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Very well executed

Overrated

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.

Well. Here's a film guaranteed to infuriate those who don't like open-ended stories, because this provides no real answers, even at the end. Beware the following spoilers, which really will soften the impact of 'Blood River…' Happy newlyweds Clark (Ian Duncan) and Summer (Tess Panzer) are stranded in the middle of the Nevada desert after their car suffers a blow-out. Looking in the boot/trunk, Clark is dumbfounded to find the spare tyre is no longer there. Some swirling camera work really does convey how desolate the location is, and how far away from civilisation the two characters are.They make their weary way back to a cluster of abandoned buildings, where a drifter cowboy, Joseph (Andrew Howard) arrives and immediately impresses Summer, who is pregnant, with his forceful personality. Although Clark is angered and intimidated by this, the two of them agree to traipse back to the car to 'siphon off the gas', leaving Summer to discover a room full of photographs, where the various subjects have their eyes blanked out. Among their number is a picture of Summer, Clark and Benny (Summer's elder child). Startlingly, she turns to see Joseph standing behind her, where he explains he is a kind of angel of retribution, and that her unborn child is his now. Only minutes earlier, Joseph was with Clark at the car, some five miles away … and in the boot/trunk was the body of Benny.Initially, Joseph's proclamations of angelic status seem as ridiculous as his accusations of Clark's alleged 'sin' – the ravings of an outcast – but slowly, it seems likely that he may be telling the truth. Quite what sin Clark is guilty of we're not sure. The body of the child in the car was not there earlier, and is likely a metaphor for Clark's benefit. Summer's crime, the reason for her punishment, is the sin of apathy – she knew what was going on and did nothing about it.Child abuse, or child-murder, seems likely, although never remotely specified – such things are left to the viewer. Murder is improbable, as Benny's photograph is unblemished when Joseph hands it back to Summer. The wounds inflicted on Joseph by an enraged Clark also disappear, including the re-growing of three removed fingers, indicating that everything Joseph has said is true.With such a lot of questions unanswered, Joseph is next seen disappearing into the distance having been given a lift by what is presumably the next 'sinner'. As he says in a voice-over epilogue, 'when you meet up with me, it is already too late.' This is a fascinating, harrowing and intimate portrayal of disintegrating trust and the horror of realisation, beautifully shot and intensely acted. Far from being benign, Joseph's retribution is merciless – an early scene with a flirtatious Inn Keeper seems to paint him as just another lunatic slasher, although the woman (Sarah Essex) seems accepting of her punishment. This, in retrospect, is a clue. Close attention is required - but don't expect any clear answers.Andrew Howard in particular is extremely powerful as Joseph. If there are any prosthetics on display, they are very subtle. And yet as his enigmatic persona becomes more convincing, he appears not quite/more than human in certain scenes. The glistening eyes and lack of eyebrows add a certain inhuman menace to his fury.

I thought this was a fine indie movie; very fine, indeed. It did remind me of the Henry Rollins flick I saw about two months ago, 'He Never Died', but I like this one better. The acting was right on point and the dialog couldn't have been better. In fact, I thought the writing of the antagonist was pretty clever, intriguing, caustic but poignant. I've even thought along the same lines as he does, albeit with far less violence involved.The dealbreaker to me was the endless whimpering, whimpering, sobbing, crying towards the end. At that point you hope the villain would kill the crybabies to put us out of our misery. Yes, all that whimpering was necessary for the plot development of 'Blood River', but that doesn't mean it wasn't annoying to the point of grating.Visually, the only flaws in the film were the light balances. In some scenes the background and sky would become blindingly white and washed out, but in most of them the contrast was fine. I just brought down the brightness on my h.264 player and the film looked okay.I do recommended this film, not necessarily to the general movie going public, but to film students who may need a prod in the right direction in regards to story development. That this movie was never resolved in the end is superfluous; it's still worth that arid trip through the scorching Arizona desert to see it.

Blood River currently does not have distribution in the US. Why? Who knows. I really wonder if movies like these are quashed here just to make way for the remakes, and same old torture movies that are clearly threatened by movies such as this. I generally do not jump onto a site and review a movie, but I am tired of these movies getting absolutely no love from the film industry.Blood River has a bare bones cast, the story is straight forward and to the point. Andrew Howard is impressive, as always. I do not want to go into too much about the movie, I hate spoilers and like going into a movie blind. I will say Ian Duncan's turn of his character in this was excellent, and Tess Panzer pulled out all of the stops in the end. the end of the movie left me asking questions, pondering the situation well after the movie was over.If you are a horror fan such as myself, that seeks their movies from outside of the mainstream, this is right up your alley. Yes, there will be haters. There always are. Take the time to decide for yourself, and give Blood River the love that it deserves if you, too, enjoy it.

This is a movie that I think you will either completely love or completely hate. There is a lot of psychology involved. It made me reflect on what sins I have committed and whether one sin is worse than the next. In the movie a couple sets out on a journey. They pass a hitchhiker and refuse to give him a ride. Further in the movie, their car breaks down. They walk to find the nearest town and find it abandoned. Eventuall the hitchhiker shows up and tells them that if they can siphon gas from their car, they car get his car going. From here the relationships among the three take many different turns and by the end, you're not quite sure who did what or if it was all just a trick of the mind. I enjoyed it, but I'm not sure it's for people that are not into dissecting the hidden messages in movies.