Netflix has a sleeper hit with Blood Red Sky

Blood Red Sky: Nadja and her ten-year-old son are on an overnight flight from Germany to New York when a group of terrorists violently take control of the plane and threaten the lives of the passengers. But the terrorists have no idea what they’re in for with Nadja on board – she has the power to protect her son and all the other passengers. But she faces an impossible choice – should she reveal her dark side and the inner monster she has kept hidden from her son for years in order to save him? The hunters become the hunted and everyone on the plane finds themselves in a perilous race against time – a fight for survival because there is one thing nobody knows: Nadja is the last vampire.

The Good

Blood Red Sky find really run ways to innovate in a genre that I wouldn’t expect. I’ll admit that I misjudged Blood Red Sky when skimming through Netflix. I assumed the tired premise of terrorists hijacking a plane just couldn’t be innovated by adding in vampires. Clearly, I was wrong because the filmmakers absolutely innovate. The action, suspense, gore and more are all fun exciting to watch as these terrorists unveil their plot after the plane takes flight.

The visuals are really delightful in Blood Red Sky. The filmmakers not only took their time with picking their camera angles but also their colors. The flashbacks all have a cool blue tint while the present has a warm orange tint. Also, Blood Red Sky is not shy with the blood. There are moments when you see the gore that harshly remind you that this is a Vampire movie. The movie is visually arresting and that’s due to it’s ability to blend a few genre’s into a nice film.

The acting from the principle cast in Blood Red Sky is a lot better than I would  expect.  Alexander Scheer’s Eightball had me convinced he was the Joker. Imagine the Joker has a knife on a plane full of hostages in a world without Batman. That’s Alexander Scherr in this movie. Peri Baumeister is really fun as the hopeful but tortured Nadja. The depth of emotion tapped into to bring Nadja to life is deep and varied. I love seeing Nadja’s transformation from a free young mother into a desperate creature on a plane. Dominic Purcell, Kais Setti, Roland Moller, Chidi Ajufo and more all give pretty good performances making this all the more fun to watch.

Blood Red Sky makes good use of a non-linear story structure. The movie uses a nice “warm/cool” visual effect to let us know when we’re watching a flashback. The film opens at the end of the story with us seeing what happens to Elias, the son of our hero Nadja. I really like the use of this technique and there’s a cool synchronization with Nadja’s transformation and her history. We are provided with Nadja’s history and how she became a vampire through these flashbacks and they feel brief. The flashbacks also help the pacing by slowing down the action with desirable backstory. I’ll take it!

The Bad

Blood Red Sky falls victim to horror and action film stereotypes. When it’s time to execute a hostage to show that the hijackers “mean business” a random black guy dies for no reason. Blood Red Sky also falls victim to some sexist ideas that women can’t win against men. Not even men who are of a slender build. I really felt disappointment when Nadja was not only overpowered by Eightball she was downright fearful of him. I get that this shows her character isn’t inhuman but I also felt that there was an imbalance with all she was accomplishing.

The movie also gets pretty slow about half way through the movie. Blood Red Sky does a good job of teaching us how Nadja became a vampire. In fact, it’s almost a little too good because there are moments when the flashbacks compete with the present. This is a nitpick because these moments are satisfying but the movie does slow down as a result.

Overall

I misjudged Blood Red Sky on initial glance but I am glad that I gave this movie a chance. This movie is certainly a pleasant surprise and has a good amount of rewatchability.

 

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