Film Review: Blood (2022)

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SYNOPSIS:

Jess, a separated mother and nurse, moves with her daughter and young son Owen back into her old farmhouse. Shortly after settling in, Owen is bitten by the dog, resulting in a mysterious infection from the bite.

REVIEW:

Blood was directed by Brad Anderson, and written by Will Honley. Michelle Monaghan portrays Jess. Jess, her daughter Tyler (Skylar Morgan Jones), and her son Owen (Finley Wojtak-Hissong) are moving into their new home. The home looks beautiful and seems in the middle of nowhere. Tyler’s frustrated and moving boxes while her brother is jumping into hay, and doing kid stuff.

Let’s acknowledge the adorable dog. The dog notices something right away but as usual it’s ignored. Tyler is angsty and wants to know how long they have to stay at this new place. Michelle Monaghan is a great actor. She always embodies the characters she plays. Skeet Ulrich portrays Patrick. He is the ex-husband.

Tyler and Owen head down to a lake with the dog, and well there isn’t a lake. It looks like it’s been drained and it’s dark and gloomy. Human beings have a gut instinct and dogs have a high instinct. They should trust the dog. Oh, and Jess is a nurse with a history. Her ex-husband is trying to get the kids, and it’s causing a lot of stress for her.

Owen’s dog gets out after hearing and seeing something yet again. Jess had a difficult hearing with Patrick. Owen hears something and it’s Pippen, his dog. The dog came back. After watching Cujo and Pet Sematary, and all the creepy movies with rabid and return from dead animals in them. You should be weary.

Owen was attacked and the dog didn’t look good. While Owen is in the hospital being treated, cared for, he’s getting blood. Jess must also work in the hospital as a nurse, and still take care of some people. Owen is truly going through some trauma. Patrick comes to the hospital and they do the blame game. Parents should understand after all these years, kids can sense all this bullshit.

Owen wakes up and he’s ravenous. He wakes up wanting blood. Owen needs blood to survive now. Jess has to resort to all sorts of unethical methods to keep Owen alive and well. Jess may need some iron tablets. She may become iron deficient soon. Yup, she may want to eat some spinach, eat whatever she needs to stay okay. She’s gone dark, and I know people would do anything for they’re children, and loved ones.

Jess is one hell of a situation. Blood is a fascinating story, and it’s different. The story is different. The cinematography is excellent. The house is creepy yet beautiful. It adds character to the film. Jess continues this. She wants to save her son, and do what’s best but she’s losing part of her humanity.

Tyler’s on a mission of her own now, she’s trying to figure out what bit the dog, and caused all of this. It’s kind of scary because now Owen doesn’t seem to be acting like a full-on human anymore. The family dynamics of the movie make it difficult to not want to sort of root for Jess and her family.

This is traumatic, and another reason horror is important. So many films can show everything but horror has this dynamic where you can have this loving family that was falling apart and struggling. But the family must fight to persevere. I sort of expected that ending but I would recommend watching Blood.

May sure to check out BLOOD.