‘Blood Myth’ Review
Stars: Jonathan McClean, Anna Dawson, Hannah Chalmers, Matt Ray Brown, Charlie Walker McClimens, Adrian Annis, Neil Summerville, Daniel Thrace, Ian Small, Eva McGillivray, George Nettleton, Tony Goodall | Written and Directed by Sean Brown, Luke Gosling
Blood Myth is one of those awful generic horror movie titles that doesn’t garner any interest from me. But with that said, I know better than to judge a book by its cover, well a film by its title, so as usual went in hoping for the best.
In Blood Myth a journalist goes away with his pregnant fiancé to research a folklore, only for her to quickly go missing. He then goes down a dangerous path on the search for her, It sounds like, and is in large part, a pretty basic mystery thriller. Much of the movie is the lead character searching for leads, talking unsuccessfully to police, finding better information through locals (some of which are a bit odd) and plenty of other stuff you will have likely seen before. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing though, it runs along at a decent pace and keeps your attention, it’s just not particularly original.
There’s some decent cinematography here too, at its best with its use of darkness. The scenes when a torch is being used as the only light or the characters are struggling too see in the night sky are some of the best. More rain and cold looking air would have improved things though just to add that eeriness.
The score is much more old school than I expected, so its perhaps not a surprise that it’s very hit and miss. At times very much adding to the atmosphere while at other times just not working at all.
The back-story of the folklore named ‘30’ (which is a better name for the film than Blood Myth) feels quite Nineties-ish and maybe the film as a whole would have faired better twenty plus years ago. If this had been made shortly after The Blair Witch Project, it might have been a hit. There’s plenty of similar modern movies that have been successful with this format but in Blood Myth there’s just not enough intrigue in the myth and too much focus on a missing woman.
At first I thought it could be a cool new take on found-footage because it starts off this way and then with some sit down interviews but then soon continues in to a much more normally shot movie. Speaking of which, Blood Myth is a well shot movie, things always look good and the choice for lead actor is a good one. The character is relatable and his actions for the most part are plausible.
I don’t often say it but Blood Myth does suffer with its low budget and could have been a better movie with more money. Just little things here and there that aren’t really possible because of it.
The last fifteen minutes are where the slow burn pays off. At first what seems like a strange ending, very much links up with the folklore in the movie and creates something pretty cool. At least leaving the viewer with some cool lasting images.
So Blood Myth is a bit of a mixed bag but ultimately the mystery thriller is at its best when it embraces its British folk horror influences.
