The thrill of the unexpected gives In Our Blood its edge and one that’s sharp in this well executed thriller.
Showing as part of the FrightFest strand of the Glasgow Film Festival it marks the movies UK premiere and feature debut for director Pedro Kos. By no means new to the game, this Oscar-nominated documentary-filmmaker puts those skills to good use and incredibly so with the style adopted in this movie.
The story starts in-medias-res where we are introduced to Emily (Brittany O’Grady), a documentary-filmmaker who along with her cinematographer Danny (E.J Bonilla) returns to her hometown to reconnect with her estranged mother, Sam (Alanna Ubach), who is a recovering addict.
Opting for in-medias-res can often give way to a muddled timeline that is confusing and clunky but Kos avoids these pitfalls entirely to produce a story that is structurally sound and clear to follow.
From the very offset Kos creates an air of mystery and suspense. This screenplay from Mallory Westfall carefully sustains both throughout and builds on it patiently. Even when more details emerge you are still kept guessing.
With that patient build though there are lulls around halfway through and although only momentarily you do feel it. In Our Blood is reminiscent of The Blair Witch Project but elevated in its aesthetics and minus the snot.
Where it lacks snot it makes up for it in the blood-splatter and pigs heads we see. It is important to point out it is more a thriller with violence than your typical horror. It is very much the case we see glimpses of that violence but it is what we don’t see that makes it a gripping watch.
Filming documentary style, with Bonilla behind the “camera”, works incredibly well to put you in the scene. A pseudo-reality of sorts against the backdrop of the mother-daughter story keeps it feeling grounded. You can tell Kos is incredibly comfortable at incorporating his background for this movie and rightfully so as it is a risk that pays off.
That combined with the desert landscape of New Mexico captured by cinematographer Camilo Monsalve works well together – those sprawling shots of desolate scenery gives the movie an element of eeriness to it.
A movie like this, especially with the events in its third act, simply would not work without the right cast and Brittany O’Grady is tremendous. It is a performance that is authentic where she has this subtle screen presence that keeps your attention.
What Pedro Kos does next will be intriguing and certainly one to look out for.
Tickets for In Our Blood can be found here and the full FrightFest programme here
SUMMARY
4 STARS
