A documentary filmmaker and her cinematographer go visit her mother who she hasn’t seen in a very long time. Following an uneventful dinner, the mother disappears, leading the duo to look for her and find things they were not prepared for.
Written by Steven Klein, Aaron Kogan, Clay Tweel, and Mallory Westfall, and directed by Pedro Kos, this found footage movie does quite a few things right and a few just not right. Without giving too much away, the film takes the found footage subgenre and puts it in the hands of a cinematographer, giving the viewer stable images most of the time, letting the action speak for itself without having a constantly shaking camera, something Troll had done incredibly well previously. Joining the ranks of the few, this film takes found footage and makes it more stable visually and less screamy/yelly/reactionary than is usually the case with most films shot this way. Where the film loses a bit of points in on the story. Yes, the story is interesting, but the twist is annoying and a bit sad really. Sad in that it kind of destroys some of what came before and it leads to perhaps a sequel, but also to just less care from this viewer. Yeah, part of the reveal works, but that extra little bit closer to the end? Meh, not needed.
The cast here does well with all of this and is another strong point of the film. Not only are the cast members really solid performers, but they also imbue their characters with realism, even in the ending that will be hit or miss. Also, and this may not be the case for every viewer, the cast is lesser-known which helps sell the found footage aspect. A better-known cast would break the illusion of this being found footage, so good going on the casting here. The leads, Brittany O’Grady and E.J. Bonilla look a bit familiar, but aren’t easy to pinpoint where from, so this work to the film’s advantage. They performances are solid with O’Grady getting much more screen time as Bonilla is the man holding the camera here. Her performance gets more screen time, but his is solid with most just vocal responses and no visuals as to how he is. This requires a good grasp of the character and of acting to really sell it like he does. These two make the film, but the supporting cast here is amazing with a few really playing their parts perfectly, leading the viewer to believe that they are real people found in the wild and interviewed. This casting is something else and possibly the best reason to check out this film.
Now, onto what really sells this found footage film to someone who hates found footage with a passion of the deep-deep, the cinematography by Camilo Monsalve is on point. This is, as mentioned above, one of the rare found footage films that figured out that having a character familiar with cinematography written into the film can help make the film so much better. Here, the character is a cinematographer, a professional at camera work, so the work from the film’s actual cinematographer becomes part of the character. The work by Camilo Monsalve is just right for this. He creates images that are easy to watch, not shaky, yet dynamic throughout this film. Yes, there is a wee bit of shaking here and there, especially at the end, but this makes sense. The images are logical, and the work done to make this about the characters is spot on.
In Our Blood is one of the better found footage films released in the last decade, if not longer, giving us properly viewable material, solid performances from the cast, a lesser-known cast (yes, it matters that much), and solid writing and direction. It does have a few issues, but overall, it is a solid film, found footage or otherwise.
This year the Fantasia International Film Festival runs in Montreal from July 18th to August 4th.