Blood Ransom is a 2014 independent Philippine-American thriller vampire romance film directed by Francis Dela Torre and starring Anne Curtis and Alexander Dreymon. Blood Ransom was filmed in California between May–June 2012.[1]

Blood Ransom
a white woman with flowing black hair wearing red lipstick and black dress touches blood coming from her lips
Theatrical release poster
Directed byFrancis dela Torre
Written byFrancis dela Torre
Produced by
  • Albert Chang
  • Barclay DeVeau
  • Francis dela Torre
  • Kim Coleman
  • Ted Manotoc
  • Derrick Santos
Starring
Cinematography
  • Francis dela Torre
  • Jasmin Kuhn
Edited byThomas Apolonio
Music byAlbert Chang
Production
company
Tectonic Films
Distributed by
Release dates
  • October 29, 2014 (2014-10-29) (Philippines)
  • October 31, 2014 (2014-10-31) (United States)
Running time
101
Countries
  • Philippines
  • United States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$220,388

Plot edit

A young woman named Crystal falls in love with a criminal, Roman. Roman lures her into a life of "sin". One day, she wakes up and realizes that Roman has turned her into a monster. She decides to escape from Roman with Jeremiah, who works as Roman's driver through a kidnapping plot that goes wrong. Jeremiah and Crystal subsequently begin a love affair and devise a plan that can make her human again. But Roman sends his henchman, Bill, to hunt them down. Crystal is now faced with a choice: She can kill Jeremiah to live, or follow an impossible plan that can turn her soul human again, so that she can be with the man with whom she has fallen in love with.

Cast edit

Reception edit

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 20% of 5 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 2/10.[2] Despite generally negative reviews—with the Sacramento News & Review panning the film as "amateurish and clumsy"[3] and the Los Angeles Times calling its story "underdeveloped"[4]—critics commented the cinematography[5][6] and applauded "the best efforts of [the film's] hard-working cast".[6]

The Village Voice gave the film a mixed review, finding the plot "less than coherent", but stating that the film "often feels older than it is" and that it "hearkens back to when the properties of vampirism had room to shimmer under the eye—when the creatures were less predictable, instead of codified for video-game precision".[7]

The New York Times described Curtis as miscast, but noted that "[i]t would be interesting to see her in a role of more down-to-earth dimensions".[6] On the other hand, the Los Angeles Times wrote that "the film plays like a vanity project" for Curtis.[4]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ "Anne Back in Manila from Hollywood". ABS-CBN News. June 26, 2012. Archived from the original on April 26, 2023. Retrieved April 26, 2023.
  2. ^ "Blood Ransom". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Archived from the original on 26 April 2023. Retrieved April 26, 2023.  
  3. ^ Lane, Jim (6 November 2014). "Blood Ransom". Sacramento News & Review. Archived from the original on April 26, 2023. Retrieved April 26, 2023.
  4. ^ a b Tsai, Martin (30 October 2014). "Review: 'Blood Ransom' vampire tale is a bit anemic". L.A. Times. Archived from the original on April 26, 2023. Retrieved April 26, 2023.
  5. ^ Scargill, Naila (28 March 2015). "Blood Ransom". Exquisite Terror. Archived from the original on 28 January 2023. Retrieved April 26, 2023.
  6. ^ a b c Webster, Andy (30 October 2014). "Blood Ransom". N.Y. Times. p. C7. Archived from the original on April 26, 2023. Retrieved April 26, 2023.
  7. ^ Staeger, Rob (29 October 2014). "Blood Ransom Boasts That Its Vampires Live by Different Rules". The Village Voice. Archived from the original on 2 February 2023. Retrieved April 26, 2023.

External links edit