Blood Descendants

For the big studios the slasher flick remains a great source of income. All you need is a flimsy premise, a few hundred gallons of stage blood, a special effects makeup man and a few beautiful girls willing to remove most if not all of their clothes. With the onset of digital photography a paradigm shift began to occur. This specific form of horror film was a great proving ground for the independent film maker. You can get all the above mentioned requirements for very little money so film school graduates have flocked to the genre and the market is flooded with these flicks. Going through all of these flicks can be tiresome but occasionally one surprises you. Fortunately one of the better of this new clique is now available on DVD thanks to Maverick Entertainment, ‘Blood Descendants’. Now right up front it should be said that this is not a great member of the genre; then again very few are. What it does provide is better than average; a flick with thrills, gore and something rare now, a cohesive story. This film distinguishes itself from the pack by embracing the limitations of budget and the lack of major credits for the cast and crew and uses it to the best possible advantage. The result is a film that has a nice touch of realism instead of the usual overly slick production that the big studios attach to their horror flicks.

This is the sophomore opus for Steven Charles Castle who also wears the hat of co-author of the script and editor. Also taking numerous roles behind the camera are Bonnie Farley-Lucas and Richard J. Lucas. The trio also produced the film and pop up in several other credited positions. I am quite sure that if everything they did for this film was posted on screen it would add several minutes to the running time. Usually when a smaller film is written by committee the results are too much of a mixture of ideas. You can almost tell which writer was responsible for what parts of the film. Here the writing was good enough that it had to come from a collaboration of ideas. The evidence of different voices in the script makes for a more robust presentation of the story. The film comes across as a labor of love between people that can work well together. Many friends sit around watching movies and comment that they can do a movie as good if not better. At least these people got off the couch and gave it a try. Sure there are some missteps present in the film but this team has only just started in the business. I look forward to their future endeavors.

The film opens with the great American pastime, no, not baseball, making out in the car. She thought there was a sound but the guy, being a guy with a beautiful girl on his lap heard nothing. An ominous figure clad in black holding a scythe approaches. The boy gets her top off, goes for second base and before he can get to third the figure rises up and his head rolls to the ground blood splashing all over the windows. At this point every father with a daughter points to the screen and tells her ‘see what being alone with boys leads to’. In the morning Sheriff Brad McCormack (Hank Torrance) is understandably upset, a teenage boy’s head on the ground isn’t something a small town police officer deals with a lot. To make matters worse he finds out that he has to work the case with a rookie, Janet Moore (Tamara Malawitz). In the local eatery Matt Fields (Jeremy Make) works for his father Bruce (Billy Winn) clearing tables and such to make some money to support him in college. His girlfriend, Jenny Bradford (Christy O. Cianci) is a nice, polite girl unlike the usual on campus party animals that Matt usually has to deal with. At college Matt is drawn into an anthropological culture study. Matt suggests the local reverend people, a simple group of agriculturally based folk. Jenny is part of the group and Matt is sure she will help out. Due more to the group’s apathy than anything else they agree. While looking into the simple group of farmers a terrible secret begins to come to light. It turns out that Jenny’s great, great grandfather, Jacob (Michael Wrann) got her great, great grandmother pregnant out of wedlock. That is not that big deal now but back in the eighteen hundreds it was a major scandal. Since shotguns weren’t available for a wedding the town they did the next best thing, they burned poor Jacob alive. Wouldn’t you know it now old Jacob is back and out for a little old time revenge. The boy in the car was a blood descendent of his murders as is, drum roll please, Matt is also a descendent of the killers. Just to add a little spice to the mix Matt’s party loving fellow students make a little video of Jenny taking a bath and subsequently making love to Matt. In both cases a crescent moon birthmark. The birthmark links her directly to Jacob’s long lost love. When the demonic Jacob finds out that the college kids are burning DVDs Jacob alters his mission statement to kill them and destroy the discs to ensure the chastity of Miss Jenny.

The three writers of the film, under the nom de pen ‘The SCI Team’ have created a tight, interested script. While there are several sub-plots such as the criminal investigation, the novice detective and such they never divert too much attention to the action. With so many balls juggled in the air at once you would think a fairly new director like Castle would let a few drop but he holds it together nicely. The shots below the 180 line can get a little over used but overall the way he frames the shots is very good. The movie was made with the new standby, a digital camera but the technology has advanced to the point where a clean picture is possible. The look of the film has a natural sense of movement that some might think is amateurish but actually projects an almost voyeuristic feel. Castle doesn’t make the mistake so many of his contemporaries fall into; over use of the killer. He is there, he kills but more often than not his presence is felt not shown. This nicely adds to the tension of the film. While the special effects are graphic they are used sparingly enough to allow the story to have a chance to sink into the audience.

The cast is mostly fist timers or actors beginning their careers in movies. This also adds to the enjoyment of the film. It would take you out of the moment to see a famous face here. As it is the cast allows you to sink into the world the movie creates. Christy O. Cianci does a very good job as the farmer’s daughter. She is pretty in that girl next door way but also lets the guys in the audience get a little turn on. Jeremy Make makes a good choice as an all American guy who has the unthinkable notion that college is for an education. It is refreshing to see a positive character is a flick like this.

Over all this film is a good watch. It does drag during the second act but the ending makes up for it. Castle and is innovative friends have managed to break the mold of the Indy horror film. While it will never be up there with the classics of the genre it will not make it anywhere near the bottom either. If you are in the mood for something with a little different spin to it then get this one.

Posted 01/05/08