As part of Dead By Dawn Festival.
The cabin in the woods is one of most hoary staples of horror cinema going. From The Evil Dead through to, well, The Cabin In The Woods, countless camper vans of hapless (stupid) friends have turned up at these tumbledown death magnets to get picked off in myriad ways, from demons to flesh-eating viruses. However, as recent works like Tucker & Dale vs. Evil and the brilliant Always Shine show, it’s possible to do something about different with a remote setting. The same is true with Kelton Jones’ Dry Blood.
Taking addiction as its central, albeit not hugely subtle metaphor, Dry Blood is about long-term omni-addict Brian (booze, pills, powder; any port in a storm), who takes a trip out to a holiday cabin in a country backwater. The retreat is a memento from his previous unhappy marriage, but he figures it’s an ideal place to dry out away from the temptations of the city. He ropes in his reluctant friend Anna, who has been privy to such attempts before, to drive out and support him in his efforts.
Jones and writer/ star Clint Carney use Brian’s withdrawal to introduce heighten the paranoia he suffers, particularly in his interactions with an overly-attentive cop (Jones himself). Eventually he succumbs to the temptations of a handful of pills he has lying about and begins to suffer ghostly hallucinations. Are these the result of the pills, or are they genuine apparitions?
Despite the low-budget limitations and some flawed acting – Carney plays Brian as a series of tics, gesticulations and outburst, rather than a rounded character – the premise is established nicely. It’s never entirely convincing that Anna would stick around as Brian seems pretty loathsome, and not above using her sympathy to make a move on her; but she is necessary for the story however as both a cipher for the audience and the voice of reason when the apparitions start to appear. It’s the resulting sense of ambiguity and real tension that mean it’s easier to overlook the more obvious shortcomings.
What will really help Dry Blood linger in the memory is the sudden explosion of violence. Not since We Are Still Here has a horror tumbled into such outrageous splatter so suddenly. The carnage will haunt you. It’s hideously inventive, nasty, and lingers on detail when you wish it would look away. Above all, it’s plausible. Huge credit should go to the effects team for stellar work that leaves the chest pounding and the face pale.
For its uncompromising nature and devotion to its premise, Dry Blood has to be considered a success, despite the flaws in its execution and storytelling.