Blood Quantum

About five years ago I reviewed Jeff Brnaby’s Blood Quantum when RLJE released it in September of 2020. I thought it was an entertaining and ghastly zombie film then, and I feel the same way now. While I enjoyed the film then, I still enjoy it today. And as much as I admired what this film shoots for, I’m still just as perplexed about the shifting tone from dark ominous, and oppressively bleak horror to light horror comedy to crashing back into dark unrelenting terror. 

I’ve come back to this film a couple of times now over the last few years. I still dig it, I still think it’s a worthwhile experience even though it might exclude some genre fans. If nothing else, it’s cool to see how far some of the cast has come. Kiowa Gordon is currently kicking ass on Dark Winds as Jim Chee. Michael Greyeyes was one of the better pieces of the otherwise woeful Firestarter remake. Forrest Goodluck has been fun to see pop up in things like the excellent Lawman: Bass Reeves along with How to Blow Up a Pipeline.

Here’s what I had to say in 2020

Things were quiet on the Mi'kmaq reserve of Red Crow. Reserve police chief Traylor (Michael Greyeyes) has few worries with his duties. The biggest issue is dealing with his ex-wife Joss (Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers) and their troubled son Joseph (Forrest Goodluck) who routinely ends up in jail thanks to his pal Lysol (Kiowa Gordon). But when the dead - man and animal alike - rise from the grave, Traylor has a new problem on his hands. Mysteriously everyone from the tribe is inexplicably immune - regardless of being bitten - suddenly making their home a safe zone. As the plague worsens it won't be refugees or the rising hoard of the undead - but conflicts within the tribe that could rip apart their safe haven. 

Straight up - I dug Blood Quantum. It's pretty damn bonkers. While far from flawless, the film goes for broke with its concept and largely succeeds. I dug the setting of a reserve deep within the Canadian woods. I thought it was a nice touch that the indigenous people were the only ones immune and now having to be the saviors of humanity. I also loved the pace of the film where we're teased with some gutted fish coming back to life but then the film dreamily drifts back to what "normal" is for Michael Greyeyes' Traylor. Then when shit hits the fan it goes bad fast and he has to struggle to figure out what the hell is going on.

The film also has a rich and moody visual aesthetic. Cast in the deep woods, the film feels moist. The kind of cold wet air feeling you get from early mornings as a kid in summer camp - or my entire childhood growing up in the boonies of southeastern Michigan. Skies are gray and virtually every shot looks like it just rained allowing for ominous lighting and settings - particularly any fire-lit sequences. It's beautiful-looking stuff with some clever photography to heighten the tension. 

My principal issue with Blood Quantum is its tone; it's all over the map. The first act of the film is somber and meditative with an ominous dread seeping into the story. Then the zombies hit and it's a shocker of a zombie woman holding the corpse of a baby it presumably just moments before gave birth to. Then said zombie is dispatched with some intense bone-crushing gore swiftly followed up by another zombie getting a chainsaw through the back of the head that reminds one of early Peter Jackson material like Dead Alive or Bad Taste - and it's hilarious! I love the zombie kills for how over-the-top and humorous it all is. And the film kinda feels like it's going to be more funny than it started out because the situation is so ridiculous it leans into the humor naturally. Then it gets damn ominous and pretty damn depressing. While not cohesive, scenes and sequences are well put together, it's not like the final outcome is out of expectation, but I can see some folks struggling with it. You're laughing one second and then a zombie woman is devouring an essential piece of someone's anatomy where you then ask "wait, should I be laughing?"

All in all, I dug it. Blood Quantum gets more right than most zombie flicks that come down the independent horror pipeline. For starters, you actually give a damn and enjoy the characters! You want these people to survive. When Traylor and his crew go into a warehouse to save some folks and decapitate some "Zeds" it's a tense sequence that gives you a couple of subtle laughs to let off the gas a little. The cast is great, Michael Greyeyes turns in a fun Traylor - a man constantly at wits end about what to do. Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers is terrific as Joss, but there are times when it feels like there was more with her character that didn't make it to the final edit. And throughout - the whole cast gets a unique way to take out some "Zeds" and look like they're having some fun with it too. Qualms about tone aside, this was a fun jaunt into the Zombie genre that would be worth another visit should the filmmakers feel motivated to do so. 

Vital Disc Stats: The Blu-ray 
Blood Quantum returns to Blu-ray with a new single-disc release from Shudder and OCN Distribution. Now pressed on a Region A BD50 disc, the disc is housed in a clear case with a booklet featuring a great essay from Mo Moshaty. The disc loads to an animated main menu with standard navigation options. If you managed to snag it while they were available, you could pick up a pretty damned slick-looking slipcover from the Vinegar Syndrome website.

For this release of Blood Quantum, we have what is essentially the same transfer as before, just with a slightly better encoding. In a moment I’ll reprint my thoughts on the old disc because they largely stick, but I wanted to point out the positives of this release first. While there are still some soft spots here and there, I thought the details looked sharper. Flipping between the two releases this one sticks just a bit better without losing the clarity like the 2020 disc did. There’s still some banding for tight patterns and print, but it looks minimized now, it didn’t immediately leap out and catch my eye as it did before. I also felt like image depth was a bit more appreciable with those deep blacks with ominous red tones and creepy shadows. 

Near as I can figure this is still the same excellent DTS-HD MA 5.1 track. Flipping between discs, I couldn’t pick out any discernable differences. Still packs a grim moody sonic wallop. 

Blood Quantum gets a lot of squishy life out of its DTS-HD MA 5.1 mix. Part English, part Mi'kmaq with English subs, dialogue is clean and clear throughout. Scoring maintains an ominous sense of dread often giving a little extra rumble and LFE to the more intense moments. Action beats pick up the full surround nature with gusto - the chaos of the final act is great stuff as are a few other early sequences. Imaging is well balanced throughout and levels are on point. There are a few long stretches where the story moves indoors and is quiet and conversational where the mix loses the presence of the sides and rears for a more up-front audio presence. This is a pretty subdued mix for a modern horror show and only really punches the gas when called for. 

The plus factor for this disc is the new bonus features. The new essay in the booklet is well worth the read. The new commentary with critic Scout Tafoya is a great listen with a lot of insight and detail -I’d have loved a cast or filmmaker track but this is very good. After that, we get some behind-the-scenes footage, a cool still gallery, and one of director Jeff Barnaby’s short films to enjoy. Considering the past release didn’t have any extras of any kind, this is a nice selection to enjoy.

• Audio Commentary featuring Scout Tafoya
• Behind the Scenes Featurette (HD 12:54)
• File Under Miscellaneous Short Film (HD 7:17)
• Photo Gallery
• Green Band Trailer
• Red Band Trailer

Blood Quantum is fantastic when it works, when it doesn’t it loses a bit of its edge and feels a bit lost for what kind of horror film it's aiming to be. While it might be an uneven experience, as a whole it’s a damned entertaining feature with a clever new twist on the zombie experience. Shudder and OCN Distribution deliver a top-notch disc with a strong A/V experience now complete with a solid assortment of new bonus features. Recommended 

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