ALL YOU NEED IS BLOOD

(director/writer: Cooper Roberts; cinematographer: Jackson Jarvis; editor: Cooper Roberts; cast: Jimmy Ray Bennett (Director), Logan Riley Bruner  (Bucky), Amanda Bruton (Casting Director), Christopher Cardoza (Giant Spartacus), Tom O’Keefe (Walter), Mena Suvari (Vivien, older actress), Emily Casey (Buck’s mom), Emma Chasse (June), Neel Sethi (Vish), Eddie Griffin (Det. Swan); Runtime: 100; MPAA Rating: NR; producers: Jordan Beckerman, Jesse Korman, Jordan Yale Levine, Russ Postermak; Amazon Prime; 2023)

“Digestible zombie feature film.”

Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz

Cooper Roberts is director and writer of this digestible zombie feature film.

In 1998, the 16-year-old Bucky (Logan Riley Bruner) wants to make art movies with his home camera. He teams up with best friend Vish (Neel Sethi), but they have no success.

When their small town’s film festival announces this year’s theme for its annual film-making contest is horror, the prize money tempts Bucky to make a film in a genre he’s not partial to.

Things take an odd turn when a mysterious meteor crashes in Bucky’s backyard and his sole surviving parent, his alcoholic animal control worker father Walter (Tom O’Keefe), turns into a brain-eating zombie.

Bucky uses the incident as material to create with his friends a zombie horror pic. Problems manifest when the film crew realize they’re dealing with a living zombie. Also, Bucky’s intense fear of blood keeps him from making the kind of arty film he wants to make.

But the nightmarish situation allows for the film-within-the film to bring on some dark humor, as Bucky deals with the frustrating film-making situation.

Cooper previously directed only short films. In this expansion of a slight story, he shows some inventiveness in his use of low-fi effects, despite its low-budget, to get some scares.
 
The film probably will appeal mostly to zombie film fans who have an appetite for such an offbeat horror pic.
 
There are cameos from veterans Mena Suvari (plays a washed-up actress) and Eddie Griffin (plays a devoutly religious detective). Emma Chasse plays a goth teen named June, who receives exposure therapy for stage fright when she joins Bucky’s production.

It played at the Sitges Film Festival.

REVIEWED ON 11/6/2024  GRADE: B-
dennisschwartzreviews.com