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| Images Courtesy of Tempting Fate Films |
Serial killer films, novels, and television shows are perhaps one of the most prolific genres in all of visual and written entertainment. What separates the sea of mediocrity from the few true gems is how these artworks explore the human condition. It is not so much the violence, the crime scenes, or the villain, but more so the human elements in between, the drama of detectives staring the abyss in the face while trying to salvage their own mortality is, and will continue to be the ambrosia that draws audiences to these works again and again.
Jason Vandygriff's debut feature film, Blood Dried Hands, is one of the most original approaches to the subject matter ever attempted. Holding more in common with unusual epics than traditional serial killer fodder, Vandygriff creates a flawed world of broken heroes, desperate demons, and wayward souls that swirl around a vortex of impending violence. Featuring a refreshingly human ensemble, hauntingly poetic visuals, and a unique premise, this is one of the most imaginative films of the year thus far.
A serial killer is butchering young women while a detective
with a traumatic past is trying to stop his rampage. In an unexpected
twist the killer begins to question his compulsions leading to a bloody chain
of events that forces everyone within his midst to question everything.
Vandygriff's script is unique in that focuses more on the minutiae. There is a
subplot that cannot avoid a Silence of the Lambs comparison, but beyond
the setup, the narrative diverges. This is a story of average people
dealing with extraordinary circumstances and part of the magic is in the
casting. Vandygriff chose real people
and the story is richer as a result.
Micah Marie Stevens stars Sharp, the detective on the trail of Chance Gibbs'
Hayden, a reluctant killer trying to make sense of the darkness that enraptures
him. Supporting is Vandigryff himself as a cryptic prisoner, stalwart
Texan character actor Billy Blairr, and Jordan Walker Ross as Sharp's partner
Collins, who gives one of the most vulnerable performances in the film. Rounding
out the cast is Samuel French as Sharp's husband and confidant and Anna Pena as
Taylor, Hayden's prisoner. French's scenes with Stevens are the lynchpin
exploring personal bereavement and redemption in equal turns, while Pena's
chemistry and dialogue with Gibbs is the inversion, light and dark dancing the
line of life and death, struggling for dominance.
Anthony Gutierrez's cinematography has an almost dreamlike quality that is perhaps symbolic of Hayden's moral conflicts and the way Gutierrez frames the small-town world dealing with big city monsters is masterful. This is a film that is in no hurry to get where it is going becuase the journey is of the most import. Upon viewing, the DNA of True Detective and Criminal Minds is apparent, but upon reflection films like Wes Craven's Shocker and Tim Ritter's original cut of Sharks of the Corn are closer in mood and intent. Blood Dried Hands is an original vision of a director who has a clear love for the medium, but is also not here to please anyone with expectations. The story belongs to his case and crew and they leaving everything on the stage.
Now on the festival circuit and coming soon to digital on demand, Blood Dried Hands is a powerful, street level examination of what it means to be a killer and how the past always comes home to roost. A talented cast and crew elevate what could have been a forgettable independent horror film into a thrilling, blood fueled drama in which justice, guilt, and death comingle to create a cinematic experience that will linger within the mind’s eye long after the credits roll.
--Kyle Jonathan