I’m glad to be back in a regular blogging groove with my boo Jill but it’s taking a bit of adjustment to post on time. While we – I – get to grips with that, I’m doing my best, I swear. Life seems especially challenging at the moment, on all levels, so there’s no beating ourselves up about anything.
With that in mind, this week we see ‘Zeds’ and Indigenous people come to blows on an Indian reserve in the most explosive way – and I’m here for it.
Blood Quantum (2023)
If they’re red, they are dead. If they’re white, they bite.
Director: Jeff Barnaby
Starring: Michael Greyeyes, Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers, Forrest Goodluck
Synopsis:
The dead are coming back to life outside the isolated Mi’kmaq reserve of Red Crow, except for its Indigenous inhabitants who are strangely immune to the zombie plague.
Something is afoot on the Red Crow reserve, not least with the salmon, which seem to keep flapping, even after they’ve been gutted. This is what fisherman Gisigu (Stonehorse Lone Goeman) has found anyway. Across town, his son Traylor – the town sheriff – is dealing with a dying dog belonging to his ex-wife.
Meanwhile, Traylor’s wayward son Joseph has been arrested for vandalism and is in the local clink with his half-brother Lysol. To say it’s all kicking off on this one day is an understatement, but we’ve not even started yet. In addition to the seemingly undead salmon, the now dead dog reanimates, while others in the small town are acting very out of sorts.
In the drunk tank, Joseph and Lysol are forced to fight off a very sick man who ends up biting Joseph, before being put down by Traylor. Perhaps you can see where this is going? Later Traylor responds to a call from local man Shooker’s house, where he is attacked and bitten by Shooker’s girlfriend, who’s just given birth to (and subsequently eaten) their baby.
So with our two main characters bitten, it’s only a matter of time before they change into snarling ‘Zeds’ like everybody else and head for the hills, right? Not so fast. It seems the infection doesn’t affect the indigenous residents of Red Crow in the same way it does the white population so – fast forward six months – we find both father and son very much alive.
In this near future, Red Crow has been turned into a fortified compound and the Zed outbreak – flesh-eating zombies – has become wide-spread. Traylor and co are holding it down as best that can – but with Lysol becoming increasingly aggressive towards them, and their need to help outsiders, it’s not an easy life.
Sadly Lysol’s paranoia is proven right and the shit hits the fan on the compound in the only way you’d expect from a zombie flick. Joseph and his family fight tooth and nail to protect his heavily pregnant white girlfriend Charlie from disaster while she struggles with totally understandable post-apocalyptic pre-natal anxiety .
Who will make it to the new world once the safety of Red Crow is compromised beyond repair?
My thoughts
I enjoyed this rather visceral zombie tale, which questions community responsibility, loyalty and legacy. It’s gory at all times which I love and generally feels like a fresh enough take on the genre to not be boring. It’s good to see Indigenous representation (much like with last year’s Prey) and the concept of them being immune to the infection opens interesting conversation about race.
The film is very good-looking and it also contains a couple of Tarantino references which made me snigger like the film nerd that I am. The acting isn’t always on point but it’s a minor niggle.
My rating
3.5 out of 5
Christa Act 
One thought on “Blood Quantum review”