User Reviews

With the lack of a trailer or really any information, I had no idea what to expect from this film, especially the tonality. The worry I have when watching a new Canadian film is that it will be as the majority are; slow, cheap, and morbid. But, I'm thankful to say Blood Quantum is a step above the average morbid Canadian film, and it even manages to get an important and overlooked message across amidst all the blood and gore.

The performances are all around very good, and to my satisfaction felt like honest portrayals of the Indigenous peoples of Canada. And the fact that a movie like this exists, featuring a majority-Indigenous cast in a bloody, gory zombie film, is very exciting for the ever growing presence of Indigenous peoples in cinema.

This film also offered a ton of blood and gore, which starts I'd say not even 10 minutes into the film. No time is wasted getting to all of the gory fun stuff, but it doesn't forget about its characters, managing to create relationships which I became invested in. I would say I think the handling of some critical moments of emotion could have been handled with a little more power, but with that said, the tone of this film is fairly lighthearted at times despite its core message (this is not to say the film is lighthearted). And I should also add, the gore effects are all awesome. Lots of practical work done, and so much of it is very creative and inventive. I had a blast during these scenes, and there are more than enough of them.

I could go on about the minimal, but very good musical score, which builds a tension of eeriness, and at times reminds you that this is in fact an indigenous film. The cinematography is also very good for a Canadian production, with most of the lighting and blocking feeling very expensive and consistent. Some aerial shots even reminded me of the intro to Kubrick's 'The Shining' in which a camera hauntingly looms over the Torrance car.

I enjoyed this film, and it offers a lot of quality effects, passion, and entertainment to be had. Not to mention it manages to leave us with an important, optimistic look towards the future relationship between the Indigenous peoples of Canada and the non-indigenous (English) peoples of Canada, a message that needs to be in the minds of every Canadian today and so forth.

If you get the chance to see this film, do see it, and pay for a ticket if you have the option, because there's no telling how much box office success a film like this will attain, and it deserves more than it may very well get.

7/10

I think this little non pretentious zombie B-Movie is quite good if you're a fan of the genre. Originally main actors are most Native Americans and their acting is quite decent. Also, some great scenes with lots of gore. On the other hand the script is not original but who cares, overall the movie is quite decent for fans that love movies like Planet Terror or Resident Evil. So, if you're a, fan, enjoy this one. If you're not, do not expect The Schindler's list here.

The first act of this movie is amazing. It had me thinking that we were in cult classic territory. And then the brakes were applied, hard... the entire second act was an exercise in boredom with some preachiness sprinkled in for seasoning.

The third act opens with a bang and I'm thinking, we're back, redemption time... alas it was not to be, like a microcosm of acts 1 and 2, the brakes are applied and we slow everything down once more and the film meanders to a nonsensical ending.

This is a shame because the potential is clearly there... but every time momentum is built the creators opted to let things simmer down. Now maybe this would have been acceptable if the writing, characters, etc... could stand on their own, but they can't. Characters and story are very poorly developed and you aren't going to end up caring about any of them.

Something that I did enjoy was that our de facto protagonist didn't adhere to the collected, calm, and cool Indian stoic stereotype. It's clear early on that the guy is a wreck and it makes him quite likeable. So kudos for that.

In the end it's worth a watch... when it's good, it's great. Just a shame that the creative team couldn't hit that note consistently.

"Just like the dog. Just like the fish." The dead are coming back to life in Jeff Barnaby's socially aware zombie flick, Blood Quantum. As an impressive ode to the legacy of George A. Romero, Barnaby has given us a tale of the end of the world-where only indigenous peoples are spared as the world burns in chaos.

Six months after the apocalypse, those who have survived now reside on Mi'gMaq reserve of Red Crow, where they have regrouped and implemented new rules to live by. Along with mostly indigenous people, a small handful of non-indigenous survivors have escaped the dead for now.

Joseph (Forrest Goodluck) and Lysol-yes that was the character's name well before Covid introduced surreal anecdotes regarding disinfectants, (Kiowa Gordon) are two brothers who have arrived at fundamentally different understanding as to why the dead keep coming back to life.

The relationship between the two brothers is in constant flux as they try to grasp the fact that their father; town sheriff (Michael Greyeyes) was never around for his first born, Lysol, but was seemingly always present for Joseph, to dire consequence for the two brothers.

Just as the community of survivors comes to find practicality in their new reality a war is waged and a final battle begins, pinning the walking dead and humans alike of one belief system against people of a different view. In the third and final act the depravity of men becomes worse than what Mother Earth has unleash.

With a little tightening of the wrench, Blood Quantum could compete with the best of 'em. It is an entertaining zombie film; those of us who love the genre will especially dig it. The movie's message is spelled out clearly and it plays out well as the metaphor that all of our decisions will come back and haunt us. Had the dialog used a little fine tuning, Blood Quantum could soar.

This movie is definitely not for everyone. Here zombie fans get what they ask for. This movie ticks the boxes & doesn't mess around. It packs a punch and hits its mark. Unlike so many other movies which try to target a broader audience, by adding drama, comedy, meaningfulness and other crap, thus diluting the zombie experience, this movie stays true to the genre and is therefore intended mainly for pure zombie aficionados.

(I gave it a 7 which is a very high score - an 8 would be in Romero territory, but I think it truly deserves it because: the genre is still alive and well, and with its limited resources it achieved a lot...)

This movie really got me excited in the first 30 mins it was roaring along from the opening shot of the fish to the attack in the cabin then it suddenly just became really boring, the dialogue was utterly atrocious and the dark cinematography did not help.

It has a new concept and some good gore scenes but sadly that is not enough to sustain a whole movie these days - Very disappointing!

This movie is not for everyone, so if you want to leave the theater (something you might wish you'd be able to do right now, Quarantine and all), do so and don't blame the movie if it doesn't do you, as you'd wish it'd do you. Don't get me wrong, the movie has quite a lot of flaws, but it also has some neat and interesting ideas overall.

The mixing of native americans and immunity and other stuff really elevate this to a degree. The constant uses of cliches drag it back down many times too though. The beginning though is ripe and rich with tensions and suspense. And then it does something unexpected, time wise ... which I thought a good movie. Unfortunately this new setting does not last long and the ticking time bomb goes off as expected ... Samurai swords (cool) and unnecessary sacrifices included ...

This movie circles around a Native American community that happen to be immune for the zombie virus. First the best part of the movie, the camera work is outstanding, it really is. Now the bad news, at times there is action, but most time is filled with talking, in the middle of the movie there are 3 scenes with only talking, the scenes combined that take up 30 minutes and is hard to endure. The story, well, that has been done a 1000 times, nothing new. The action, half of the action scenes are sadly out of camera. The acting, well, the cast proof that that is not their strongest point, but it not so bad as many B movies.

I only watched this because I signed up to a cheap trial of Shudder and have been working my way through their titles out of boredom...

I reached this title, read the description and thought 'meh, sounds ok' and clicked play.

I was expecting something low budget, low quality and low entertainment but what I got was a pretty decent zombie survival movie. It is (as far as I know) low budget but some of the performances were good enough to keep me engaged and the grandad was in my opinion very cool.

It's a movie I'd happily sit through again.

The downside is that the plot seems to be a bit... random. One minute you have a group of people pulling together and then - not so much. I won't say more because it is entertaining and is worth a viewing but it's a solid midrange movie to pass a couple of hours with.

Few indigenous fellas r immune to a virus which turns people into bloodthirsty zombies but they r threatened by the large no of outsiders seeking refuge in their reserved colonies. The film has some impressive gory kills, moves at a steady pace but the darkly shot (mostly night time scenes) makes it troublesome. Wud have been ok if it were a vampire flick but zombies needs to b shown in broad daylight. Ther is a disturbing scene where an infected mother eats her baby, it is copied from David Cronenberg's Rabid.

This film cud have been another Stakeland but somehow this one will be forgotten soon cos it ain't that great.

This was a unique and a bit emotional zombie flick. I wasn't expecting much but the ending was kind of a gut punch similar to the ending to train to busan. But overall it as pretty good, we need more fun and original zombies flicks now days.

The biggest problem wit the movie is that it is not scary. Undead need to be scary. The special effects are decent. The acting is above average for an amazon movie. The camera work is very good. But the writing is incoherent, the flow too uneven. They tried to present a big chunk of the world when a smaller piece would have sufficed the story. Walking Dead is scarier than this. Entertainment value is low.

I just watched it, I thought it started strong but got confused at the end. I loved seeing Natives on screen. The story was a bit all over the place for me, and I felt like the conflict in the movie wasnt as strong. The baby scene at the beginning was deadly, I thought that would set the tone but the rest felt weak. Way to go for the natives being immune tho,

This film really lost traction after the second act. Being a zombie movie it looked like it was heading towards an exciting and thrilling joy ride, but after that time jump things got so boring. The pacing, characters and story did nothing for me. When the third act picked up, I had already lost interest.

I wanted to like this film. I really did. But I either didn't get the film, or the film was really bad. I know, the zombie film theme is done to death (pardon the pun) and this film certainly brings a breath of fresh air to the genre by mixing Indian elements to it, but that's about it. I see nothing else unique about this zombie film compared to many others. And I have very low standards when it comes to zombie films. Usually like most of them. Somehow, this film didn't do it for me.

Would I watch it again? No. Would I make my friends watch it? Hello no!

Blood Quantum (2019) is a Shudder original I recently watched. The storyline involves a zombie outbreak where Native Americans on a reservation seem to be immune. They build a self sufficient compound and save survivors as they find them; however, it's unpredictable how the non-immune people can survive long term.

This movie is directed by Jeff Barnaby (Rhymes for Young Ghouls) and stars Michael Greyeyes (Wild Indians), Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers (Bloodlands), Forrest Goodluck (The Revenant), Gary Farmer (The Score) and Olivia Scriven (The Yard).

The storyline for this while initially sounding cliche has some fun and unique elements. The nuances of the town are well established and the sheriff is absolutely awesome. There are some greats sets and settings the film takes place in. They also do a great job of establishing the new world after the zombie outbreak. The kill scenes are excellent and contain some great gore and use of various killing methods.

Overall this is a well done horror flick with enough unique elements and circumstances to keep you locked in. It's always fun to see a different zombie genre picture. I'd score this a solid 7/10 and strongly recommend it.

Since several decades now, especially since the beginning of the twenties, there were batches of zombie features, and I don't even speak of the series which I will not present; I am not a viewer's intelligence offender. Zombies everywhere, anywhere in the horror genre. And among those batches, there were so many craps, so many. This one belongs to the are exceptions thanks to the directing, and character's study, so rare in a B movie. Involving the native Americans brought this topic in the ethnology field, as if Tony Hillerman would meet George Romero. I highly recommend it.

Taking a cue from George Romero's social commentary-laced zombie classics, Blood Quantum is a decent riff on the zombie apocalypse on a native American reservation. Not sure what the heck the title means as it has no relevance to the movie.

They really needed to decide with this movie if it was meant to be a social commentary piece or al all out horror movie instead of trying to do both and failing miserably. The film plods along leaving the viewer confused and unengaged. If they are trying to say something they need to make you care which they don't. This film is a huge waste of time.

This movie starts out with a little dysfuctional family drama, but once people get bitey things begin to escalate. Set in a Canadian town with a mostly indigenous population with a predominantly white town across the bridge on the other side of the river, this film definitely has something to say about the situation of indigenous people in Canada. But it not something they beat you over the head with as much as it is the basis of the plot that drives the movie forward. And it doesn't shy away from showing their internal issues and difficulties too. The cast is strong and they play a good mix of characters with different attitudes towards their treatment as indigenous and to the events that play out and the real conflict comes from how they want to handle things in this new zombie infested world. The setting is beautiful, with a constant overcast weather that seems always on the verge of a misty rain that adds to the tone of the film. While not perfect, this interesting twist on the Zombie genre definitely adds a new perspective and gives you something to think about.

Native filmaker, Jeff Barnaby (of Mig'maq ancestry) takes a departure from his Native-centred fiction and non-fiction films to horror genre. Here with Blood Quantum (title references Barnaby's extensive knowledge of indigenous history and traditions). His past films like Rhymes for Young Ghouls, show his dedication to affirm the Native perspective.

Barnaby's 2019 feature shows an interest by to access mainstream entertainment but its indigenous content may curb its popularity. There has been international films to try and break The "zombie" trope like The Dead, set in Africa and Juan of the Dead, set in Cuba. Barnaby really challenges viewers to accept the notion that Native people can play the survivor role within an apocalyptic narrative.

The story intermixed historic fact with science fiction and of plus gore and horror! Like George Romero (father of the flesh-living dead, popularly known as "zombies"), Barnaby adds plenty of social criticism. This element might turn off the usual zombie legions of fans, who won't get it nor not wanting a different perspective.

This social element is what it makes this strong but also what only Romero fans will get: an obvious reference to Romero's 2005 Land of the Dead. Also its cast of Native actors is pretty exceptional (Michael Greyeyes, etc.) with an interesting dark cinematic look (similar to Land of Dead) backed with Blues-rock song tracks. This is a strong lead with Blood Quantum for Canadian Native Horror cinema!