SYNOPSIS:
Aaron (James Martinez, House of Cards/Law and Order) copes with his new life as a single father and the distant relationship he shares with his only child Tate (Trevor Stovall, Hate Crime/Sedona). A timid hemophiliac, Tate is roughed up at school by the chief bully, causing a massive nosebleed that lands him in the hospital fighting for his life. He makes a miraculous recovery after a necessary blood transfusion, but Aaron begins to notice progressively strange behaviors in his son. Faced with the grim possibility that his son could be becoming a vampire, Aaron enlists the help of a local vampire hunter and embarks on a frantic search to find the source of the infection to stop the transformation before it’s too late.

Following an offbeat path for a vampire film, writer and director Tommy Stovall creates a unique premise that doesn’t so much focus on traditional vampire-flick tropes as he does on the relationship between a devoted father and a troubled son, exploring just how far a parent will go to save their child. The true horror in Aaron’s Blood lies in the real-life fears that a parent faces when their child falls ill—or, in this case, becomes a creature of the night.

Aaron’s Blood takes place in Sedona, Arizona: barren, sunny, and a vampire’s worst nightmare. Although Tate gains immense strength and is finally able to fight back against his bullies, his pale skin is no match for the scorching Arizona heat, which causes him third-degree burns following his transformation. The empty-yet-claustrophobic environment is almost reminiscent of Tomas Alfredson’s chilling vampire flick Let The Right One In (2008), and indeed, Aaron does not have many places to turn. There’s an expression that some will say about how much they’d do for a friend or family member: “If you killed somebody, I’d help you hide the body!” Aaron does just that—the body of a man that his son had drained the blood out of. The audience can only look on in pity as we watch who seems to be the unluckiest man in the world.

Martinez gives a heartfelt and convincing performance, and the director’s decision to cast his son was a smart one that was not born out of favoritism, but rather an effective and convenient way for Stovall to add a personal touch to the film’s emotional tone. As a result, Aaron’s Blood is definitely not the most frightening or shocking film of the year, but is a thought-provoking one that is inspired by real-life occurrences—a blood transfusion gone awry is definitely not something exclusive to horror films.

Though Aaron’s Blood isn’t so much scary as it is stressful, it will still quench the thirst of vampire-flick fans.

You can Read Remy Cashman’s interview with writer, director Tommy Stovall here.

IN THEATERS:  June 2, 2017 ON DEMAND AND DIGITAL HD: June 6, 2017