Blood Quantum (2019)
Undead salmon…
Native Americans battling zombies…
Michael Greyeyes and a fantastic indigenous cast…
We really wanted to love this movie…
Blood Quantum is another in the recent wave of films, including Train to Busan and KL24: Zombies, attempting to breath life into the done-to-death undead apocalypse storyline by moving it from places like New York and Pittsburg to more “exotic” environs.
This round it brings the story to a Mi'kmaq reservation in Canada.
The story starts off a little predictably but hey, we know where this is going. Traylor (Michael Greyeyes (Nêhiyaw)- True Detective) is a tribal police officer whose day (and night) become increasingly bizarre as people and animals inexplicably start biting…and eating…one another. Ok, so no big spoiler: the zombie apocalypse is under way.
The first half-hour of this film is solid. The scenery and cinematography are stunning; the dialogue and relationships - if a little cut out - are reasonably true-to-life; and the cast, including Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers (Blackfoot) as Traylor’s doctor (or maybe nurse - it is never really said) ex-wife, his sons Forrest Goodluck (Diné) (The Revenant) and Kiwa Gordon (Hualapai) (The Twilight Saga), and his father, Stonehorse Lone Goeman, deliver respectable performances.
What makes the story fresh is an unusual - and likely unique - twist. While they can be muched to death, the Native American members of the reservation do not get sick and turn into zombies when bitten (a trait they apparently share with deer and moose, ‘though not dogs and salmon). This gives them an enormous advantage in dealing with the undead plague and in short order the reservation becomes a refuge to Natives and non-Natives.
We won’t get into specific spoilers but look, this is a zombie movie. We all know how these things go: initial shock and horror; learning to cope with the undead; complacency; and someone doing something to demonstrate why we can’t have nice things.
So what is the verdict on Blood Quantum?
There is a lot to love in this movie: a clever plot twist, beautiful scenery, and some genuinely good actors. Zombie fans will probably like the gore, which is substantial, and a few scenes are genuinely disturbing, including one with a baby this is…not for the squeamish.
But…the wheels begin the fly off the film when they do a time jump to a point about six months after the start of the film.
It starts off well enough. The reservation has become a safe zone. There is a tiny amount of social commentary (one non-Native survivor incensed that the Natives are speaking their own language…”Speak English!”), and more teased, and it looks like this could become a really interesting examination of social role reversal.
But nah…within minutes the story spins out of control with characters inexplicably betraying one another, suddenly ignoring rules that apparently kept them alive the previous six month, and engaging in suicidal and apparently unnecessary acts of self-sacrifice. And then the zombies eat everyone. It just…doesn’t…make sense.
Blood Quantum was a super promising film with a lot of potential; so much so that I hope someone brushes its ideas off someday and takes another swing at it. For now we are left hungrier than a toothless zombie salmon.
But take a taste and let us know what you think. You can check it out HERE.
Two out of Five Salmon.
🐟🐟
If Blood Quantum left you hungry for more, you may want to try out one of these!
