Bullet Points: Blood Quantum (2019)
If you are having a hard time finding something with zombies to watch then you just aren’t looking very hard. I can’t turn to a network or streaming app and not be slapped across the face with Walking Dead knockoffs and shitty Nazi zombie movies. I would say that the zombie craze probably hit its peak several years ago but it sure hasn’t slowed much since. I know that because I am one of those people who still get roped into creative zombie flicks from time to time. Blood Quantum is one that was totally off of my radar. It was only by sheer chance that I came across it at the library, of all places, and ended up taking it home along with a whole bunch of children’s books. The books mostly sucked but I just may have found a diamond in the rough with Blood Quantum.
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.
- Traylor family drama: The setting is the Red Crow Indian Reservation in 1981.We’re introduced to Traylor (Michael Greyeyes), the local Sheriff. He’s in a bit of a pickle since both of his kids are in jail and his ex-wife is way too good for him. Young Joseph has always felt bad for his half-brother Lysol, who grew up without a mother and in a different home. Traylor was never much of a father to him at all and it shows by how often Lysol is getting arrested. Joseph is doing his best to make a connection with him while, at the same time, trying to mend the relationship he has with his pregnant and very white girlfriend. As you can see, more than enough drama. Bring on the zombies!
- It begins: We never know why the virus is spread but we first see it as a fisherman pulls fish from the river and guts them. Of course they don’t stay dead and we see first hand that some bad shit is going down. Traylor finally gets to his sons at the jail and we meet our first human zombies biting the hell out of people, including Joseph. Traylor also runs into several other instances around the town and it’s clear this isn’t some small thing that will just go away.
- Locking it down: We do a fast forward six months and the question is why is Joseph and the others who were bitten still alive? It’s that good Native blood, dawg! Immunity to zombie virus’ and great hair, I guess. The remaining members of the town have it locked down. Lysol and his crew of crazed and angry killers watch the walls while Traylor, his fisherman father, and a few other badasses scavenge around for fuel and resources. Traylor’s ex-wife Joss, who happens to be a nurse, is also there and becomes the softness that this movie desperately needed. With so much mindless killing and death, a little humanity from a mother and prospective grandmother was very much a positive. Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers is also a very good actress.
- Dipsticks and red wings: While Lysol is definitely not the most well-liked character throughout the film, he has some of the funniest lines. He finds one of those old dipstick candies and wonders if he can trade it for a blowjob. Then later, while properly f*cked up on booze and drugs he tells his brother the story of when he got his red wings. It just so happens that the girl in the story is now in the town and you can tell that his liquid courage is only making his confidence in himself more dangerous.
- Outbreak: Nothing good ever happens in a real zombie movie. You can fantasize all you want about picking braindead biters off from the roof of your house with a .22 but I can guarantee you it won’t end well. The same is true here in the Red Crow territory. No matter how high they’ve built their walls or how many dudes stand guard with cool axes, it just won’t be enough. Zombie movies always tend to shine light on what makes us, as humans, the bad ones. At least that is true for the good zombie flicks. The ones that make you not just consider how to off the undead while boarding up your windows but the ones who make you consider whether it would be worth it to let your neighbors inside your home and out of the chaos outside.
- Till the end: I’ve spoken very little about the destruction in Blood Quantum but that is partially because I want you all to be surprised by how awesome it is when you see it. A fan of these types of films has probably seen about every single weapon imaginable used against a zombie so I don’t think there is anything that will shock them but BQ is just so well done it almost lulls you into a sense of enjoyment you would normally get for something with a massive budget. The chaotic beheadings, the tense chases, and the thrill of not knowing what might happen next are all present until the very end. The crucial element, the one that NEEDS to be around in the end is also there. It’s humanity. When the dust settles and the final survivors poke their heads out they can’t all be without souls are desire to start over. What type of apocalypse movie would that be?
The Verdict: I had to look up what exactly “Blood Quantum” means aside from being the title of the movie. It boils down to how much Indian blood one has in their ancestry. It also makes much more sense knowing that and having seen the film. The amount of Indian blood in a person is pretty important in this world where the Native Americans appear to be immune to the virus and it’s also a very cool twist to a really simple story. The things done well in Blood Quantum are numerous. A movie like this has to bring the gore and this puppy is a bloody mess! Writer/Director Jeff Barnaby crushed it in terms of the action and while a few of the characters could’ve used a scene or two more of exposition, a person can only do so much with what they have. Finding this at a public library and having as much fun as I did is not lost on me and you can bet that I’ll be singing its praises to anyone who will listen. Check it out if it sounds up your alley.
Stream it on Shudder.
