Blood Quantum Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.0

Blood Quantum Blu-ray Movie Review

Fear the Walking Zed.

Reviewed by Randy Miller III September 8, 2020

It takes an awful lot to stand out in the overcrowded sub-genre of "zombie horror", and Jeff Barnaby's Blood Quantum sure seems up to the challenge. This tightly-knit Canadian production offers a terrific premise fully loaded with social commentary (not to mention fantastic atmosphere on a low budget), but the spotty acting and dialogue squander some of its lasting momentum. Even so, die-hard genre fans and gore-hounds alike will find a lot to enjoy here, even if Blood Quantum is nowhere near as "fun" as its cover pull-quote suggests. Geez, who writes those things?

Blood Quantum's setup occupies the first 30 or so minutes, dropping us into Quebec's Red Crow Reservation circa 1981. Indigenous sheriff Traylor (Michael Greyeyes, Fear the Walking Dead) visits his dad Gisigu (Stonehorse Lone Goeman), who has worked as a fisherman during the last 60 years, and they make a startling discovery: dead animals -- fish, of course, as well the recently euthanized dog owned by his ex-wife Joss (Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers) -- just won't stay dead despite critical injuries, and it's not long before the phenomenon spreads quickly. Their teenage son Joseph (Forrest Goodluck, The Revenant) and his half-brother "Lysol" -- at least I hope that's a nickname -- see it too while locked up for vandalism when their cellmate collapses, vomits blood, and tries to bite everyone within arm's reach. Soon enough, the entire Red Crow reservation and surrounding areas are in the midst of a full-blown epidemic.

From there, it's a slow fade-out to "six months later", and Red Crow is now a post-apocalyptic compound where the indigenous people violently protect their land from intruders. Everyone has their place: sheriff Traylor is the de facto authority, nurse Joss handles medical issues, and the hot-tempered Lysol aggressively deals with outsiders, donning a mask and scythe-like weapon for extra intimidation, while Joseph looks out for his pregnant white girlfriend Charlie (Olivia Scriven). They've quickly found out that only animals and white people are vulnerable to this unknown illness: all Red Crow natives seem to be completely immune, with many sporting dozens of nasty bite marks but suffering no long-term effects. Innocent outsiders and hostile invaders want inside the compound, which makes Blood Quantum as much a slow-burning standoff as a gory trip down the well-worn path of classic zombie horror.

It almost gets away with it too, but the spotty performances and dialogue trip up an otherwise polished production. Michael Greyeyes just doesn't have the presence of a central character, while his on-screen son Forrest Goodluck isn't all that impressive either. (Both are still better than a few of the minor characters at the compound, some of which put on laughably bad "tough guy" -- or "tough girl" -- acts that all but deflate almost every scene in which they appear.) But the effective atmosphere and sound design, not to mention its admittedly great concept, carry a lot of weight and that ultimately makes Blood Quantum worth a watch. Gore-hounds will lap up the bloody kills, too.

Either way, you better like the movie because that's all RLJ's Blu-ray offers: good audio and video, but no extras despite a few odds and ends showing up on international releases (linked below). It's perhaps not the best blind buy in recent memory, but Blood Quantum is respectable enough for a young director's second feature-length film.

Blood Quantum Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Blood Quantum's mostly dark and shadowy cinematography is rendered nicely on this 1080p transfer, which features respectably good fine detail in close-ups and deep black levels when the situation demands it. Colors run very muted and rare vivid tones are usually reserved for clothes or background objects, while some scenes and shots are fully bathed in colored light -- red, green, pale yellow -- and display an almost monochromatic appearance. Most everything gels together nicely and that gives this low-budget film a very professional and polished appearance. Perhaps the only exception are several very brief animated segments, which look a bit more waxy and low-res...but their slightly jarring appearance is more likely a source material issue. RLJ's Blu-ray is encoded very well and runs at a high bit rate with no glaring compression artifacts, although trace amounts of banding can be seen in harsh gradients.

Blood Quantum Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Blood Quantum is supported by a solid DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio mix that, for the most part, stays well within genre boundaries. The mostly ambient music cues -- credited to sound designer Joe Barrucco and director Jeff Barnaby -- are mixed effectively low, sneaking up on viewers with a subtle, often unsettling atmosphere that doesn't distract from the dialogue and background noise. There's not much in the way of discrete surround activity except for a few stray effects, which really supports the film's somber and desolate mood. "Less is more" seems to be the theme here, which provides a nice break from the all-out sonic assault and constant jump-scares present in most horror films.

Optional English (SDH) subtitles are offered during the film and sit just outside the 2.35:1 frame.

Blood Quantum Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

None, although the already-available German and Canadian Blu-rays include a few extras.

Blood Quantum Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Jeff Barnaby's Blood Quantum earns a few points for trying to carve out new territory in the ridiculously over-crowded "zombie horror" sub-genre, with its concept and setting easily outpacing the lackluster script and spotty performances. Still, I enjoyed this one more often than not, and it feels like it might age a little better than most...but RLJ's Blu-ray offers nothing outside of solid A/V specs, as a few extras might've made this a better blind buy for genre fans.