I like indie horror movies. Most of them aren't very good, but there's some enjoyment to be had by watching some of them anyway. This one intrigued me because the trailer had a bunch of Lynch-ian nightmare logic images like deer head and the burned woman in the bathroom, the woman in the kitchen with the knife (no spoilers, all in the trailer). That's the kind of horror I like, so my interest was piqued.
It definitely wasn't what I expected. I was expecting a more conventional haunted house story, but what I got was really a movie about surviving addiction and paranoia. To the reviewers that claim the movie is slow, that's a legitimate stance to take, but the movie is a slow burn and it does lead somewhere. If you make it to the end, everything comes together and you understand why the movie was put together the way it was. Nothing is random. All the images serve a purpose. It's a very clever script.
Clint Carney and Kelton Jones do a good job holding down the movie. Their performances carry the film. Kelton as the cop is very fun. He's a guy you love to hate and he has some decent one liners. I was iffy on Clint's acting choices until I watched the movie - by the way, it holds up on second viewing. Knowing the ending in advance actually does help make the film rewatchable. But on the second viewing, knowing the ending, Clint's performance makes perfect sense in context. He plays a man unhinged, battling his addiction and not having anyone he can trust. It's very empathetic.
The cinematography made good use out of the locations they shot in (which is around the Big Bear, CA area). I love small towns and pine and lakes and even the small general store in the film, I get a kick out of that kind of stuff when I travel. But the images were beautiful and the shots were well composed, surprisingly so with the low budget I know they must've had. But a lot of the shots had moving camera, which means dolly, jib, or Steadicam, which adds a lot of production value. It's very stylish.
Going back to the slow burn, there is some creepy imagery sprinkled throughout, but you'd be doing yourself a disservice if you don't make it to the end. The bulk of the best scenes are backloaded and it's worth the wait. You wouldn't believe the payoff unless you see it yourself. But trust me, it leads somewhere, and I'd be shocked if anyone sees it coming. It's quite memorable.
At less than 90 minutes, I would highly recommend "Dry Blood" for folks who love horror and are interested in something different - not everybody is and I get that. That's why we get so many remakes and sequels. This is definitely different and not for everyone, but I think if you check it out, you'd be pleasantly surprised. I'd be very interested to see what these guys do next.
I'm giving it a 10/10 to offset all the 1 votes that are written by people who didn't seem to make it to the end, which is definitely the best part of the film and what makes this movie stand out from the riff-raff.
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