All You Need is Blood opens 30,000 years ago on Earth. A caveman discovers a meteorite that essentially turns him into a zombie. He then attacks his partner, and we zoom to 1998 A.D. Bucky (Logan Riley Bruner) is an aspiring filmmaker. With his best friend Vish (Neel Sethi) and his handy camcorder, the two aspire to cinematic greatness. How do these two incidents propel a story? That’s a very good question. While the opening scene adds to the comical feel of the film, it does nothing to move the story along. This is the problem that All You Need is Blood battles with. At around 1 hour and 40 minutes, this farcical horror comedy struggles to reach comedic heights. This is an admirable effort from promising talent that would be served by constructive notes.

We should have started the story here, with June (Emma Chasse). She is auditioning and suffers from camera anxiety. A kindly Casting Director (Amanda Bruton) suggests exposure therapy and advises June to take any film job she can find. Across what appears to be a small town, Bucky and his bestie Vish are shooting another camcorder masterpiece in Bucky’s basement. Bucky’s Mom (Emily Casey) has since passed and Bucky’s Dad Walter (Tom O’Keefe) lazes about on the living room couch in a drunken stupor after work as an Animal Control specialist. Bucky is ready to shoot his next movie and he distributes rudimentary fliers around town. That’s when another meteorite falls from the sky in Bucky’s backyard. Walter is infected and becomes a zombie, as did the caveman at the opening of the film. Bucky now has a location, a villain, but no real direction.

Taking the advice of the casting director, June answers the flier and arrives at Bucky’s home to ask for work as a production assistant. Starving actor Vivian Vance (Mena Suvari) also shows up, looking to be cast as the lead and Bucky’s vision for a touching human drama about zombies comes together. With a zombie in the basement and a “star” attached, Bucky has his next big project. Now if they could only get the film into the local film festival.

All You Need is Blood is a beguiling horror comedy that struggles with its own aspirations. The movie wants to be the next Shaun of the Dead but shudders under the weight of an overwritten setup. We didn’t need the cavemen at the beginning. They are superfluous. We only need to know how Bucky’s dad found utility despite his flaws. We don’t need to know that June is a failed actor, we just need to know that she wants into the business and is a sleepwalker (watch the movie to find out). I would say that the blind introductions of Suvari‘s Vivian and Detective Moses Swan (Eddie Griffin) were the way to go. Their motive is apparent, and their function is clear, their characters support the tone of the film.

I will say that despite the flaws, All You Need is Blood is effortless in its charm. What aspiring filmmaker hasn’t practiced their craft with the support of friends and family? What successful auteur hasn’t sacrificed everything to complete their work? Bruner‘s Bucky is the dopey romantic in every visionary behind the camera. His slouched demeanor and plucky can-do take on cinema is the film’s secret charm.

Had the film had a better sense of story beats, the use of characters, and cinematic structure, what is an admittedly charming and hilarious love letter to indie filmmaking would have been great. Of course, All You Need is Blood.