Dry Blood

            Dry Blood follows Brian Barnes as he escapes to the cabin that he co-owns with his ex wife to kick his drug habit and get clean again. When he gets there he finds himself being harassed by not only a small town asshole sheriff but also angry ghosts that have decided to call his cabin home. Will he be able to put the pieces of the macabre puzzle together before it’s too late?

I love horror movies that feature a protagonist in an isolated area that slowly loses their mind. Brian’s withdrawal seems to be the catalyst that launches him headlong into madness, making him second guess his actions and surroundings. Clint Carney, who wrote and starred in Dry Blood absolutely nails the madness. From his speech patterns to his facial expressions and mannerisms, Brian appears mildly unhinged from the opening scene and spirals deeper and deeper into batshit crazy as the movie progresses.

While I thoroughly enjoyed watching Brian slip into psychosis, I thought the addiction could have been handled better. One of my pet peeves is seeing a generic addiction shoehorned into a movie as a plot device. Addiction is something that doesn’t need much added to it to make it worthy of a horror flick. An honest and unflinching look at the addict’s mind is fucking horrifying. In this case, he could have had any nondescript mental issue to use as a catalyst for his madness. That being said, I have to admit that Carney did a bang up job of exhibiting the sheer hopelessness that is the addict hitting rock bottom, reaching out desperately for help, and clawing his way toward recovery. In short, Dry Blood fumbles while trying to show addiction but shines in the portrayal of the addict.

If you’re a frequent reader you’ll know that I love me some gore and practical effects. While this movie isn’t a total gorefest, it does full on slap you in the face with some really well done blood, gore, and even a beheading. I can’t remember the last time gore felt shocking to me and  Dry Blood managed to deliver that feeling. While the blood and gore are spectacularly done, I was also absolutely in love with the SFX makeup used for the ghosts. This flick is overall visually pleasing, especially when it makes you want to look away.

All in all, would I recommend this movie? Damn right I would. Minus that one little nitpick, there’s not much I can find to gripe about with this title. The casting and performances are strong, it’s a solidly written and directed filim, and the visuals are on point. What else could you ask for? It is available on several VOD outlets or you can get yourself a DVD or Blu Ray from Epic Pictures/Dread Central Presents.