less than slick way it was shot and edited. It is unfortunate that the promising start and what made it so isn't maintained in the rest of the film. The further the film got, the suspense dissipated and the sillier, duller and more predictable it became. Too many of the kills are too ordinary, no matter the over-the-top gratuitous in quality and excessive in quantity gore and violence was. Things did start to become confusing in the latter stages and not all the characters worked, with not enough done to make one care for them. The male serial killer was interesting, however the female one did irritate and the cop was basically pointless melodrama. There is nothing natural about the dialogue or interactions, insipid stuff awkwardly delivered. The acting is at best lacklustre, while the killer is far too obvious and the ending is so incoherent and what the heck that it brings the film down significantly.Overall, started off well but goes downhill too early and never recovers. 4/10 Bethany Cox

2015 was not the best year for horror films. Hollywood gave us so much crap, and they added to the brain numbing with remakes, sequels, prequels and family friendly trash. Leave it to After Dark and the small little films that always seem to come out of left field and deliver something that gets us excited and talking. Bastard is a film that will win over most horror fans almost instantly. Rebekah Kennedy gives us the May for the 2015 age. She really showcases some serious talent. This film is bloody, fun and unpredictable. Films are meant to be fun and manipulate fear in you, this film is something really special that works on every level. This is what horror has been needing for so long. What a great film. Seek it out and enjoy it.

'After Dark Films' is known to be a breeding ground for really bad films - and the 2015 collection doesn't help their case whatsoever.'Bastard' is about a group of really... interesting people being stalked by, well, the least screwed up individual in the film - two newlywed serial killers, two socially awkward runaways, one suicidal/cross dressing/homosexual cop. If you can get by the worst collection of characters in any film so far this year, you'll probably struggle to get through some of their performances. Ellis Greer, who plays the female serial killer, is probably the worst actor/actress in the bunch. She's a snarling, nasty, foul beast - and that's her most tolerable moments in the film. Dan Creed hams it up, as her better half, but he's simply not there yet, as an actor. The newlywed killers should have been the stand outs in this film, because who wouldn't want to see a showdown between three psychopaths? It simply wouldn't have worked with this cast, though.As the film rolls on, you start to sympathize with the masked mad man, because he has to put the effort into trying to rid his town of these horrible characters. You also start to consider that maybe one of these people will end up sporting the mask - a twist that you'll hope doesn't exist, because he/she will have to pull off the whole revealing climax scene, that no actor in the film is capable of doing. You won't have long to wait before all is revealed, and your fear turns into reality. Actually, the reveal is about midway, giving you an early out, if you wish to do so - and you probably will. I'm ashamed to say, I made it through the entire film.Random Ramblings of a Madman: When I first heard about 'Bastard,' I was hopeful for a solid slasher film, but when I saw the words 'After Dark,' hope turned to despair. It's a complete mess, and should not have been released.

"After Dark" has made some very decent trips into the horror genre. This is not one of those trips."Bastard" opens with a man picking up a girl staring out into space while (I suppose) her companion works on something. The girl has the personality of a fence post. As it turns out, the two companions are actually just married and are also serial killers. They off the man, steal his car, and go in search of their next victims. Cut to a scene where a boy and girl are leaving wherever it is they live. Turns out the girl pukes a lot (there is a very obvious reason for this) and they are picked up by the serial killers. Add to the mix a seriously messed up suicidal policeman (and cross dresser), and there are the main actors in this movie.After a throwaway scene, the two couples are directed to (and arrive at) a bed and breakfast, unaware that a serial killer also lurks around those parts. It takes a while for the movie to get to this plot line, so I don't know if there is enough to hold anyone's attention up to this point.I won't go any further into any detail; you'll just have to suffer like I did. The graphic gore doesn't really start until their arrival, and then it just seemed like it was violence-for-violence's sake. And if you cannot figure out who the killer is, you need to turn in your Nancy Drew/Hardy Boys badges because, yes, it's THAT obvious.This is one of the few "After Dark" movies that did not work on any level, as far as I was concerned. The infamous Swiss cheese script, characters no one cares about, and a laughable ending. C'mon on After Dark; you can do MUCH better than this.Rated R for graphic violence and language.