Sometimes when a viewer presses play on a film they know exactly where the story is going to end up during the opening moments. Whilst these movies remain enjoyable, it is always much more exciting when a filmmaker is able to take his audience by complete surprise. Pedro Kos’ In Our Blood falls into the latter category with their ‘documentary’ venturing into unexpected territory.
Told via the cameras of documentarians Emily (Brittany O’Grady) and Danny (E.J. Bonilla), In Our Blood sees the pair travel to Emily’s hometown as she seeks to reconnect with her estranged mother, Sam (Alanna Ubach). Mother and daughter drifted apart due to addiction and the concept of Emily’s documentary is to chronicle their reunion. However, soon after their meeting, Sam becomes the latest local person to mysteriously vanish. As Emily and Danny start to investigate Sam’s disappearance, they are led down a dangerous path.
With the exception of a startling and bloody opening scene, In Our Blood conceals its identity as a horror film for the majority of its duration. After the short opener, the story travels back in time by a number of days and takes its time slowly building up to that moment. It’s a clever move from Kos as it promises the audience something scary without giving anything away. The technique also does a great job at pumping in an unexpected amount of tension. Whereas films such as [Rec], The Last Exorcism, and The Sacrament are charged with horror moments from the outset, In Our Blood keeps those elements hidden. Although not visible, they are still felt, and much like any good true crime documentary, the fear comes from the inability to trust anyone, or being able to guess where the story is headed.
To speak about the true nature of In Our Blood would do a disservice to Pedro Kos and his team. Without giving anything away, the reveal is a welcome one and marks In Our Blood as a bold new entry into the long standing history of one of the eternally popular cinematic monsters. The approach is set to do for this sub-genre of films what [Rec] did for the zombie outbreak story. The film might take some time arriving at this moment, but the ride is more than worth it thanks to Kos’ skillful ability to inject fear into apparent thin air. Go in as blind as possible to achieve maximum satisfaction.
In Our Blood
Summary
In Our Blood is a film best viewed blind as its magic rests within the reveal of its true form.
In Our Blood was reviewed at Fantasia 2024.
