In the summer of 85′, Josie, a camp counselor, gathers her six closest friends for a final weekend at her family’s secluded barn before they part ways for college. However, as buried secrets from her family’s past emerge, a malevolent spirit begins to possess each counselor, hell-bent on retribution for its disturbance. Josie must confront her family’s shrouded history to stop the bloodshed before sunrise…or become the next victim of the Blood Barn.
Blood Barn is a love letter to the topless, blood-soaked, and oversaturated B-grade campy horror films of the 80s. The film holds a mirror up to the classic, homemade supernatural slashers and is made for those nostalgic, low-budget, exploitative camp-themed movies where sex and partying get you dead. It’s filled with practical effects, questionable acting, stereotypes aplenty, and no modern agendas; double-digit IQs only.
The film opens with a masterpiece of a sequence so good that I had to watch it twice. And that technical aptitude is strong throughout. Sure, the film is dressed like an ’80s porn star, but the production quality is still quite decent. The practical and special effects, as well as the editing, are better than most of the offerings we actually got in the films of yesteryear. The pace is quick, with the action starting right at the end of the first act, before we have even managed to grasp the who’s who and the what’s what. Or maybe I am just slow. Regardless, we’re not starved for entertainment.
The plot is—for the most part—unimportant. The synopsis posted above makes more sense than actually sitting through the picture. I suppose that if I had to put a finger on in, Evil Dead (1981) definitely comes to mind; sans the Necronomicon. There’s also the obvious nod to Sleepaway Camp (1983) with the protagonists all being camp counsellors. I’d even argue a splash of Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) with the way the entity goes from one kid to the next. Sure, the film may never really explain the hows or whys of what’s happening, but neither will I.
So, does Blood Barn achieve what it sets out to do? Absolutely. The Gen-Z actors must have had a great laugh pretending to be the stereotypes of old. The film feels like something snatched right out of the ‘80s. The effects are visceral and great, the gore is gory, and the fun is fantastic. It’s everything that you hoped for if everything you hoped for is a B-grade camp horror you’d watch at someone’s birthday sleepover on a Friday night while your parents were at a swingers party.
Blood Barn is an absolute nostalgia trip, featuring two-dimensional, throwaway characters, great tits, a subpar plot, a crushing score, buckets of blood, and the power of friendship. It is what it is, and if your niche is great ‘80s horror films, that Stranger Things aesthetic, and the best hairstyles of any generation, don’t wait any longer. Service yourself. Blood Barn will have its LA premiere screening on Friday the 13th, Feb 2026 and will be available on Screambox from the 17th. The trailer and poster artwork are posted below for your viewing pleasure. Thanks for reading, and as always, stay sordid.
