A young woman opens her home to a stranded driver, offering to call a tow truck. They sit down for tea and within minutes, he’s crawling in a pool of his own blood while she follows, knife in hand. Emily Bennett and Justin Brooks’ Blood Shine wastes no time in capturing your attention. This tense, visually evocative horror flick follows Clara (Bennett) as she abducts and tortures her latest victim at the behest of a mysterious cult leader (Larry Fessenden).
Hotshot horror filmmaker Brighton West (David Call), known for his Craven franchise, is preparing to shoot his fourth film in the series. But first, he has a passion project that he’s hoping to write during a quiet weekend in a rural upstate town. West is a composite of many of the worst directors in Hollywood—a womanizing misogynist with a substance abuse problem and a massive ego. He insists to a local bartender that he’s an auteur whose stories demand to be heard. Maybe that’s why the bartender sends West on a hike where he stumbles upon Clara, who promptly knocks him out.
A fuzzy video of a cult leader greets West as he wakes up chained to the floor of Clara’s home. The message: you will die here. As she begins to terrorize him, we learn she’s following the direction of a voice on VHS tapes that arrive at her home each morning. Someone is watching. She listens to recordings of the unnamed leader, who preaches about finding the light and fighting against darkness on this path towards deliverance. But as West plots an escape, we learn that Clara’s relationship with the cult is much more complicated than meets the eye.
” … Clara abducts and tortures men at the behest of a mysterious cult leader …”
The success of the film really hinges on Bennett’s brilliant performance. She somehow manages to convey both the warmth of a friendly neighbor and the menace of a coldblooded killer. You can see how these men are getting caught in her web. She’s trustworthy and seductive before Bennett transforms into a sinister monster. There’s a fascinating duality to Clara. One minute, she’s like a flower child of the 60s, ribbon dancing in her lush garden. The next moment, she’s inflicting excruciating pain. She’s constantly dealing with inner conflict. Bennett gives us glimpses of the character second guessing the path she’s on. Her resolve fades as the film progresses.
Bennett and Brooks’ sharp screenplay is cleverly subversive in how it positions Clara throughout the film. She may seem evil, but as they peel back the layers of her life, it starts to become clear who the real victim is. Clara, a woman saddled with horrific trauma, is being manipulated into this behavior under the guise of salvation and rebirth. The villain isn’t this misguided young woman, but the puppet masters of an organized religion pulling the strings. We hear steady overtures from the cult leader’s videos about light versus darkness, but the film helps us realize that there is no good or bad, light or dark. There is only a mix of both.
Blood Shine is the type of horror film that makes you close your curtains because you’re worried someone might be watching you. It doesn’t rely on cheap jump scares, it creates a darkness that will seep into your core and stick with you long after the final credits roll.
Learn more at the official Blood Shine website.
