BLOOD BARN
Directed by: Gabriel Bernini
Starring: Chloe Cherry, Lena Redford, Andrea Bambina
To celebrate the last summer before college, Josie invites 6 fellow camp counselors to her family's abandoned barn. As their presence stirs a supernatural malevolent force, Josie faces a shrouded history in order to save her friends.
Director Gabriel Bernini’s first feature certainly wears its influences on its sleeve, as you will see in the pre-credits scene. However, there is more than enough to make this low budget, independent horror film to stand out as he adds his own signature and style.
We open with a mysterious chest, bathed from within in red light. Something escapes, and we get the classic, Evil Dead POV shot as the camera shoots towards the barn. Not many people are bold enough to borrow straight from the classics! We then segue into the credits, and this is where the film seems to be setting out its stall. It’s a fun, rocking montage of the friends in their car, unknowingly speeding towards a nightmare, complete with freeze frames as the names pop onscreen.
Whilst most of the first half of the film is given to fratboy hijinks and friends just hanging out, there is enough supernatural goings on for the viewer to enjoy, even if the characters are oblivious for the most part. There are unsettling visions, items disappearing and being discovered elsewhere, and an old videotape of one of Josie’s childhood birthday parties which brings its own unsettling atmosphere.
Alongside the Evil Dead references (yes, there are others), we also get a moment when one of the gang, having wakes up in the backseat of the car only to find the others have already entered the house. As he goes off on his own to explore, there is a feeling of dread, evocative of the teens that went off to explore the old Sawyer house in Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
Josie is the main protagonist and is given more depth than her companions.. Having spent the Summer together as camp counselors, she is initially thrilled that they all agreed to come spend one last weekend together at her family’s old, abandoned barn, which was converted into a home at some point in the past. However, when a couple of the guys discover an old VHS tape of one of her childhood birthday parties, she realises she may have bitten off more than she can handle.
At first there is nothing untoward on the tape, but something about it unsettles Josie and it would appear that she has repressed some disturbing memories of her childhood. You start to get the feeling that something has drawn Josie back to the place she’d spent a lot of her childhood.
Eventually we get to a tipping point, where the malevolence can no longer be ignored by the group and there is genuine peril. This is where things step up a gear and the film gets creative with its nightmare logic. It also brings in a streak of dark, slapstick humour - there’s that Evil Dead influence again! This is a very assured first feature from Bernini. The aesthetics are very grindhouse, from the graininess of the picture to the special fx, which use practical work over CGI and some stop motion work for some creepy tentacles. The opening credits are kind of joyous and makes you want to be in the car with them.
The Verdict
Blood Barn is a great first feature and Gabriel Bernini and his crew should be proud of what they’ve managed to produce on a relatively low budget. The whole vibe really works and the score by Jonathan Rado is memorable. My only real critique is that film-makers need to re-examine the concept of the scary possessed voice because they come across as silly rather than scary.