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Evan Glodell, Jessie Wiseman, Tyler Dawson, Rebekah Brandes, Vincent Grashaw ... see more see more... , Jack Kraus , Keghan Hurst , Alexandra Boylan , Bradshaw Pruitt , Brian Thomas Evans , Britta Jacobellis , Ceaser Flores , Chris Snyder , Dan Dulle , Jon Huck , Jet Kauffman , Josh Kelling , Ken Bailey , Mark Nihem , Joel Hodge , Zack Kraus

Bellflower follows two friends as they venture out into the world to begin their adult lives. Literally all their free time is spent building flame-throwers and weapons of mass destruction in hopes th... read more read more...at a global apocalypse will occur and clear the runway for their imaginary gang "Mother Medusa". While waiting for the world to end, their call to excitement comes unexpectedly when one of them meets a charismatic young woman and falls hard in love. Quickly integrated into a new group of friends, they set off on a journey of betrayal, love, hate, infidelity and extreme violence more devastating and fiery than any of their apocalyptic fantasies. -- (C) Official Site

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64% liked it

5,238 ratings

Critics

72% liked it

79 critics

R, 1 hr. 45 min.

Directed by: Evan Glodell

Release Date: August 5, 2011

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DVD Release Date: November 15, 2011

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Flixster Reviews (375)

  • fb701560354
    April 18, 2012
    fb701560354
    Bellflower is not so much a continuous story as it is a blurred study of young adults sensitivity and rage set against the end of the world. Evan Glodell who is the writer/director/star of Bellflower is definitely someone to watch. Bellflower being his debut for which he built ... read morethe Medussa (the wicked car in the film), the flamethrowers, and the cameras used to film it. There is a real over-saturation of colours (especially reds and yellows) that I found really cool. It makes the atmosphere look really hot like a desert which for me reflected the characters feelings. The acting was quite good, especially from Jessie Wiseman and Evan Glodell. Overall, Bellflower is not as much an exciting debut, and it is a really promising debut, but it's an interesting study of how young adults minds work, and their rage.
  • lewiskendell
    April 2, 2012
    lewiskendell
    Bellflower is a difficult movie to review, as well as describe. It's all over the place as far as theme goes. Part love story, part...well, something else. I really enjoyed it at times, but found myself was completely puzzled by it as well. Especially in the latter half. Bellflow... read moreer gets points for originality, but I feel like it would have been better if it wasn't quite so...ambitious.
  • JonathanHutchings
    January 22, 2012
    JonathanHutchings
    Anyone familiar with Bellflower's origins will surely want to root for the film. I met writer/director/star Evan Glodell at TIFF and is gregarious personality made me want to champion this film even more. I just can't. He makes the same mistake that a lot of first time filmmakers... read more do: he doesn't trust his story to sustain itself. The pointless subplots involving the car and the flame thrower really betray the heart of this story, which is the aftermath of a breakup and its many emotional stages. Bellflower tries its best to honor the mumblecore moment, but I couldn't help but think it was a generally poor attempt to make art that is as futile as Dogme 95 but in its own downscaled manner. Couple that with an oddly violent, tonally underdeveloped third act that made me shake my head wondering "why?" as the wind was taken right out of its sails. Glodell may be a director worth keeping an eye on, but Bellflower ultimately implodes under its own self-awareness -- which is shame, because it really is a movie you want to like.
  • YLOWBSTARDreturns
    January 11, 2012
    YLOWBSTARDreturns
    After warming up to the unique style and gritty lo-fi visuals of director/star Evan Glodell's debut feature "Bellflower," I started really liking it's characters and believing in them and their relationships. With Glodell's giddy cinematic creativity and a handful of surprisingly... read more strong performances I was sold... or at least I WAS for the initial half of the picture.

    After the arrival of a certain key plot development (out of the blue) that sends the film down a dark and increasingly frustrating spiral, the characters we have gotten to know have disappeared and start acting out in a manner foreign to their personalities! In the film's favor, there's a bleak tonal shift and intensity attributed to not knowing where the narrative will venture next, and it works... but even that dissipates as the film sort of stalls after an extended sequence that's rendered useless in it's conclusion.

    By the end of the picture I was at a crossroads. I liked so much of the film (it's initial half and performances specifically: the standout being Glodell himself)... but at it's full length it just didn't feel cohesive and certainly didn't do it's characters and bold filmmaking justice.

    Upon looking back at "Bellflower," the sudden and violent shift of it's later scenes became even harder to swallow.
  • fb100000145236770
    January 2, 2012
    fb100000145236770
    This is what Independent movies are suppose to be. This movie really, especially the ending, makes no sense at all. But, it's interesting, entertaining, and there's a real sense of danger throughout. You never know what is going to happen next, and when it's over, your left go... read moreing "um wtf happened here?" I'll try to sum up the movie, but really, you gotta watch it for yourself cause it'll sound crazy in how I word it. It's about two friends(Woodrow and Aiden) who are obsessed with making a flame thrower and a post apocalyptic car. They loved "Mad Max" when they were little, and wanted to get ready in case the world went to shit. Well along they way Woodrow meets and falls in love with Milly, a free spirited girl. They have great chemistry until he catches her cheating on him, and then from there the movie gets weird, crazy, and violent. The movie is filled with unknown actors and was made for less than $500,000. Just goes to show you don't need millions of dollars to make original and entertaining movies. "Bellflower" isn't for everyone. It can be confusing, and has some pretty violent scenes. But, there's really no other movies out there like it. Give the typical Hollywood blockbusters a break and check this out. May make you expand your movie horizons on what you watch.
  • fb100001581602053
    December 14, 2011
    fb100001581602053
    Vapid, unoriginal, and extremely amateur, Bellflower occasionally reaches THE ROOM levels of ludicrous awfulness, sans the Wisseau charm.
  • skactopus
    December 11, 2011
    skactopus
    Evan Glodell's Bellflower is a bit of misconception when it comes to the action. As far as the drama and romance go, Bellflower suits that better.

    Conceptually, the two lead characters that start things off give the film something to look forward to; however, thi

    ... read morengs tend to go south rather quickly. Nearly an hour goes by heavily built on drama and a lack of anything really eventful, even with the multiple time jumps used throughout the storytelling. With that said, it all builds up to a twisted 30 minute finale.

    The violence is light. Not exactly in the realm of explosive action, despite a muscle car and a flamethrower, which are a big part of the lead character's plot. Everything is more along the lines of mildly thrilling.

    Evan Glodell hangs in the background in the early going, as he is out shined by the likes of Tyler Dawson, whom is one of those that takes some getting used to. Jessie Wiseman and Rebekah Brandes are the females of the bunch that are thrown into the mix.

    Bellflower is a low budget movie that has a few things going for it. Just not enough for an entire 100 minutes.
  • fb100001493964409
    December 10, 2011
    fb100001493964409
    It's about time I actually go back and write a review for this film. I saw it in October and immediately gave it 5 stars without question. Because if Evan Glodell continues his career from here, we are looking at a top notch talent in the near future. Bellflower is beautifully sh... read moreot and features some great performances (and this isn't even considering that the it was shot on a budget that would make a 1950s Roger Corman movie look like it had received an "Avatar" sized budget). Word of warning though: The film gets very dark and depressing by the second half. It also goes down Insanity lane at the exact same time (which I loved, but might put others off). For me, this is the second best film I saw in theaters all year (number one goes to "The Muppets"). It's out on Blu-Ray and DVD now. SO PLEASE SUPPORT EVAN GLODELL, This guy has a LOT of potential.
  • LorenzoVonMatterhorn
    November 26, 2011
    LorenzoVonMatterhorn
    "A love story with apocalyptic stakes."

    Two friends spend all their free time building flame-throwers and weapons of mass destruction in hopes that a global apocalypse will occur and clear the runway for their imaginary gang "Mother Medusa".

    ... read moreCentury Schoolbook">REVIEW
    When David Fincher was preparing to shoot Fight Club, he briefly considered dispensing with stars and a big budget to shoot the film guerrilla style on digital video. Had he gone that route, the results would have been something along the lines of Bellflower, an audacious, flame- spewing, spit in the face of everything stale and conventional about modern cinema. Shot on a nothing budget using a camera that director/writer/star Evan Glodell built from odds and ends, Bellflower is a stark critique of characters lost and struggling in the sun soaked wastelands of Southern California.

    To go into detail would certainly ruin the joy of discovery this brutal movie has to offer. Suffice to say it is a love story like no other, chock full of drunken brawls, flame- throwers, and a muscle car named Medusa (also built from scratch by Glodell). Personally, I think this is one of the most important movies that's come out in recent memory. With a raw, ugly beauty reminiscent of the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre, the sparse immediacy of films like Two Lane Blacktop, and David Lynch's ability to make the banal nightmarish and horrifying, Bellflower incinerates the very notion of narrative filmmaking, redefining it on its own terms. If indie filmmaking is meant to push the envelope, this movie leaves that envelope charred and twisting in the wind.
  • kenstachnik
    November 25, 2011
    kenstachnik
    Emotional, hallucinatory, hand-made and awesome. Can't wait to see what Glodell does next.

View All Bellflower Reviews

Critic Reviews

Jennie Punter
September 30, 2011
Jennie Punter, Globe and Mail

Bellflower revs the engine of an exciting new maverick. Full Review

Tirdad Derakhshani
September 15, 2011
Tirdad Derakhshani, Philadelphia Inquirer

A delightfully strange hybrid creature. Full Review

Roger Ebert
September 15, 2011
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

Possibly represents the debut of a one-of-a-kind filmmaker, a natural driven by wild energy, like Tarantino. Full Review

Michael Phillips
September 15, 2011
Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune

It's like the world's coolest iPhone camera app writ large, and while it'd be misleading to make too much of this picture, it'd be a shame to make too little of it, either. Full Review

Michael O'Sullivan
September 9, 2011
Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post

After a while, "Bellflower" feels like it can't stop checking itself out in the mirror. It's a pose, not a movie. Full Review

Ty Burr
September 8, 2011
Ty Burr, Boston Globe

Handmade and helpless, it's nevertheless the real deal, an artful blurt of sensitivity and rage. Full Review

Lisa Kennedy
September 2, 2011
Lisa Kennedy, Denver Post

Bellflower is weirdly gorgeous. Its intentional post-romanticism is mirrored in evocative chapter headings and ace cinematographer Joel Hodge's images (using a camera of the director's tweaking). Full Review

Colin Covert
September 2, 2011
Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune

Glodell doesn't have the emotional intelligence or filmmaking finesse of the early Martin Scorsese, but his film is a new-millennium descendant of "Mean Streets." Full Review

Bill Goodykoontz
August 25, 2011
Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic

"Bellflower," writer, director and star Evan Glodell's debut, bursts at the seams with wild creativity. Full Review

Joe Neumaier
August 5, 2011
Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News

As the guys' favorite character from "The Road Warrior" might say: Too much violence, and too much pain, but there is within it some sort of honorable compromise. Full Review

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    • Mike: I hope she gives him A.I.D.S.
    • Milly: You don't want me to be your girlfriend.
    • Woodrow: Why not?
    • Milly: Because. I'll hurt you.
    • Woodrow: Oh, how do you know I won't hurt you?
    • Milly: I doubt it...
    • Milly: Who are you, where are you from, what do you do?
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