Blood Quantum: Review

28th April 2020

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. Six months later and there are differing opinions on how to deal with things as it seems that the people in the Mi’gMaq reserve are the only ones that are immune from the disease.

Traylor (Michael Greyeyes) and his wife, Joss (Elle Maija Tailfeathers) are doing the best to keep order in a time of chaos, but when Lysol (Kiowa Gordon) becomes restless, the draw of the outside world gets ever closer, becoming even more dangerous.

Blood Quantum is a slow burn zombie horror movie and Shudder exclusive from writer/director Jeff Barnaby. However, Blood Quantum is not just another exciting name given to a zombie movie. It refers to a colonial blood measurement used to determine an individual’s Indigenous status which has sadly been so often used as a tool to erase Indigenous people. So, bearing all that in mind Blood Quantum is not just another flashy, violent and seriously broody zombie horror, as it has a unique point to make at the heart of its story.

The way that the movie progresses is more thoughtfully paced and meaningful than the average zombie movie, so it may not be for people who are just looking for a blood and gore fest. It also may not be for people who may not be coping with the current situation either, because at the time of writing some of the dialogue may touch a nerve.

However, Blood Quantum does indeed deliver on its pints of blood while bringing a realism and human story that not many would have considered. It does so with great cinematography, a nuanced and well thought out cast of characters and a metaphor less on the nose than is brought up in movies such as Dawn of The Dead.

Having something more in common with World War Z (the book, not the movie) rather than Zombieland, Blood Quantum gathers together a cast of characters which the audience will care about.

The occasional cliché can be forgiven as they are staples of the genre, but Blood Quantum shows that with the right voices behind the camera, there may still be some weight left in a genre that many think may have run out of ideas.

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