Blood Vessel

Wicked of Oz productions and Co-Writer/Director Justin Dix delivers a well made low budget WWII horror flick. What set's this cheekily titled Blood Vessel apart from other micro-budget films? This film drips in ominous atmosphere. The set department, costumes, and special makeup effects turn this little vampire flick into the film that could. The visuals drip with dread and salt air. These are all seasoned filmmakers and they take everything they learned and turned a tiny budget into a fantastic little beast. This flick has teeth, figuratively and literally speaking. Justin Dix has leant his practical makeup effects, props, miniatures, animatronic characters and set pieces for feature films and television work. They've produced work for films such as Star Wars Episode 2 and 3, Charlottes Web, The Loved Ones, The Bank Job. They've been attached to nearly every Australian Horror Film in the industry. They've also worked Dying Breed, Wolf Creek, Red Hill, Rogue, Lake Mungo, The Babadook, and Scare campaign, to name a few. Filmed in Melbourne Australia. I live in Melbourne, FL and have accidentally joined more than a few Melbourne Australia message boards. I digress.

The film star Alyssa Sutherland of Vikings fame, Robert Taylor of Netflix's Record breaking show Longmire, Nathan Phillips of Australian soap opera Neighbors, has also appeared in Take Away with Rose Byrne, Wolf Creek, Snakes on a Plane, and Surfer dude. The film also stars Christopher Kirby, John Lloyd Fillingham, and Alex Cooke. It is Co-Written by Jordan Prosser. On closing night 2019 the film premiered in Provo, Utah at FilmQuest. It would go on to be nominated in 11 categories. Winning in Best Art Department, Best costume, and Best Supporting Actress for Sutherland.

They round out our beleagured characters stuck floating in a life boat. They hail from all of the world, two americans, 2 brits, a russian, and an Australian. And ancient Romanians. More on that later. Sinclair from Australia seems to take the role of leader after The Captain is mortally injured in a freak ladder misfunction. Everyone begins to suspect things are not right. With all the screaming and shouting, Germans should have come taken them already. Before boarding the ship Teplov notices a little girl. Creepy. Or it could just be stuck on a raft for weeks with little food and water. The disparate passengers begin to descend upon the vessel. Things don't seem to add up. An antique doll is found. Could the little girl be real? The trajectory is off course by meddling. No one is seen nor heard. The ship is sporting sabotaged life boats. Also the ship could explode if they don't shut off the engine. Also dead bodies. Weird, veiny bodies are found throughout the ship, most of them being set ablaze. Then Bigelow is startled by a creepy girl in a scary gas mask. See seems to be speaking Romanian, only Teplov can moderately translate. This really is a ghost ship of a film at least in the first half. Once we meet the girl, the creep factor rises, the greed appears by various members. Lots of power plays and mistakes are made by characters. When the Ancient One is released, all shit hits the fan. People and creatures can be controlled by him. First he must feast and wake up his partner. The only thing missing from this Ancient family is to be reunited with their savage daughter.

Our core group of survivors keep coming across turned soldiers. Seems that more than a few were locked up in the freezer. In a bad ass scene we see our heroes fight the undead. The main vampire are very bat like. Very much the Nosferatu type of vamp. The creature effects are outstanding. The film is bathed in blood toward the end of the film. There was a lot of care taken in the creature designs, and the range shows in the breadth of the makeup. It doesn't become heavily gory until the third act. The movie haunts us with being lost at sea, creepy abandoned Nazi ship, terrifying creatures, and the humanity of greed all play a part.

This movie was a blast. It's a bit of slow boil, but the dread and mystery pay off. The action really begins to kick in halfway through. Though working on a small scale they pull of the WWII period and fantastic art department. On a miniscule budget, anything can be done if you have the imagination and know how to prep. I recommend this to lovers of horror films and creatures. The creatures will haunt you well after the film is seen. Some great actors and work done here. This movie pulled me in with its mystery and supernatural Nazi meddling. Blood Vessel can be seen now on Shudder. I was thirsty after this film. Two out of Two neck holes.