Family Blood (2018) Movie Review
Written By: FR
Edited By: Grave Reviews Staff
Film Information
Director: Sonny Mallhi
Writers: Nick Savvides, Sonny Mallhi
Producers: Adam Hendricks, John H. Lang, Greg Gilreath
Date Released: May 4, 2018
Cast:
Vinessa Shaw as Ellie
James Ransone as Christopher
Colin Ford as Kyle
Ajiona Alexus as Meegan
Carson Meyer as Kristen
France Jean-Baptiste as Mrs. Jensen
Eloise Lushina as Amy
Rating = 2/5 Graves
***May contain some spoilers***
Synopsis
Family Blood (2018) follows the story of Ellie who moves to a new city with her two children. Ellie has been struggling with drug addiction for years and must try to remain sober for her children. However, when she met Christopher, he introduces her to a different kind of addiction and her struggle to recovery becomes heightened.
Gore Factor
Family Blood does not contain a lot of blood or gore. However, the film focuses on creating tension and jump scares with the viewers. Most of the scenes that would otherwise result in bloodshed is not shown. Towards the end of the film, there is a bit of blood. However, these special effects were not well-done.
The Grave Review
Family Blood (2018) is a straightforward story with a small flare of vampirism. Within the last decade, vampire films have been romanticized, taking away from the demonic theme that they present. Family Blood takes a similar approach and combines the horror element with a dramatic story. However, the drama overcomes the horror aspect in this film.
The progression of the story is fairly slow-paced. There are few points in this film that are significant. The story does not start to become substantive until the end of the film. As to performance, the characters displayed respectable portrayals. More specifically, Vinessa Shaw did a good job in portraying her character as Ellie given that her character was the focal point of the film. In addition, Colin Ford and Ajiona Alexus, who played Ellie’s children also performed with diligence.
The concept of Family Blood (2018), overall, was interesting and sound. The film creates a unique spin on the concept of becoming a vampire. This, in turn, affects her life as well as the people around her. The filmmakers may have intended to equate the “vampire transformation” to drug addition and the various stages of recovery. However, if this was in fact the intention, the way such concepts were executed were not relatable nor impactful. Nevertheless, Family Blood (2018) may be appealing to vampire lovers as it portrays a different perspective.
For the foregoing reasons, Grave Reviews gives Family Blood (2018) two graves out of five graves.
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