Family Blood

When it comes to modern Horror, lowered expectations have been serving me quite well for over a decade now. Think about it, it's a lot easier to enjoy a film even when it's mediocre and below if one's expectations are for a mediocre and below viewing experience. It even allows for a few pleasant surprises, when one of these films turn out to be good. In the case of Family Blood, not expecting a masterpiece (and not getting one) has made it so I actually enjoyed it, albeit to a limited extent.

Considering this title doesn't currently have a synopsis and the limited summary gives very little details - I consider most details (even those one finds out in the first 30 minutes) as spoilers and will refrain from mentioning them. Suffice it to say that the best part about Family Blood, in my opinion, is the portraying of protagonist Ellie's attempts to cope with her addictions, both her original one and her new one. The acting is also great, especially by the younger cast, i.e. Ellie's children Kyle and Amy who are forced to see their mother spiraling out of control.

Both IMDB and Netflix have this title tagged as Horror as well as Thriller, which in my opinion is utterly misleading and almost deceptive. Three or four Horror scenes and a plot revolving around a single element usually considered a Horror component do not make a Horror film. Family Blood is a good enough Drama and quite suspenseful at times, but it is far from being actually scary in any way. As an addict myself (clean and sober, going on seven years, yay me) I got some added emotional value out of watching this, but I doubt most people would find this title to be more than average, at best.

In summary, Family Blood is not unwatchable and could even be quite enjoyable, with lowered expectations. It's one of these films available on Netflix which are suspenseful enough to enjoy and not enough scary or horrific to ruin a good meal or snack. Not really recommended, not really not recommended, just average. You might enjoy it, you might not.