IN OUR BLOOD
(director: Pedro Kos; screenwriters: Mallory Westfall, story by Mallory Westfall, Clay Tweel, Steve Klein & Aaron Kogan; cinematographer: Camilo Monsalve; editors: Fernando Stutz, Isadora Boschiroli; music: Gil Talmi; cast: Brittan y O’Grady (Emily Wyland), E.J. Bonilla (Danny Martinez), Alanna Ubach (Sam Wyland), Krisha Fairchild(Ana Stuart), Steve Klein (Isaac Koslov), Leo Marks (Red); Runtime: 89; MPAA Rating: NR; producers: Steven Klein, Aaron Kogan, Stuart Fenegan, Gary Lucchesi, Michael McKay; Revelations Entertainment/Liberty Films Entertainment; 2024)
“Aside from delivering the required scares for a horror pic, it also nicely delivers a sensitive addiction story.”
Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz
Documentary filmmaker Pedro Kos (“Lead Me Home”/”Rebel Hearts”) directs this alluring found footage fictional horror film on addiction from a Mallory Westfall story and a chilling screenplay by Westfall, Clay Tweel, Steve Klein & Aaron Kogan.
Estranged the last decade from her mother named Sam (Alanna Ubach), the filmmaker Emily Wyland (Brittany O’Grady) decides to make a documentary about reconnecting with her. The trouble between them began at the age of 13, when authorities forcibly removed her from their home due to her mother’s drug addiction. Sam is now clean and wants to reunite with Emily.
Emily goes with her cinematographer Danny (E. J. Bonilla) to mom’s home in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Things go well on their first day of shooting, but the following day mom disappears without a trace. Emily and Danny learn that Las Cruces has become a place where vulnerable people regularly go missing. They desperately try to figure things out by going over the many clues found and interviewing real homeless people in a local shelter.
It leads to a shocking plot development and a frightening climax, as what’s surprisingly discovered leaves a sense of dread.
Aside from delivering the required scares for a horror pic, it also nicely delivers a sensitive addiction story.
It played at the Fantasia International Film Festival.
REVIEWED ON 8/17/2024 GRADE: B
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