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First, the Recap:
When it comes to one’s family, more specifically one’s children, there’s not much a parent won’t do to ensure said prodigies are protected, safe from harm, and via almost any means necessary. Even in the most unique or unexpected situations, every effort is made to keep them free of trouble. For single father Aaron (James Martinez), son Tate (Trevor Stovall) is his primary focus and concern. Making their way after losing a wife and mother, the two strive to continue living the best they can. However, this isn’t without its challenges, as Tate suffers from hemophilia. Picked on at school, one particular incident places Tate in the hospital, fighting for his life due to his condition. On the surface, it seems hopeless.
Haunted by strange and disturbing dreams about his son, Aaron’s fears are assuaged when Tate miraculously gets better. Yet with this healing comes eerie changes in behavior over time on Tate’s part, as not only have his normal symptoms been nullified, but he begins showing signs of the last thing Aaron would ever even thought possible–vampirism. When the issue and occurrences escalate to the point of an actual hunter, Earl (Michael Chieffo), showing up at their home, Aaron’s belief in it all starts to become more founded. Seeking answers via the enigmatic Father Kane (David Castellvi), Aaron finds himself fully immersed in a battle to understand the impossible and prevent his son from becoming an otherworldly creature.
Next, my Mind:
With an overall spooky and unnerving atmosphere akin to Jordan’s “Byzantium” or Alfredson’s “Let The Right One In”, writer/director/co-producer/editor Tommy Stovall’s feature length indie film successfully engages the viewer and plunges them into a nightmarish situation with solid ambition and intelligent design. The subtlety of how the narrative is pulled off very much allows the characters to thrive and grow as the tale unfolds, while also presenting fluid visuals and a delivery of needed tension that pays off in potent ways, both implied and visceral. Yes, there are some graphic, bloody moments here, but like the aforementioned comparisons above, buckets of gore is not at all the point of the story being displayed, and the film is the better for it. Instead, the beating heart is a parent’s absolute love for their child in character-centered drama.
What I love about Martinez’s performance as the desperate father Aaron here is that he plays it somewhat understated, to a point where you can truly believe the character, and the drive he has to see his son saved from a dark fate is therefore more intense and realistic, as opposed to overtly sensationalized or melodramatic. Martinez infuses Aaron with a deep conviction to simply find answers, put aside his initial doubts, and seek the solution to a extraordinary event. Stovall’s Tate is likewise played solidly as well, as he appears so unassuming and non-threatening in so many respects, yet the moments when his transformation is beginning to take over his actions, the level of freakiness about it is emoted to a “T” by Stovall, and it makes it both entertaining and heartbreaking at the same time.
Chieffo’s vamp hunter Earl is a presence necessary for the story, and is played well by the actor. Castellvi was a great choice for a strangely frightening and calmly menacing Father Kane, plus Farah White also makes an appearance as Tate’s Aunt Karen. Overall, “Aaron’s Blood” was another well-crafted indie film that takes a so oft done genre/theme and makes it watchable again with its clear sense of mood, tone, visual execution, and purpose while giving us the inherent creepiness that should be induced in tales about vampires combined with fine storytelling and no sparkling!
As always, this is all for your consideration and comment. Until next time, thank you for reading!
