 Thanks for checking out this movie review video. So this is for the 2019 film blood quantum And I actually just hit shutter when I'm posting this review. It is the day. It's surprise hit shutter They didn't announce when it was gonna come out They had said in an email that they sent out saying surprise this film is up on shutter right now That they were planning on releasing it sometime in the summer But then they decided you know what we should just put it out right now as a quick surprise because It's very topical for kind of what's going on right now and based on that you would assume Oh, it's a zombie film because it's about infection and people being afraid of who's infected and all that type of stuff So very very topical for what's going on right now and there are a lot of things when you watch this where you're just like Yeah It's there's some kind of parallels right now unfortunately One of the funniest things in my opinion is the fact that there's a character in here Who's one of the people killing zombies whose name is Lysol? Lysol killing the virus infected zombies. I was just like that is perfect for what's going on right now, so But anyway, no spoilers on this one because you know, it's brand new it just hit shutter It's a shutter original and I encourage you to watch it because it is good. I did enjoy it One thing I do have to say though. I I don't think I would have it I enjoyed it as much as I could have just because I'm not huge on zombie films anymore There was a time period where I was good with zombies, but there have been so many zombie films so many zombie shows all that stuff I have been zombie to death years ago. So when zombie stuff comes out I typically don't want to watch it or I don't end up watching it But if I were into zombies, I would like this film even more than I think I do But that said I'm still gonna be very fair in my rating in this film and my you know breakdown of it So anyway, like I said, it's a shutter original written and directed by Jeff Barnaby Who did if the only other film he wrote and directed was rhymes for young ghouls So I don't know what you know what that was. This is a First Nations horror film Now if people don't know what First Nations stands for it's basically the equivalent of Native American in the United States It's indigenous peoples from Canada I'm familiar with that just because I've listened to a bunch of Canadian podcasts that kind of touch on the topics of First Nations life in Canada and how First Nations are very much at odds with police the with the the justice system and police force up there because of how life goes with reservations and kind of that you know racial divide basically and Some of those themes do show up in this film like definitely And there's kind of like this underlying tone of the issues of colonialism and what that sets you up for and trying to overcome that and There's a lot of like cultural tie-ins with the film that I think we're smartly done and I enjoyed that about the film So it's very cool that this was I think the first First Nations horror film or at least that I know of There's a second runner-up for the People's Choice at the Toronto International Film Festival last year when it was out there So plenty people are enjoying it There's text in the beginning of this that is actually really hard to read This is one of my small Problems with the film. It's one of those things where it's a black screen and then it has a bunch of text But the text is in dark red. I'm talking really dark red So I literally had to get up off my couch and get very very close to the screen in order to read it So they should have made that a lot lighter, but once again, that's kind of a small It's a small issue, but it's an issue There's a nice subtle signaling of things to come in the beginning of this, you know a lot of times there's this kind of foreshadowing of someone getting the idea that here comes a zombie issue and What form does that come in and a lot of times it's straight up somebody becomes a zombie this doesn't Doesn't do that. It's a way more subtle way of showing it But people who know it's a zombie film, which you will know going into it because the build is that You'll know that that's the indicator that here comes a problem And I enjoyed that it was a softer more subtle way of showing it. It was creative It was interesting and it was cool and I liked that about it quite a bit First thing that hit me with this film actually is that the well after the title the the issue of the black screen with a really dark lettering It looks really good. This film looks very slick. The directing is really good The cinematography looks really great. It looks really good in addition to that It has a really gritty feel to it has a really gritty look to it It's it's weird because because the cinematography and directing is so good and it looks so crisp and clean But it looks so gritty at the same time and that's obviously intentional because of the world They're trying to create with this kind of zombie issue Looks awesome. I yes, I really like it Jeff Barnaby as a director nice It was a pretty leisurely pace early on in the film Which honestly, I didn't mind because that had a lot of it looked really good So there was a lot to kind of look at you get your bearing for what the environments like that they're trying to set up So that's nice that said there are some times later in the film that are slow And you kind of wish they would have either edited some of that down or picked up the pace a little bit And then one of my biggest issues is in the very very end of the film I felt they really stretched the very very end-out way too long They should have cut that back quite a bit and actually I would argue that they should have cut The very last thing that happens in the film I think they should just cut that out entirely and had the thing that happens the act that happens before that Be the actual ending because I felt like he had even more of an impact So it was kind of like big impact thing and then another in big in big impact thing But that last big impact thing had less of a big impact than the one prior to it So I thought that that one would have been better to stop on as opposed to the other one because I just didn't think you needed it But people may feel differently about that. I'm sure either way. It's still good They paint a picture of people barely getting by Not just with a zombie situation prior to anyone knowing that there's a problem So this kind of gives a glimpse of the world they're creating on a reservation which this film was actually shot on two different reservations in the Quebec area, I believe and Yeah, so there's a pretty big focus on substance abuse in this actually and I didn't expect it to be as big of an issue because they start with substance abuse but the substance abuse actually carries throughout it, which I think is kind of a commentary of a cultural issue with substance abuse in particular within the context of this film But honestly every culture has substance abuse issues So, you know, it becomes pretty universal and you can accept it that way for sure because I mean a lot of people know people who have substance abuse issues in their life and They incorporate it in an interesting way within the film. So One of the people early on in this film This is not really a spoiler at all but one of the people early in the film is in a jail and how they got there is An interesting story and I like that they do a flashback to kind of show you that and it's funny And that's one of the other things I want to point out is there are some comedic moments in this that hit Like they they're comedic. They're supposed to be funny and they actually are funny and That is a big thumbs up for me But they don't go too over the top with comedy because it's not it feels like it's definitely not supposed to be fully comedy so it's the kind of Good writing where they can kind of pepper in some comedic moments throughout but you don't consider it a horror comedy and Those comedic moments don't detract from the overall feel of it and the seriousness of what's going on So good writing. There's some really good kill scenes in this some really good kill scenes And one of the things I appreciate a lot about it is when they have gore. They have gore blood Sprays there's lots of it. They're just pumping it out and those are the types of kills especially in Zombie movies that I do appreciate So I think their level of gore that they use in the practical effects really help with making it Feel fun at the same time as it feels impactful and scary and bleak and all of those things So it just becomes so much kind of rolled into one with this film There's a time-jump forward in this film that I actually did not see coming They tell you when that happens and you know comes up with a little title that says six months later So I didn't see it coming I like the fact that they did that because they were able to create a more interesting setting in a more interesting world at that point This it hit me as being very very inspired by the walking dead and one of the big reasons being How the walking dead kind of changed how we view horror movies in general going so deep And it becomes way more about the people and a lot less about the zombies because when the walking dead hit Everyone had this feeling of oh my gosh, you know the walking dead isn't even like having anything to do with zombies Really you could edit the zombies out and the drama and everything that drives the the comic book and then the show It's all still there and this film kind of feels like that in a sense It's like there's a zombie situation going on, but that's not what it's ultimately about So very walking dead-ish There's some dark comedy elements. I already talked about that There's a big focus on worrying about your offspring their health and future But also how you have impacted and shaped them good and bad and I'm not a father You know, I don't have any children. I don't plan on ever having any children. That's by choice but I Understand that that's something that really resonates with people especially when it's in film and I could see with the way That it's executed in this film that people were really It could really resonate with people who are parents So, you know, you can comment down there and let me know if you are a parent and you've seen this and it does resonate with you Because I can't speak to that just because I'm not a parent and I'm not gonna be one There are a few interesting scenes using animation Which I was very caught off guard when they first did that I was like oh, okay But it looks really cool like it looks awesome and understand Why they do it? It's kind of it's kind of weird that it's done very sparingly But once again when it's done, it just looks so good that you're just kind of like, okay You know, we just got this nice looking animation moment. It works. It makes me feel more artsy It's appropriately gritty like I was saying it's got this kind of like gritty looking feel to it It's very appropriate for what's going on with the story. It matches that There's a strong symbolic act at the very end. So I was talking about where I thought they should have ended it And at that moment you cannot help but find it moving to some degree I certainly did and that was a nice surprise a lot of horror films don't Impact me that way and this one really did. I really felt kind of moved by it You know, I didn't cry or anything like that But if I felt very moved by it and I thought that was really a nice touch it would that speaks to very good writing and very good Filmmaking and some good acting actually for the most part the acting with it is It's okay for an independent film But some of the acting really does hit at times and I kind of actually feel like as the film went on It like the acting got better and better and better. So by the end you were like, yeah There are some parts that are slow. Oh, yeah, I already talked about that that there are some parts that are slow And you really wanted them edited down The timing of this is definitely appropriate once you get to the end you will look back and just be like Yeah, I could see where some people are feeling like this at the moment, but let's not get out of control This plays a lot on the uncertainty of a future of the future. That's another thing that kind of you know ties in at the moment But it also kind of speaks to the issues of trying to get people on the same page Trying to come up with plans and get people to cooperate And it's like you see the people who are doing are not doing what they're supposed to be doing And you're like, why are you messing this up for the rest of us? Why are you making this harder than it needs to be people? So yeah Since this is a First Nations film it comes from a perspective of having to worry about invasion of homeland Again, and that's one of the interesting things to think about when you watch this film and it really occurred to me I thought they conveyed it pretty well within the film of It's not from the typical Caucasian perspective of you know, here's a straightforward zombie film. We're just defending ourselves. We're holed up here You know, we're trying to stay alive There's an extra layer to it because it is kind of like another Invasion of your homeland being taken it again because it's already happened to these people. They have a history Rooted in having their land taken and and a zombie invasion is a second coming of that basically So it really works with that. So anyway, this isn't a perfect film You can tell it's definitely an independent film, but like I said, it there's a lot of pluses to it a few minuses but a lot of pluses overall with Potential five stars with half stars play with this. I'm gonna give it a solid three star rating I would recommend it. It is a good film if I was huge into zombie movies I don't know. Maybe I would have bumped it up to a three and a half I thought about going between three and three and a half. I was between those two ultimately. I went with the three But if I did quarters, I do the three point two five But anyway, everyone out there, please definitely check it out Put some comments down here when you have seen it or if you've already seen it Let's talk about it where your thoughts are on it and everything Do me a quick favor and hit that subscribe because that's your way to repay me if you like anything that I do With this channel. I'm not making money or anything and it literally takes you a second Do me that solid and then if you've already subscribed just hit that thumbs up to let me know you're still watching But regardless, thank you for taking your time and checking this out and until next time keep it brutal