trashgang I can tell you one thing about this weird horror, you love it or hate it and I still don't know what to think about it. It do has a few creepy moments but it also got a lot of talking between father and son. I'm sure that once seeing it you will argue what it's all about. Who are those creature(s). What happened to the family?You have to watch very closely to get it all, it's full of flash backs but it also has moments of terror. Even the way that it was shot will leave some people wandering why it was shot that way. They used a lot of light and smoke in the wood to give some special(call it arty) shots. The best way to see this psychological horror is just by watching it and not knowing what's it all about. The acting is superb so on that part it works, it even got a graphic gore shot of a leg, it's all there but for some this flick will leave you with a few questions.Gore 1/5 Nudity 0/5 Effects 3/5 Story 3/5 Comedy 0/5

anythinghorrorscott Up until I sat down to watch IT'S IN THE BLOOD, I realized I knew nothing about this film It has a small main cast, is filmed in isolated and remote areas, and often times has a very hallucinatory feel to it. IT'S IN THE BLOOD is an indie horror film that transcends the genre and ends up being a lot more than what it starts out as.IT'S IN THE BLOOD is about a father, Russell (Lance Henriksen), and his son, October (Sean Elliot, who co-wrote & co-produced) who're trying to reconnect after not seeing each other for years. A terrible trauma both binds them together and pushes them apart and it's this horrific event in their pasts that they're trying to move beyond. They go out into the wilderness to hunt and try to bond and Russell ends up injuring himself bad (real bad) in what might be one of the worst compound fractures ever put on film. With limited mobility and absolutely no supplies, the two are completely at the mercy of the elements, and just when they thought things couldn't get any worse they realize some kind of creature is stalking them down with the intention of killing them. From the few distant and blurry images we get in the beginning it's obvious this is not your typical woodland predator after them. This thing is big, intelligent, and fierce as hell.The film unfolds with the father and son having to come together to survive, all the while trying to figure out what the creature is and what it wants. At the same time, Russell's compound fracture is getting worse (make that, disgusting), and October's recurring nightmares about his past trauma, which includes the girl he loved, Iris (Rose Sirna), start bleeding into his waking state. This is most definitely a "slow burn" flick and director/co-writer Scooter Downey does a great job controlling the material. We get scenes that go from the 'real time' in the film to flashbacks of the horrific event that changed all their lives, to hallucinatory scenes of the creature. In lesser skilled hands, IT'S IN THE BLOOD could've been a muddled mess, but Downey masterfully controls all the various elements like a well-seasoned pro. The film is also shot beautifully, really embracing the dark and the isolation of the situation, and the editing is phenomenal. The dark and isolation become imposing characters themselves as they threaten and consume Russell and October. Downey's style here reminds me a lot of Lucky McKee's style in THE WOMAN (my review here). There's a noticeable lack of a soundtrack in the first half of the film and he builds the story in a slow yet deliberate manner where you feel the tension building as if you were inside a pressure cooker. Downey does a fantastic job here.As great as the direction of the film is, it's the acting from Henriksen and Elliot that really make this film. You all know that I'm a huge fan of Henriksen's. He's an iconic genre actor that's been in some of horror's best films. But lately I've been seeing him popping up in more and more B-movies. Hey look, everyone needs to pay the bills and I'm just glad to see Henriksen still working. But his performance in IT'S IN THE BLOOD will remind you why you fell in love with this man in the first place. He's absolutely amazing here in the range he plays and the depth of his performance. He's the sheriff in this small, rural town who lost his wife and had to raise his son alone (and who also adopted a young girl and raised her as his own daughter). He's a tough old man who fiercely guards his emotions and feelings and rarely lets anyone "in." He's also a heavy drinker who hates where his life has taken him and who still can't get beyond the tragedy that destroyed he and his family's lives. But beneath it all, Henriksen's Russell loves his son and is trying to find the way to reconnect with him and get them to both overcome their pasts. And if you've ever wondered what Henriksen would sound like imitating a woman having an orgasm, IT'S IN THE BLOOD will settle that for ya!!Sean Elliot is perfect in this role as Henriksen's troubled son. Elliot's October is a highly intelligent guy with a photographic memory who essentially stopped living after that traumatic event in the woods that fateful day. With both Elliot and Henriksen we get believable characters who do realistic things and react in realistic ways to the events they find themselves in. The writing is excellent and the execution is pitch-perfect. I know this isn't usually the kind of film I rave about, but when there's so few elements in a film, it only takes one small screw up to ruin everything. The cast and crew in IT'S IN THE BLOOD came together and executed on a very high level and made something truly fantastic. My only complaint is that the ending of the film got a little redundant. I'm not gonna talk about the creature or the traumatic event in any detail. This is a film I want you to experience in the same way I experienced it ... without knowing a damn thing about it. But be warned; besides one of the most hideous leg injuries ever put on film, there's really not too much gore in this film. There are, though, some really disturbing images that'll satisfy the horror crowd. Some may argue that IT'S IN THE BLOOD isn't even a horror film. I label it a horror-psychological drama. It takes it's time developing all the characters and themes here, but the entire time you can feel it building up in intensity. This is a great film that won't be everyone's cup of tea, but those of you that connect with it will have a great experience.

jcorty28 This film is a breath of fresh air and among genre films I've seen this year, you won't find any better.October and Russell are an estranged son and father (respectively), coming together (what seems like) for the first time in quite some time. A weekend out in the woods to repair bonds gets off on the wrong foot when Russell hastily puts down the family dog despite the efforts of October to save him. Clearly this a family at odds and something darker is lurking within their souls.The weekend to reconnect carries on and October and Russell head out to the neighboring woods which surround Russell's home. But things quickly derail when Russell sees a strange figure in the woods and steps off a cliff and breaks his leg. October finds him and drags him to safety.The remainder of our film involves father and son stranded in the woods, trying to reconnect, but with the ever present threat of something lurking, out there to get them should they try and escape the confines. Flashbacks clue us in as to what exactly happened to this family. And as the final denouement hits, our film ends in terrifying fashion as two worlds collide and our monsters make the men face their greatest fears.With fantastic performances all around (both Sean Elliott and genre vet Lance Henriksen shine), you won't find a better genre feature this year. The film will wear on your psyche and stay with you for days. Highly recommended.

J Scott Goldberg What an amazing, thought-provoking horror flick! Whaaaa? That was NOT what I expected to say or think! The moment the show was over I looked to my viewing partner and we argued about what we had just seen. Was it this, was it that... neither of us was 100% sure. I am sure that having not seen anything quite like IITB before, I loved it. PSYCHE-SAGA, I'm in! Great character development, intriguing storyline, intense acting by Lance Henriksen and the "new" guy, Sean Elliot was right in-step the entire film. I thought the "explains the relationship" scene was pretty intense and graphic, but after it was over I exhaled and was prepared to dive deeper into the horror of the mind. I really liked the special effects surrounding Elliot's "special" mental skills. Similarly, the soundtrack was incredible for an indie film. The only part I thought could have been better developed was the explanation as to how both characters were experiencing the same sort of devilish apparitions, if that's what they were... But, that's the part I argued with my friend about, so I guess Scooter Downey had that figured out, if in his mind only - so be it. Check this film out, for sure - hopefully on a BIG screen with BOOMING sound! Not sure what the budget could have been for this production, but they got all they could out of every shot.