Do you like movies that are deemed ‘trippy’ or labeled ‘the best movies to watch high?’ Then hold onto your knees because this one is perfect for that. Dry Blood is an underrated hidden gem, make no mistake.
Dry Blood is the type of movie, that once you start watching it, you begin cursing the person that recommended it to you. It feels generic, there is a weird lady in a wig mumbling things about the weather and cooking a lonely egg on a plate and calling it breakfast. Its main character acts like Nicolas Cage’s long lost brother but is less appealing. And there’s a time loop involved which we all know has been done before and will never be as good as Resolution or The Endless.
So why should you watch it? I’m not going to explain the plot details that had me going from disappointed and frustrated— to thank the person who told me to watch this. What I will say is that you just need to hang in there. It’s one of those rare times where the payoff is worth the wait. If you are looking for one of the best movies to watch high, then you found one. I am also not condoning that kind of thing. Maybe I mean high on life. But if you want a trippy movie that doesn’t go the way you think it will then read on.
What is Dry Blood 2017 About?
In a small shack in the middle of nowhere, Brian discovers he’s being haunted.
Dry Blood is an Underrated Hidden Gem
This film is one I would consider an underrated hidden gem. You might think Dry Blood won’t win any awards, except it did. It won 5 awards for various things after its festival run in 2017.
Clint Carney wrote and stars in the 83-minute tight feature-length film. He does a superb rendition of a crazy person trapped in a drug addict’s body trapped in a dream. Or is it a dream? Maybe it’s a classic haunting or perhaps a time loop situation. You can never be sure until the final scenes with this one.
Carney’s character Brian is the guy who’s trying to do the right thing. He’s been on a bit of a downward spiral and now is the time to get clean. He turns to an understanding and familiar friend to help him through his rough patch. He thinks some peace and quiet in his cabin in the mountains will ease the suffering he is feeling. But no drugs and no alcohol makes Brian a hallucinating boy. There are ghosts and weirdness whenever he starts to maintain some semblance of normality.
It’s easy to assume that Brian is having a spot of bother with his detox. His friend Veronica is there to assure him if what he sees is real or not. Sometimes she can see what he thinks is a hallucination and sometimes she can’t.
Special Effects & Jaymie Valentine
The story has been done before, but my favorite time to rehash a well-worn plot is when you add something new to the mix. The budget for this is tiny, and other filmmakers should keep a close and watchful eye on this film. Dry Blood doesn’t do everything perfectly but it sure does many things well. It is able to add a wow factor to many aspects of the narrative and it all comes off really well.
As someone who watched tonnes of films, with both large and small budgets, I can wave away shoddy effects sometimes. If the outcome is particularly respectable, it’s easy to overlook many things. There is some crazy-good well-maneuvered camerawork and CGI in this that will make you go a-hunting for the big price tag attached to it. There isn’t one though.
Performances
I want to berate the performance of Veronica played by Jaymie Valentine. However, I’ve since read one fellow reviewer’s take on this film and discovered that the sketchy parts are purely inexperienced. If you want some more background information on the filmmaking process.
It’s where I discovered, that the whole thing was done with a hand-held camera for instance. Irrespective of the facts surrounding her performance, which I thought was intentional, you could easily pretend it wasn’t. Her quiet demeanor and softly spoken stilted dialogue could be explained away as Brian’s safe place. You could say her one-dimensional personality is there for a reason.
To sum up, not enough people have seen Dry Blood but I think it deserves more attention. Check it out if you can.
I give Dry Blood
3.75 wine bottles out of 5
- More time loop movies? In the Shadow of the Moon / The Room
- Atmospheric Films: Elizabeth Harvest & The Skin I Live In / The Fare / Calibre
Maybe you have the munchies and need this giant box of Cheese Fix.
Dry Blood courtesy of Business Lunch Productions and Epic Pictures
