Blu-ray Review: BLOOD (2009)

BLOOD
Directed by: Ten Shimoyama
Distributed by: Well Go USA

First off, let me start by saying that I have never been a huge fan of the Vampire sub-genre of horror films.  I guess I was always more of a zombie kind of guy.   Those romantic vampire movies of late have not helped my opinion of vampire films in any way, that's for sure.  But..things are starting to change.  With last year's LET ME IN  ( a remake of the 2008 Swedish film LET THE RIGHT ONE IN), and now this film, the Japanese film BLOOD, I just might be on track to becoming a vampire fan after all!  Here is the plot of BLOOD from the Well Go USA website:

Police Detective Hoshino (Kanji Tsuda) investigates the murder of a maid at a mansion belonging to Miyako Rozmberk (Sugimoto), a seductive vampire mistress and "cougar" all in one. Ukyo Kuronuma (Jun Kaname), an Edo-era swordsman who was turned into a vampire by Miyako is fingered for the crime but before anything can be done about it Hoshino ends up under Miyako's spell as well. This leads Hoshino and Ukyo to battle one another for the privilege of staying with Miyako for eternity.

I am a huge fan of martial arts films, and love the new wave of martial arts/horror flicks we have seen lately  (MACHINE GIRL, TOKYO GORE POLICE, etc).  These films always have a ton of martial arts action and a ton of blood.  BLOOD is no exception.  This film is a full of awesome martial arts action, in fact, it starts of with an awesome sword fight set in the snow (more on this in a minute).  The fighting scenes in this film are as good as you will see in any other martial arts movie.  The fighting choreographed very well and looks extremely realistic.   While the martial arts action is an impressive part of this film, it is not the main part, so even if you aren't into martial arts films, you should still have plenty to like about this film from a horror fan's perspective.

The Cinematography in this movie is spectacular.  That is not something I really notice with most films, so when I do notice, I know that there is something special about it.  The camera work is amazing with some really cool camera shots and angles.

One of the main things I liked about this film was the use of color.  As stated before, the film opens with a sword fight in the snow.  This occurs at night and when blood is spilled, it is a bright red contrast against the otherwise dark blue and black colors that dominate the scene.  I noticed this a few times throughout the movie.  They blood really stands out against the muted background colors.

I thoroughly enjoyed BLOOD and highly recommend it.  If you've seen it already, leave a comment and let me know what you thought of the film!


CLICK HERE to watch the trailer
CLICK HERE to purchase the DVD or Blu-ray