‘Blood Barn’ Review
Stars: Chloe Cherry, Lena Redford, Bambina, Sam Lanier, Felipe Di Poi, Pierce Campion, Simon Paris | Written by Gabriel Bernini, Alexandra Jade | Directed by Gabriel Bernini
If you’re going to riff on The Evil Dead, you’d better bring more than a shaky cam and a bucket of fake blood. Unfortunately, Blood Barn feels like it raided the cabin, nicked the props… and forgot what made the original tick.
Set around a group of camp counsellors taking a detour to outsider Josie’s creepy family barn, the film leans hard into its low-budget, retro ambitions. There’s an evil presence, questionable life choices, and a group of teens acting exactly how horror teens should: irresponsibly. To be fair, that part works. The cast commit, and Josie herself is a likeable enough anchor — the classic outcast trying to fit in while everything goes to hell around her.
And to its credit, Blood Barn does capture flashes of that DIY, “fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants” filmmaking energy that Sam Raimi and company thrived on. The grainy visuals, practical effects, and manic tone all scream “we love Evil Dead.” Sometimes, that enthusiasm is infectious.
But here’s the problem: it never stops screaming.
Where The Evil Dead balanced chaos with tension and character, Blood Barn just piles on the madness until it becomes noise. Scene after scene throws cheap effects, spinning cameras, and over-the-top moments at you with zero restraint. There’s no breathing room, no build, no payoff — just a relentless barrage of “look what we can do on no budget!” It crosses the line from homage into full-blown fan film territory, complete with wink-wink moments like obviously fake mannequins being hurled around for “authenticity.”
Even visually, it’s inconsistent. Sometimes it nails that retro grindhouse vibe, other times it drifts into a weird mix of ‘70s aesthetics and modern digital sheen. And when the demonic elements finally show up, they’re… underwhelming. Less nightmare fuel, more photocopy-of-a-photocopy.
That’s really the best way to sum it up: Blood Barn is a tribute band that can play a couple of recognisable riffs, but struggles to carry the full set. There’s creativity here, and a clear love for the genre, but it’s buried under a lack of restraint and an over-reliance on imitation over invention.
Trim this down, tighten the focus, and maybe you’ve got a punchy short. As it stands, it’s a c well-meaning but overcooked homage that mistakes noise for energy and imitation for style. There’s fun to be had in the DIY madness, but don’t expect anything close to cabin-in-the-woods lightning striking twice.
** 2/5
Blood Barn is available to stream on Screambox now.
