In the woods, nothing ever seems to go right. In horror films, summer camps, fishing trips, and hikes all seem to end in some form of calamity. This also applies to Blood Conscious.
The story follows a family as they travel to a home in the woods to see their parents. Kevin (Oghenero Gbaje, Miscalculated), his sister Brittney (DeShawn White, Motherless Brooklyn), and her fiancé Tony (Lenny Thomas, Ruthless) travel to the isolated spot only to discover the aftermath of a slaughter. Their parents, as well as several other people, were shot and scattered about the lawn, much to their dismay. They quickly track down the criminal, a mysterious Stranger (Nick Damici, Hap, and Leonard) armed with a shotgun who demands they identify themselves and claims his victims are possessed by “demons” and must be murdered. It’s begins to turn into a war for survival, with growing concerns about what happened and who might not be who they seem.
Blood Conscious is a taut and tense thriller that seems to go on forever. As the group and their captor come to blows, one twist after another leads to their captor’s capture, the moral ambiguities that ensue, and the infectious paranoia that the events and persons involved are not what they appear to be.
As they deal with the stranger’s suspicions and their situation, Kevin, Brittney, and Tony come to blows, but the film never quite gives these events enough depth or finality. While this works in its own way owing to the ambiguity, it may frustrate certain people.
And, given the film’s short runtime of 80 minutes and the limited cast and setting, the three do an excellent job of carrying the plot. I hope to see them in more projects in the future. Even though the title of the film is Blood Conscious, don’t expect a bloodbath. Outside of a few critical scenes, there is very little blood and violence, albeit it is employed skillfully. As the main terror depicted is individuals fearing and turning on one another, most of the scares are mental and in the dark.
Image via IMDB
The cast and continuity of Blood Quantum still makes it a thriller worth your watch, even thought the plot does wear a bit thin at times!
