In the last few months of 2016, horror filmmakers have given fans a lot of interesting titles that are outside the current crazes of zombies and possession flicks. Blood Brothers (formerly titled The Divine Tragedies) is one of those titles and it’s a clever mix of Born Killers, Fifty Shades of Grey and Psycho. This, obviously, takes some explaining so let me take this moment to give you a brief synopsis. Blood Brothers follows two brothers, Charles and Thomas, who fancy themselves to be part of a superior race… oh, and they’re serial killers! One brother’s murderous rage is fueled by erotic and stimulating visions he gets while butchering women while the other’s vengeance is fueled by his desire to be loved by their equally twisted mother. As all of these desires, rampages and self-absorbed ideas come to a head – their activities threaten to tear them apart forever, in more ways than one!
Written and directed by Jose Prendes, most known for The Haunting of Whaley House, Blood Brothers also has some comedic elements that are delivered to the audience in subtle ways. First and foremost, the brother’s aren’t actually that good at killing. Two of their victims manage to escape (or almost escape) because, though they think they’re geniuses, neither brother seems to be overly bright and cannot conceive a full proof murder plot. Some of the dialogue between Charlie and Thomas are laughable, too, and that adds an extra level of “what the fuck is going on here.” I thoroughly enjoyed the performances from Graham Denman (also known for Tales of Halloween) and Jon Kondelik (also known for Airplane vs. Volcano) as they portrayed two frivolous men desperate grasping at the straws attached to their sanity.
Ken Foree (Dawn of the Dead, The Devil’s Rejects), Barbara Crampton (Re-Animator, You’re Next) and Hannah Levien (“The Magicians”) make up the supporting cast with Joshua Lou Friedman, Krystal Beyer, Lynn Lowry (Cat People, Shivers) and Shawn C. Phillips (Camp Massacre, Girls Gone Dead) in featured roles. This cluster of talent was a smart move because it’s a fun showcase of iconic stars, current horror actors and fresh faced talent who are going to take over in coming years. Blood Brother‘s becomes a “who’s who” of horror actors and could spawn its own drinking game. Take a shot every time you recognize someone! In all seriousness, the talent is what really pushes this title to be something more than just an independent feature that made it on DVD. Their inclusion adds to the overall quality and the performances sell this picture in an invigorating way. I, honestly, cannot pinpoint one weak performance from the cast and that’s something that they should be proud of and something I should highlight. There are no lackluster deliveries here!
The other highlight for me is the plot and how Jose Prendes was able to showcase a story that features multiple kills without making it a slasher flick or a crime drama. Those elements are in place, but Blood Brothers is more inventive and fluid than that and it’s hip. Yes, I described a horror flick as hip. It caters to all genre fans while it follows two lonely men who get a sick thrill out of blood and gore. And there is a ton of that! Fingers getting cut in, faces bashed in with rocks, shotguns to the chest, a whole lot of stabbing and a very long movie theater slaughter… that’s also kind of funny. I don’t know if I was supposed to find as much humor here as I did. The brothers are maniacal and sadistic and torture their victims before finishing them off, both physically and mentally. With other homages to American Beauty and Willard, I can’t help but find a lot of endearing qualities in Blood Brothers. Dare I say… I wish I was their brother, too? That says something about the impact of this movie… when you want to be a part of the unit. If that’s not a favorable review, I don’t know what is. Final Score: 7 out of 10.
