As the new zombie apocalypse film, Blood Quantum begins Traylor (Michael Greyeyes) is having a weird day. Making his rounds as tribal sheriff of the Mi’gmaq reserve of Red Crow, Traylor has already heard from dispatch a few times, found out that his sons Joseph (Forrest Goodluck) and Lysol (Kiowa Gordon), has been arrested in the town across the river, and something has his father Gisigu (Stonehorse Lone Goeman) a little frightened at home. Juggling his duties with ex-wife Joss (Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers), the two spring the boys out of jail, return to their respective jobs and go on with the day, never once picking up the clues that something very wrong is going down. Focused on what is immediately in front of them, the characters don’t catch that the dead are coming back to life until all hell breaks loose. This is one of the most effective sequences in Blood Quantum, easily, the best zombie films I have seen in years.

Yes, this is a zombie apocalypse movie. But by golly, writer, director Jeff Barnaby has hatched an original idea! It seems that Traylor, and the indigenous inhabitants of Red Crow are immune to the effect of a zombie bite. Sure, if they were pulled limb from limb or disemboweled by a hungry flesh-eater they would actually die, but they wouldn’t reanimate. Initially unaware of this in the first act, Joss, Traylor, and their tribe find and kill remaining zombies and begin to fortify the reservation.

Eventually, troubles arise. Of course, they do. Joseph’s white girlfriend, Charlie (Olivia Scriven) is among the survivors and very, very pregnant. Lysol begins to have an extremist take on things, demanding that anyone who is not immune to a zombie bite must be expelled. Then things get even worse. What’s more, things get unbelievably gory, hitting every note of the perfect zombie film.

Barnaby has a message wrapped in Native-American beliefs of man’s relationship with the Earth. This helps to explain or rather give cause to the outbreak that has trapped them on the reserve. But this is but a fleeting notion and something to ponder as we witness one creative zombie kill after another. Blood Quantum keeps a relentless pace and equally brutal body count.  What’s more, this isn’t a tongue-in-cheek zombie comedy. No sir. This is nice and dark. Joan Patricia Parris leads a make-up team to create some utterly brilliant work with Erik Gosselin creating some nice prosthetic effects.

Blood Quantum is phenomenal. If you think that all life has been squeezed out of the zombie genre, you need to do yourself the favor and see this movie.

8 out of 10