Bloodspawn is a film that brings back the joy of fun, campy monster movies in the same vein of Tremors and Gremlins. This is frequently showcased in all aspects of the film, from the opening with the synthonic music to the usage of puppetry for the ferocious Uktena. The film stars Raw Leiba (Conan The Barbarian), Roger Willie (Windtalkers), and Bill Oberst Jr. (3 From Hell) in this Civil War era fight between man and monster.
For fans of monster movies, Bloodspawn is a callback to the films they grew up with while not feeling like its hand feeding nostalgia. The film does a great job at exploring new and interesting ideas while still feeling like that of a traditional monster movie. The story follows a group of military men returning from a fight between them and Native Americans with one in shackles. On their journey home, they are attacked by the winged monster from indigenous mythology, the Uktena! It’s up to the men and the civilians they have crossed paths with on this journey to put aside their petty differences and social norms to fight against the creature! This proves to be more difficult than one would believe!
The cast involved do a great job at selling their characters and the performances are very entertaining, the main group of characters are pushing back against the social-norms of the time and by the end of the film, you’re attached to the main characters and are scared to see where they end up in this mortal battle against good and evil. The human antagonist Augustus (played by Bill Oberst Jr.) is brilliantly well-written and any audience member watching the film will hate his guts (in all the right ways!). Raw Leiba shines through as the character Yonagadoga, a captured Native American who ends up being the leader fighting back against Uktena.
The effects are full of fun analog puppetry composited in with our human characters. The blending of the special effects and live action footage is stellar giving the monster vs men interactions a level of believability and reality that CGI can’t provide. At some points, there are even some miniature effects that directly interact with Uktena. The puppet is so lively too! It’s such a wonderful effect to see on the screen when it appears!
Overall, the film is full of fun moments and characters that stick with you even after the lights come up. Bloodspawn is a film for any giant monster fan and they will get a lot out of watching and they certainly won’t forget it! Bloodspawn is currently making its way through film festivals and made its world premiere test screening at the G-FEST Film Festival this year.
