In Our Blood Movie Review

In Our Blood Movie Review | Pedro Kos‘s In Our Blood might just be the most under-talked-about film of this year, and it deserves much more attention.

To have some contextual understanding of why this project is so strong, it’s important to know a little about Pedro Kos. This is Kos’s first narrative feature, excluding a film he made in college with his roommate, now producer and actor Aaron Kogan. Kos has made and edited numerous documentaries, and he brings this unique touch and experience from the documentary world to this film.

Pedro Kos: “Our motto was like this is the real deal with this is about our world. And so the approach was very much based on the reality and we even tweaked the screenplay to reflect what we were learning on the ground there very much so, and it was very fluid.”

In Our Blood follows people making a documentary and does an excellent job of capturing the process of being an independent filmmaker with few resources and the struggles that come with it. With a different director, this would have been an entirely different film. However, under Kos’s direction, it works on a meta-exploration of the documentary filmmaking process alongside deep and intricate thematic explorations. The film exists on many interconnected levels, some of which can be discussed without spoilers. It is a project that demands viewing to fully understand and appreciate its complexity and craftsmanship.

The film stars Brittany O’Grady from “The White Lotus”, alongside EJ Bonilla, who recently appeared in The Exorcist: Believer. Supporting performances include Alanna Ubach from Euphoria. Describing In Our Blood as a found footage film would be misleading, although there is certainly inspiration here. Even Pedro Kos and one of his producers, Aaron Kogan, cited The Blair Witch Project as an influence.

In Our Blood follows Brittany O’Grady’s character as she goes back to her hometown to reconnect with her mother, a struggling addict who has recently become clean. She brings her DP/cinematographer/camera operatorwith her, played by EJ Bonilla, as they plan to create a documentary about this reuniting between mother and daughter and their familial relationship. They journey back to Las Cruces, New Mexico, which is where the film was shot, for Brittany’s character to see her mother again. Shortly after their reunion, her mother disappears. They go to the center where her mother was working, a facility supporting those struggling with addiction and homelessness, in an attempt to find clues. Interestingly, the location used to shoot this is an actual facility in Las Cruces called The Community of Hope.

Pedro Kos: “There is so much that I learned from them and all the layers, the stigma, the shame, the fear, and the lack of human connection and feeling the dehumanization and, in many ways, almost feeling like monsters themselves. They are just like you; we are them, they are one of us.”

For Kos, it was very important to include this real facility and approach this narrative feature similarly to how he approaches his documentary projects. He did extensive research on the homeless population in New Mexico, those struggling with addiction, and the programs intended to help the most vulnerable. In certain moments in the film, the documentary crew, Brittany and EJ, go into this encampment and interview folks without homes. These are real people, not actors, who volunteered to be in the film. This rawness, this authenticity, makes this a Pedro Kos film. It’s a narrative feature, but it has the real grounded nature of a documentary. At times, it feels like watching a work of fiction; at others, it feels like following these characters on their journey.

The cast and crew said wonderful things about Pedro Kos during the Q&A following the film. It’s easy to tell whether their feelings for one another are genuine or just for the audience. In this case, there is no doubting the deep and real bond formed between Pedro and his stars. EJ Bonilla and Brittany O’Grady both spoke about Kos as someone who gives a voice to the voiceless and sees the unseen. Kos was able to accomplish that by providing depth to every character and not laying blame on those who found themselves in certain situations, understanding that it could happen to any of them. This human touch from Kos captures the pain, desperation, and loneliness of those on the outskirts of society, who themselves feel like monsters.

Brittany O’Grady: “Mallory did such a wonderful job of creating such an intricate world, and it’s her writing that made me want to be a part of it.”

In Our Blood is an allegory for drug addiction and the cycles of addiction that continue through generations, almost passed on, connected, and locked into one another. It’s also a meta-exploration of the documentary filmmaking process, filled with Easter eggs that independent filmmakers will love. Subjects fiddle with their lavalier microphones, conversations are caught on hot mics, and camera operators sneak in shots when necessary. The film presents the moral dilemma of when to cut and when to keep the camera rolling. This exploration of the most vulnerable in our population, their treatment and mistreatment, appears cyclical in nature. All of this is wrapped up in a genre piece that incorporates some gore, thrills, and twists, adding to the project rather than detracting from it. There are many found footage horrors and faux documentaries, but In Our Blood is one of the better ones, thanks to Pedro Kos, the cast, and cinematographer Camilo Monsalve.

EJ Bonilla: “I want to do justice to this human being, because to me, he is real. It broke my heart in a beautiful way when you realize that, at least, you know, I’m not in jail like my brother and I’m not dead like my dad. Talent has no color, right? And passion doesn’t need to have a specific type of face or body.”

Camilo Monsalve captures something that feels real and grounded in an indie documentary style, yet is still beautiful and visually interesting. EJ Bonilla described working with the cinematographer as a delicate dance, with each informing the other’s work to create seamless, realistic footage. EJ noted that he would look at what the camera was seeing to inform his character, and the camera operator would listen to EJ’s voice to determine the intricacies of camera movement. This collaboration was executed beautifully.

During the Q&A, there was a question about improvisation. Writer Mallorie Westfall diplomatically said that the script was always intended for improvisation, and there was quite a bit of it. However, the actors EJ Bonilla and Brittany O’Grady responded that the script was so strong that any improvisation was made easier because of the solid contextual foundation. An interesting directorial strategy by Pedro Kos involved a 2-hour improvised dinner with EJ as his character, Danny, which brought EJ closer to the character than any previous work.

Brittany O’Grady crafted an elaborate backstory for her character in collaboration with Kos, adding depth to her performance. The intricacies and minutiae of her movements and expressions are rooted in her character’s past trauma (although saying more would veer into spoiler territory).

In Our Blood exists on many levels and to dive into one level would take hours. It’s a film about addiction, the most vulnerable in our society, and an exploration of documentary filmmaking and the use of genre and horror in unique ways. Although it hasn’t received much attention yet, it is hopeful that it will, as it truly deserves it. | In Our Blood Movie Review

More Videos HERE

Full Written Reviews HERE