If you’ve ever accidentally bit your tongue or nursed a small cut, chances are you know what blood tastes like. It’s always an unpleasant sensation, tasting distinctly like metal with an uncomfortable tendency to stick wherever it’s smeared. Calling it gross is an understatement. Thankfully, blood tends to stay within the body instead of flowing outside of it. Unless you’re a vampire, there’s no reason to ever consume large quantities of the crimson stuff. But, in Brad Anderson’s upcoming horror-thriller Blood, it’ll be just as important as water in staving off a horrible, unconventional disease.
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
Anderson is known for the films The Machinist and Session 9, but whereas those films tackled the subjects of lethal insomnia and haunted asylums, Blood looks to be a much more intimate story about the limits a mother must face to protect her son. This can be observed in the film’s trailer, which features plenty of drama, tension, and gallon after gallon of blood guzzled down.
This is everything we know about Blood.
Blood: The Plot
The official plot synopsis for Blood is as follows:
Motherhood and horror films go together like scotch and soda. The stress, the complete lifestyle change, the inherent need to defend and nurture a being grown from your own cells, all this combined with an external threat that closely mimics vampirism is a nail-biting cocktail of terror. With Jess’ childhood home being secluded from the rest of civilization, it’ll set the stage for a number of horrible things to happen.
After her marriage breaks up, Jess moves her two children back to her childhood home where their lives quickly deteriorate into terror after the family dog bites her son. Giving him a horrific infection, Jess’s morals are tested when the only cure to keep her son alive proves deadly.
It’s unknown how exactly the family dog got infected to begin with, though the film hints that something inside a suspicious-looking tree is the culprit. The trailer hints that Jess will investigate the tree at some point or another. Maybe it was another animal, maybe it was the remnants of some occult ritual. Depending on what the film chooses to focus on, the mystery itself or Jess’ familial relationships, we may not get an answer.
Blood’s trailer gives us a closer look at what exactly the disease does to Jess’ son: his pupils turn a dark black, and through his repetitious demands for more blood, we can only assume that as the disease progresses, more and more blood is required to keep it at bay. The trailer provides ample evidence for this, as the progression of her son’s consumption is clearly shown. He drinks from the blood bag provided at the hospital, followed by Jess sticking bloodletting rabbits and eventually moving up to stealing blood bags from the hospital and, potentially, murdering others for their precious blood. It’s similar to how the original Hellraiser film handled the need for blood, just replace the overt sexuality with conflicted compassion and familial bonds.
Blood: The Cast
Vertical Entertainment
The cast for Blood is limited, but given the story’s scope and subject, it feels appropriate. The lead role of Jess will be played by Michelle Monaghan, an actress known for her repeated appearances across the Mission: Impossible series as well her Golden Globe-nominated performance in the first season of True Detective. She also starred in Ben Affleck’s directorial debut, Gone Baby Gone, as well as the comedy films Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and Made of Honor. Monaghan has worn a lot of different hats in her acting career, making her a prime candidate for tackling a character like Jess. Motherhood always has its ups and downs, even if Blood will focus more on the latter.
Relying on a child actor for an effective horror performance can be a gamble. Fortunately, the actor playing Jess’ infected son, Owen, is Finlay Wojtak-Hissong. Despite being an up-and-coming actor himself, he already has experience in the horror genre from his performance in The Banana Splits Movie, a horrific take on the beloved children’s television show. Wojtak-Hissong delivered a convincing performance as a child obsessed with the eponymous mascots, which will hopefully translate into something as equally compelling while slurping down hemoglobin.
The rest of the cast will be filled out by some familiar faces. Skeet Ulrich, June B. Wilde, Skylar Morgan Jones, Jennifer Rose Garcia, and Michael Strickland will also make appearances in Blood in a variety of roles.
Release Date
Blood will release in theaters on January 27th, 2023, with a digital release following shortly after.
Everything Else We Know
Writing the screenplay for Blood is Will Honley, whose previous work includes films like Escape Room: Tournament of Champions, Bloodline, and The Hive. His work is predominantly based in horror and, interestingly enough, The Hive tackles a similar topic of a viral infection slowly taking over someone’s body.
