Blood Quantum Review. Blood Quantum is the term given for how much of a particular type strain of DNA you have, (European, NA native, etc), and it seems like the implication is that only those with a substantial amount of native DNA are immune to this virus. Last modified on Wed 29 Apr 2020 08.11 BST. Not only is the standard trope in most classic Westerns of hordes of faceless Indians subverted by the fact that all the zombies are white, but the historic treatment of indigenous people by white settlers provides understandable motivation for the nihilistic Lysol to want to deny white refugees entry to the compound. Written and Directed by Jeff Barnaby. REVIEW: Blood Quantum (2020) 05/05/2020 0 The indigenous peoples of North America, Australasia and other areas of the world are one of the most under-represented groups in popular culture. Jeff Barnaby’s telling of a zombie apocalypse in Quebec is relevant and frequently fun, even if its emotional arcs seem shallow And so that promising opening act jumps to “Six Months Later,” and “Blood Quantum” becomes a different film, a story of survivors in a compound that’s closer to later Romero than the early stuff. In this way, Barnaby’s film rejects the default white gaze of so many horror films, choosing to tell a story through … Blood Quantum gets a lot of squishy life out of its DTS-HD MA 5.1 mix.Part English, part Mi'kmaq with English subs, dialogue is clean and clear throughout. The words take on even more provocative implications as the title of Jeff Barnaby's sophomore feature, which grimly depicts an apocalyptic scenario where in an isolated "Mi'gmaq" … Although, to be honest, Blood Quantum often works a little more like 30 Days of Night and Stakeland – both vampire films that riff on zombie tropes—but the filmmaker utilizes Romero when it makes sense. ‘Blood Quantum’ Review: Indigenous Canadian Zombie Movie Bites Into Colonialism "Blood Quantum" may not be a great zombie movie, but it’s a uniquely powerful reminder of why zombie movies are great. When fisherman, Gisigu (Stonehorse Lone Goeman) uncovers an outbreak on the isolated Mi’gMaq reserve of Red Crow he brings his community together so that they can be prepared for the repercussions. Luckily, they’re doing that enough for the movie to pass, especially for fans of the genre. Blood Quantum: Review | film reviews, interviews, features | BRWC. Movie Review – Blood Quantum (2019) May 6, 2020 by George Nash. The clever twist is that the tribal members discover they are immune to bites of the undead. The first act of the film, as the “zed” illness becomes apparent, is great. Alan goes by the nickname “Lysol,” which almost seems to good to be true given current headlines but trust me that it wasn’t changed to be more pandemic timely. And by that I mean zombie fish. Blood Quantum review: Indigenous zombie thriller brings guts and politics. Sadly, some of the elements of “Blood Quantum” feel distractedly unrefined, including poor performances and awkward dialogue. BLOOD QUANTUM is a new horror movie on Shudder. Director Jeff Barnaby Starring Michael Greyeyes Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers Forrest Goodluck UK release date 01 May 2020. in 2019 and is currently streaming on Shudder in the U.S., U.K., and Ireland. There are robust sequences of body parts flying in “Blood Quantum,” and it’s one of those movies that undeniably benefits from its timing. As one might expect, things soon devolve into chaos but Barnaby’s pacing isn’t always as well-modulated as it is in the film’s first 20 or so minutes. Red Crow Reservation Sheriff Traylor (Michael Greyeyes) and his ex-wife Joss (Elle-Maija Tailfeathers) are right in the eye of the storm, joined by their son Joseph (Forrest Goodluck), his pregnant girlfriend Charlie (Olive Scriven), and Joe’s half-brother and obvious troublemaker Alan (Kiowa Gordon). May 12, 2020. Select Your Cookie Preferences. Blood Quantum‘s historical context works really well. image via Prospector Films, Elevation Pictures, and Shudder. The story involves zombies and the indigenous inhabitants of a Canadian town who are somehow immune. Blood Quantum offers a fresh vantage point on a familiar genre and demonstrates that Jeff Barnaby is a new voice to pay attention to. It’s just a shame that the execution can’t quite catch up with the premise. Storyline. Despite its flaws, it’s a promising film with some great ideas—and that alone should satisfy Shudder subscribers. The end result is a gory, uneven zombie film that mostly works when it realizes its own intelligence. The fragile new community that’s been created is made up of the immune Native residents and others who they have saved. Bluntly, I didn’t care about the characters at all, even the pregnant one, and I think that’s a weakness of the storytelling. It’s best taken as a violent slab of late-night exploitation, made notable by a powerful conceit and some evocative visuals. Given how movies about the undead refuse to die, a tweak on what’s become a decaying formula is always a welcome surprise, especially if said tweak involves a little more than “what about zombies but strippers”. On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 63 out of 100 based on 11 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Written and directed by Jeff Barnaby, Blood Quantum reveals two days in the lives of the Indigenous people in the isolated Mi’gmaq reserve of Red Crow who are dealing with the small matter of the dead coming back … Blood Quantum takes place almost entirely on the Canadian Mi’gmaq reserve of Red Crow in the early 1980s.As is necessary for a zombie movie, the dead are coming back to life. Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Blood Quantum at Amazon.com. Blood Quantum is a 2019 horror film that takes place in the Red Crow Mi’gMaq reserve where a zombie outbreak starts happening, but the Indigenous residents are somehow immune to this horrifying plague. Facebook Twitter Flipboard Reddit Pinterest WhatsApp. I don’t like to invoke the name of lost masters often but I kept thinking the same thing while watching “Blood Quantum,” dropping on Shudder today as a little pandemic treat for horror fans: “George Romero would have dug this.” Clearly inspired by the King of the Undead, Jeff Barnaby’s film doesn’t just mimic Romero’s obsession with zombies but how he weaved social commentary through his “Dead” franchise while never being afraid of a grisly count of human bodies being ripped into pieces. He does have an impressive knack for it, managing to construct a number of inventively nasty moments, but without much tension, the impact isn’t particularly long-lasting. In Blood Quantum, a grim Canadian B-move that drew praise at last year’s Toronto film festival, writer-director Jeff Barnaby tells a familiar tale through the eyes of an indigenous community in the early 80s. Blood Quantum mixes fresh subgenre ideas with dependable and messy zombie gore for a successful balance of guts and glory. 06 May 2020. The disagreements within the tribe of survivors and family members are often underdeveloped, feeling like the kind of thing that would set up better for a pilot for a spin-off to the AMC hit than they do here. Blood Quantum takes an older monster, puts it in an even older cultural war, and attempts to present this as a new take. When it gets frantic, he can’t quite muster up any genuine suspense and so relies instead on extreme gore. Blood Quantum (2019) is unrated, but if I have to guess, I’d say Rated R for people getting shot, people being chewed on, a home birth gone wrong, dog and fish euthanasia, people falling in a thresher, lots of blood and intestines, a suicide, more blood, and a sword in the face. Blood Quantum Review. A community who have been diminished and abused are now back in control of the land that was always theirs and they must decide how to treat the outsiders and what dangers they’re willing to risk. © 2021 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. Performances are also mostly underwhelming and so the family conflict doesn’t cut quite deep enough, making last act stabs at emotional resonance a tad far-fetched. The nifty twist here is that those who are First Nation residents are immune while the white people around them are not. It’s almost great. Blood Quantum is an Indigenous Canadian horror movie and the second feature from Mi’gmaq director Jeff Barnaby, following up his 2013 debut Rhymes for Young Ghouls. The term "blood quantum" refers to a colonial blood measurement system that is used to determine an individual's Indigenous status, and is criticized as a tool of control and erasure of Indigenous peoples. While zombies are everywhere now and are often used for gore and guts, the famous horror monsters have long been used as a way to provide social commentary of the worlds where the infections hit. Blood Quantum operates from a place of tribal identity and that no white audience members will truly be able to understand. Directed by: Jeff Barnaby. Even the name “Blood Quantum” refers to the practice of measuring a person’s percentage of Indigenous heredity—and by proxy, their value. It’s tightly written and efficiently told. I found myself admiring Barnaby’s editing and production skills—“Blood Quantum” looks great—but he’s not quite yet there in directing performances or writing dialogue. ‘Blood Quantum’ Review: Inspired Splatter This Canadian zombie movie is more notable for its cultural backdrop and moody vibe than for its gore. Tags: Blood Quantum, movie reviews, Reviews. Blood Quantum Director: Jeff Barnaby Rated: R Release Date: April 28, 2020. Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 Blood Quantum review – First Nations zombie slasher does the job. It’s almost as if Barnaby made that half-hour as a short film and then realized he had to fill out the rest to feature length. Scoring maintains an ominous sense of dread often giving a little extra rumble and LFE to the more intense moments. Blood Quantum Movie Review. Blood Quantum is set on the Red Crow Reservation in 1981 and opens with local … After all, we’re all stuck inside, questioning the health levels and intent of the people on the other side of the door. The first third of “Blood Quantum” is tight and grisly, featuring several buckets of blood and well-produced action. BLOOD QUANTUM Review – A Rebellious Take on the Zombie Subgenre by Jerry Smith April 28, 2020, 11:30 am Starring Michael Greyeyes, Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers, and Forrest Goodluck Read honest and unbiased product reviews from our users. A zombie film that also comments on our abuse of the planet and treatment of indigenous people is a brilliant idea, and it’s easy to see why TIFF chose this to open their Midnight Madness program last year. Brian Tallerico is the Editor of RogerEbert.com, and also covers television, film, Blu-ray, and video games. That’s not to say it isn’t also filled with plenty of guts. Well, not yet anyway. Good. Reading Time: 4 minutes. Jeff Barnaby’s first-of-its-kind Indigenous zombie thriller crams in broken families, gore and constitutional statements. Blood Quantum, 2019. It screened at the Toronto International Film Festival (T.I.F.F.) All rights reserved. A fisherman of the Mi’gmaq tribe in northern Quebec is gutting his haul for the day when the fish start flopping around, even the ones who no longer have insides. Genres: Zombie, Horror, Post-Apocalyptic. The website's critics consensus reads: "Blood Quantum blends bloody horror with sociopolitical subtext, taking a fresh bite out of the crowded zombie genre in the bargain." On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 90% based on 89 reviews, with an average rating of 7.17/10. Barnaby’s colonialist take on the formula is far from subtle, and at times a little too bluntly on the nose, but he’s a film-maker with both something to say and the skillset to say it in a distinctive way, offering up an initially engaging alternative to mere guts and shock tactics. REVIEW: ‘Blood Quantum’ is the Next Zombie Masterpiece. Blood Quantum is now available on Shudder, Your support powers our independent journalism, Available for everyone, funded by readers. Blood Quantum shows that with the right voices behind the camera, there may still be some weight left in a genre that many … Set in 1981, Blood Quantum wastes no time getting things started, jumping to Old Gisigu (Stonehorse Lone Goeman) fishing, only to discover something is horribly wrong: the fish aren’t staying dead. Blood Quantum. Jules Goes to Therapy in Her Own Special Episode of Euphoria, HBO's Painting with John is a Magnetic Celebration of Arts and Artists, The Nostalgia of Epix's Bridge and Tunnel is Filled with Wrong Turns, The Sister Sacrifices Logic, Tension as Its Twists Unravel. It’s almost as if the planet is trying to give itself back to the ones who truly deserve it. For the most part, this is a good movie. Sadly, some of the elements of “Blood Quantum” feel distractedly unrefined, including poor performances and awkward dialogue. Zombie flicks are undeniably a lot of fun to watch, especially for genre movie enthusiasts. Barnaby wastes no time getting to the good stuff. Back in the 60s, and at rare times since, the zombie subgenre has been used as a way of sneaking social commentary into horror, the set-up of an invading force destroying a community allowing for a range of sly metaphors. Everything here feels a bit too first draft or first take when the characters aren’t fighting off growling zombies. The effects are awesome and the twists make this well-worth watching. A zombie film that also comments on our abuse of the planet and treatment of indigenous people is a brilliant idea, and it’s easy to see why TIFF chose this to open their Midnight Madness program last year. Barnaby takes common horror themes and bends them to serve the film’s purpose as an apt allegorical nightmare. The decision to bring in white people causes tension, especially with Lysol, and the film wrestles with an interesting dilemma, at least for a while. In the film’s opening stretch, we see the Mi’kmaq people of Red Crow grapple with a gruesome outbreak before events leap forward six months and we see how their lives have then radically changed. Blood Quantum (Movie Review) ... Jeff Barnaby’s Blood Quantum is that special kind of speculative fiction. In an attention-grabbing first scene, we see a fisherman finding his gutted catch of the day coming back to life and Barnaby proceeds to escalate events with a sharp and, in one brutal pregnancy scene, horrible eye, which makes it a slight disappointment that soon in, we skip to a post-apocalyptic wasteland reminiscent of a low-budget teen show. grimy zombie horror offers intriguing twist A visually distinctive, semi-effective Canadian thriller pits a First Nation community against a zombie invasion A still from He is also a writer for Vulture, The Playlist, The New York Times, and Rolling Stone, and the President of the Chicago Film Critics Association. 04/28/2020 04/28/2020 - by Kate Sánchez. A visually distinctive, semi-effective Canadian thriller pits a First Nation community against a zombie invasion, Wed 29 Apr 2020 08.10 BST At least they don’t want to eat our brains out here in the real world. Read our Blood Quantum review here! There’s also a nicely etched, if underpowered, tension between a son who resembles his father before he reformed himself and a son who resembles his father’s newer self, with both sides wrestling for dominance, both mentally and physically. The film is written and directed by Jeff Barnaby, who was born an a Mi’gmaq reserve in Listuguj, Quebec. Blood Quantum is now available to watch on Shudder, and the film is certainly worth the price of the Shudder subscription. Starring: Kiowa Gordon, Forrest Goodluck, Michael Greyeyes. The central human drama revolves around a fractured family dynamic: sheriff Traylor (Michael Greyeyes), his ex-girlfriend Joss (Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers), their son Joseph (Forrest Goodluck) and Traylor’s wayward son from a previous relationship Lysol (Kiowa Gordon). Blood Quantum (reviewed here and here out of TIFF 2019), wastes little time in getting to it. 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