Dry Blood

Acting was decent but obviously strained during emotional peaks. Special effects and death scenes were surprisingly good, though a bit too gory. Better directing could have built up the suspense better so some of the gore wouldn't have been needed. Story was a bit predictable but decent. It's definitely better than I expected for a low budget indie film. Perfectly fine for a lazy day movie marathon.

My appreciation for horror is high and my appreciation for murder mysteries, mystery and thriller are my favourite genres (it's debatable as to whether animation is a genre but that would count too) is even higher. Really was quite fascinated for the concept for 'Dry Blood' and liked the advertising (cool and creepy, that kind of advertising does make one want to see anything). Was genuinely hoping that it would not be a waste of potential.

'Dry Blood' sadly was that and it does frustrate me when any film does little to nothing with its promise. It does have its moments and merits and it is not that bad, or at least to me it wasn't, but the things that are wrong with it are a lot and they are big and outweigh the good, also summed up well already. Which prevents 'Dry Blood' from being a good film, and most of the time from personal view it was barely watchable which is such a shame.

For a film not high in budget, 'Dry Blood' doesn't look too bad. Some nice atmospheric shots, that are not limited in use of techniques, and the scenery also has atmosphere. The music is suitably spooky without being too loud or spelling out what's happening or what the characters are thinking too obviously.

Kelton Jones gives it his all and does it without going over-the-top.

Other than him though the acting is awful and a bad mix of irritating and phoned in, a primary example being the leading lady who looks as though she didn't want to be there and it was quite depressing to watch. Didn't care for any of the characters, that either bored me, annoyed me or both. The script constantly sounds awkward to total gibberish and was in serious need of more depth and tightness.

The story takes far too long to get going and even when there is a glimpse of more happening the momentum is still dull. The flashbacks and hallucinations initially seemed interesting on paper but ended up working against it rather than making it interesting, actually felt that they confused the story which became increasingly muddled until it leaves one quite lost.

In summation, left me intrigued on paper but didn't do it for me. 4/10

Listen, I've seen A LOT of terrible movies in my 29 years of life, but this one is right up there with the worst of them. It's a B movie at best, the acting is absolutely atrocious, the writing is a joke...I feel like Ashton Kutcher is about to pop out from somewhere and tell me that I've been Punk'd. I'm not going to bother going into the details of the movie beyond the fact that it's impossibky to follow, it makes zero sense, and it's utterly incompetent. I haven't written a review in about 8 years but I felt like I had to...Don't waste your time.

I never write reviews, but this film is so unique and well thought out that I think it deserves a second look. I'll agree that the acting is subpar, however the story and the chills more than make up the difference. The makeup work, for the horror elements, is superb and the imagery is frightening. I even watched this a second time, so my wife could see it, and found there are ample clues and hints to the ending - a lot of detail was given to the details.

Give it a watch because for what it is - a low budget indie horror - it really shines.

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.