When a brilliant but obsessive scientist goes to extremes to develop a universal cure for all disease, he finds himself infected with a bizarre parasite that begins to transform him into a bloodthirsty madman. Time running out, he must find a way to stop the monster that is growing within and prevent the rest of the world from being ‘cured.'”
If that isn’t an X-files reference….
Let me tell you a love story:
“Splice“ is sitting at a bar gently stirring her SoCo & lime with her pinky finger. Being the pretty little film that she is, she garners quite a bit of attention. She is too good for the B-grade bar flies and their rusty pickup lines. Right before last rounds are called, “The Fly“ walks in. Splice turns to meet his stare. He takes a seat next to her and orders a whiskey, neat. Although much older than her, The Fly hasn’t lost any of his charm, and Splice is one sexy sci-fi. One thing leads to another and the two head back to The Fly’s for “Netflix and chill.” Nine months later, Strange Blood is born, and thus begins The Fly’s child support payments.
Yeah science, bitch!
Strange blood is Chad Michael Ward‘s feature directorial debut. Ward, who is better known as a photographer and artist for various metal bands, also wrote the screenplay based on the story by the award winning Pearry Reginald Teo. I personally felt that this was a pretty solid attempt by Ward, especially considering some of the films that pass for a “horror movie” these days. I found the movie memorable and very much watchable.
Cronenberg anyone?
Strange Blood, our unwanted love child, is not a brilliant movie. There were some plot holes that managed to irk me a bit too much and the writing was sometimes unnatural. Scenes were often too dark and when bright enough, the hue and lighting effects were often bizarre. The special effects, on the other hand, were right on the money; the blood, gore, makeup, and strange virus-carrying creature were all solid and well executed. The sets seemed like derelict buildings and I’m not sure if that was intentional or due to a limited budget. The pace was solid and the movie flowed well enough, but the editing was sloppy and amateurish. All the way through there were pros and cons.
Smize!
The acting, however, is where is movie managed to save itself, in my opinion. B-movies can be slotted into three separate categories: the comical “so-bad-it’s-good” movie, the “this is so bad I feel sorry for whoever funded this,” and the “well, that wasn’t as bad as I thought it’d be.” Strange Blood is definitely the latter, and that is largely due to Robert Brettenaugh‘s performance.
Brettenaugh plays Henry, the altruistic mad scientist out to change the world through one weird creature at a time. Always on the verge of over-acting, Brettenaugh manages to keep his character together even as he descends into madness. Alexandra Bard also did respectably well in her supporting role, but she reminded me a little too much of an ex of mine for me to properly connect with the character. The ridiculously good looking James Adam Lim plays Detective Song and was easily the worst of the three. He looked like he belonged in some Korean boy band rather than as a gritty copper searching for the truth. He did not seem comfortable with the role nor the script.
“I feel pretty, oh so pretty…”
Overall, the movie managed to make a mark. I do have a special place in my heart for the sci-fi/horrors and for well made B-movies so I understand that my opinion here may be a little biased, but someone has to like this film. I can only really recommend this one to die-hard fans of the genre though; those of you that can appreciate the vision and look past the imperfections. I’ll throw the trailer down below.
