If you’ve seen one vampire movie, you haven’t seen them all. Vampires are one of the most versatile movie monsters there are, and their immortality means that they’re used to adapting to changing times, even a global pandemic that can hinder the release of its latest incarnation. But writer/director Geoff Ryan has plowed through the limitations that 2020 has placed on the entertainment industry and has released a modern, character-driven take on the classic vampire story with his film, Blood from Stone, providing horror fans with not only some much-needed but also refreshing and inventive content to consume at the end of a blood-sucking year.
Blood from Stone plot summary
Jure (Vanja Kapetanovic) is an ancient vampire who follows his abandoning bride, Darya (Gabriella Toth), to modern-day Nevada where he treats his victims to free drinks before feasting on them in order to drown his sorrows in a much-needed buzz provided in their blood. Meanwhile, Darya works as a casino bartender and sustains herself on bags of blood bribed from a source at the local hospital. She craves human connection while Jure longs for a restoration of his former glory as an apex predator rather than a scavenger who scrounges through local dive bars and cheap motels to satisfy his thirst for blood.
When she learns that Jure has come for her, she calls on his sister, Viktoria (Nika Khitrova), to come and deal with him. While waiting for Viktoria to arrive, Darya meets a caring doctor, Ray (Eric Cotti), who brings her closer to humanity than she’s known in centuries. But her new relationship is challenged by her rekindled urge to hunt. And when the local police begin to tie Jure and Darya to some recent missing persons cases, they risk the exposure of their true identities.
A modern vampire story
Blood from Stone is a fresh take on the classic vampire story, a rarity in a genre that has been bent and twisted into countless shapes throughout its literary and cinematic history. But because vampires generally look human, they can be inserted into nearly any setting.
The Nevada desert seems an unlikely location for vampires for which sunlight is lethal. But both Darya and Jure blend in well to the night scene and its colorful, eccentric characters. The bright lights of the casino provide light and color in an otherwise dark existence.
The film too takes advantage of the artificial lighting in establishing its modern tone juxtaposed with its ancient characters and mixing in a colorless, western terrain. But unless their sharp incisors protract just before feeding, they fit right in with the night crowd, Jure in his Rob Zombie-inspired cowboy look and Darya in her sleek, black dress and playful red hair.
Eyecatching settings
Every location is beautifully shot, from Viktoria’s lavish hotel room, the sand dunes on the outskirts of town where Jure buries his victims, and the sterile hospital where Ray works and Darya secretly buys her meals. The various locations paint a three-dimensional landscape that spans the human experience from the top of the ladder to the bottom rung. While those around them seek to work, play, or merely survive, the undead characters merely try to fit in with differing motivations for doing so.
Jure tends to stay in the slums, picking off groups of men who have barely saddled onto their bar stools before luring them to the back dumpster and sucking their bodies dry. Darya tries to stay in the light, a real people pleaser who will do anything for anyone from agreeing to babysit her co-worker’s children while she goes on a job interview to accepting a fumbling dinner invitation from a shy surgeon who happens to be heading into his night shift while she waits for her generously-tipped contact to deliver her humanely acquired sustenance.
Every location feels interesting, authentic, and serves the story while giving it a unique and modern look without feeling gimmicky or like a caricature of a tacky Las Vegas setting. This story takes itself too seriously for that.
The story
The storyline of Blood From Stone is a simple, character-driven tale about starting over versus longing for the past. Timely themes of alcoholism, abusive relationships, and empowerment run along the surface of this grounded, supernatural tale.
However, it maintains a messy realism by drawing from a multitude of cinematic genres (primarily drama) along with characters that audiences can both love and loathe. Their actions don’t cement them as stock heroes versus villains, and their conflicts aren’t neatly tied up with a meaningful conversation or even the classic wooden stake through the heart. Ryan paints thick layers onto his plot and leaves parts of the conclusion open-ended to continue the conversation that audience members can discuss with each other or internally.
In terms of gore factor, the vampire attacks are, naturally, brutal and bloody. It’s a messy task that often leaves their faces coated like a toddler. There are thick bite marks the emerge on the victim’s neck afterward, and the blood is dark and sappy. It’s appropriately horrific without coming off as campy or over-the-top, though the characters’ fangs do end up making them look like the Count from Sesame Street, but strong performances help to pull off the numerous attacks that keep the undead full.
The cast
Each part is perfectly cast and devoid of overacting which could be tempting in a story like this. Blood From Stone contains a culturally diverse cast with impressive training that is utilized in its long monologues and even its bloodier moments.
Toth carries the story as our victim turned hunter turned hero whose labels rotate from scene to scene. Kapetanovic perfectly plays the addict who exudes confidence while luring his victims, either as a good-natured bro or sensitive customer, but falls to pieces in private conversation with his bride and sister. Khitrova expresses a no-nonsense, take charge attitude with a simple look. And Cotti is the safe, intuitive mortal worthy of a vampire bride’s sincere affections.
Peppered throughout the story is an array of smaller parts by actors who each pull off their roles effectively as victims, foils, and friends. While many of them fall prey to the disguised beasts, it is the vampires themselves who are relentlessly tortured by their brutal nature and the modern tools that can be used to expose their most primal actions. This is a fear that we can all relate to on some level, whether our faults stem from being human or supernatural.
Where to watch
Blood From Stone held its Los Angeles premiere at the Arena Cinelounge on October 30, 2020 and was released on VOD on October 31st.
You can watch the trailer here! (link opens in new tab)
Learn more about Blood From Stone on their website.
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