A parent’s job is to protect their child at all costs, no matter the circumstances. The age-old question of how far would you go to protect your child’s wellbeing may be subjective from person to person, but ultimately, any parent will tell you there is no limit to what they’ll resort to. Blood, directed by Brad Anderson and written by Will Honley, explores the shocking lengths one mother will go to in order to keep her son alive, and inevitably will have you pondering how far YOU would go.

Recently divorced nurse Jess (Michelle Monaghan) is recovering from a drug addiction and attempting to pick up the pieces of her life for herself and her two children when she moves them into her former childhood home. It’s a ramshackle farmhouse isolated from civilization, with thick woods nearby to offer plenty of opportunities for exploration for son Owen (Finlay Wojtak-Hissong) and daughter Tyler (Skylar Morgan Jones). 

We promptly get the impression that these woods are quite forbidding, especially when family dog Pippin takes off and eventually leads them to a mysterious crater with an eerie-looking tree. When Pippin later disappears into the woods, Jess and her kids sadly assume the worst. He ends up returning a few nights later, though, covered in blood and with glowing eyes, and unexpectedly attacks Owen. Owen is gravely wounded, and spends the following days fighting for his life. It’s during this time that we get a glimpse into both Jess’s work life as a nurse at the same hospital, as well as her tense relationship with ex-husband Patrick (Skeet Ulrich), who takes every opportunity he can to state how terrible of a mother he feels Jess is.

Unfortunately, in some ways he’s right – Jess’s former drug addiction appears to have caused major issues with her relationship with her children, and there are several scenes where the stress of divorce and life changes manifests as hostility toward Owen and Tyler. To make matters worse, Owen appears to have contracted a mystery infection that is wreaking havoc on his body. It’s when Jess walks in on Owen drinking from his blood transfusion bag as though it were the most delicious drink in the world that the plot truly kicks into gear.

Obviously disgusted and horrified, Jess’s initial reaction is that of admonishment, but when she realizes that ingesting blood is what is helping keep him alive, her mothering instincts kick in, with horrifying results. Just how far Jess is willing to go to not only provide Owen with this repulsive life-saving method is both shocking and repugnant, as she desperately tries to keep it a secret from everyone else in their lives.

Blood is a movie that revels in shock and awe, leaning so heavily into it that at times it feels excessive. At the same time, there isn’t much of a story without it, and seems to be the whole point of the entire thing. While the filmmakers touch on heavier topics like addiction and recovery, the struggles of divorce, and the woes of co-parenting, they also make no bones about the fact that it seems as though they just really wanted to make a tense gross-out film.

The performances by Monaghan and Ulrich are both compelling, with the dynamic of their strained relationship coming across with engrossing believability. There are times, though, where Jess is acutely unlikeable as a character, which makes it difficult to get fully on board with her. Her motivations may be pure, but her mothering skills toggle back and forth between determined and loving, and absent and angry so much that it’s tough to get a true read on her.

There’s also a keen lack of awareness with some of the characters and how easily they accept some of the situations at hand, even when there are blatant red flags and areas of concern. This feels all too convenient for the path the movie continues on, leaving it wide open for its dismal conclusion. 

If it wasn’t already apparent, Blood isn’t for the faint of heart – not on the horror front, but on the squeamish front. There are many scenes of revolting blood-guzzling that would make even the most iron of stomachs churn. If this doesn’t bother you, or even happens to be something you appreciate, there’s enough substance here for an enjoyable watch. For the rest of us, though, it has enough eye-averting grossness that it borders on unwatchable. There are thought-provoking moral quandaries that offer significance, though, which makes for an ultimately turbulent watch. 

6 out of 10