Creative and original, Blood Punch is a great addition to the time loop movie subgenre. It’s so hard to find great indie movies, especially in this thriller/horror genre that I almost gave up on them. Luckily, I am one stubborn mofo and after about twenty crappy ones, I finally ran into one that’s really good. First of all, Blood Punch is an entertaining and well thought out movie with a distinct noir vibe. More importantly, it looks great and the cinematography was excellent, especially if you consider the budget. You’ll never get a feeling that you’re actually watching an indie flick.
It features ideas that we have seen before but the way the story is set up and developed is really engaging. It actually combines several genres and has some really funny sequences along with science fiction and mystery elements. And did I mention the romance that’s one of the main themes here? With this many genres, you might expect the story or something else to be too disjointed but our writing/directing duo made sure that we’re always on the right track.
Written and directed by Madellaine Paxson and Eddie Guzelian, who mostly worked on movies and series for kids, Blood Punch is exactly that, a strong and refreshing punch in the gut, with a smile. The thing you’re going to notice right away is the dynamic and authentic dialogue. It never feels forced or lame although the story is perfect for pretentious meandering. The story just naturally develops and you feel like you’re on a really good thrill ride.
Rehab centers are not usually the places for drug deals, but nothing about this deal or its parties is usual. Milton, a genius chemist who can’t resist the sweet, sweet calling of the methamphetamine and our heroine Skyler, unabashedly proud of her drug habit are a perfect couple and destiny was bound to put them together. This happens when Skyler asks Milton to cook a huge batch of meth in just one day, a batch that will make them both very rich. However, there’s just one problem, well actually, there are two problems, they are still in the rehab center and they are going to need a lot of pseudo to cook that much meth. The answer to both these problems is Russel, Skyler’s psychotic boyfriend…
Our three main actors were simply great. I was really surprised finding out they are still relatively unknown. All three are coming from New Zealand, with Olivia Tennet confidently leading this gruesome threesome into battle. After all, she was in Lord of the Rings. Ari Boyland was phenomenal as the psycho boyfriend Russel and our homeboy Milo Cawthorne, who shined as the cook Milton, appeared in another awesome movie called Deathgasm, one of New Zealand’s finest. The chemistry on set was evidently great and this gave Blood Punch this entertaining, “I-am-not-taking-this-too-seriously” vibe that so many movies miss.
Well written and acted, characters elicit empathy as we follow them in their efforts to try to figure out what the fuck is actually going on here. The constant mystery keeps you guessing what’s going to happen next. And I can tell you right now that there are no third act slip-ups. I almost forgot to mention that there are a lot of deaths and murders here, hence the title. And although the budget was rather small they all look pretty decent. The only thing that mildly irritated me were the sound effects. They were too strong and stood out from the otherwise well-rounded movie. So, if you’re looking for a breath of fresh air in the whatever the fuck this genre is, check out Blood Punch. It won’t disappoint you.
Director: Madellaine Paxson
Writer: Eddie Guzelian
Cast: Milo Cawthorne, Olivia Tennet, Ari Boyland, Adelaide Kane, Cohen Holloway, Amanda Reed
Rating:
IMDb Link: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2825230/
