It’s 1945, and survivors from a hospital ship torpedoed in the North Atlantic climb aboard an abandoned warship in the opening minutes of new Australian indie historical horror flick Blood Vessel. It’s a disparate and ill-at-ease bunch of nationalities and professions that hope to find salvation on the seemingly empty German minesweeper. But while this Kriegsmarine ship is steaming through the ocean without a crew, it is carrying a secret cargo and some below-deck passengers who are themselves very far from being alive.
Blood Vessel mixes up an interesting blend of some familiar ingredients: a ghost ship, a vampiric curse, nefarious Nazi occultism, and a lifeboat full of squabbling and distrustful passengers who discover that their hoped-for rescue is anything but. The characterisation of the multinational misfits is not the most subtle (the brooding Russian, the venal Brit, the resentful Yank and so on). But if these are close to being ciphers, that’s something in keeping with the B-movie enthusiasms of scriptwriters Justin Dix and Jordan Prosser.
The gore is good, and the creature make-up and art design are both striking. The ship is a suitably cramped and cavernous location, with the production able to make extensive use of a real-life floating museum for the shoot. Cinematographer Sky Davies lights and frames the film to great atmospheric effect, mixing up the in-your-face horror shots with glimpses of things in the shadows.
There are some edgy moments during the build up to the larger monster reveal; not least the discovery of strange young orphan Mya who seems to have been abandoned aboard ship. But while there’s a good sense of tension throughout, Blood Vessel turns out to be more of a fun than an especially scary horror. One reason for this is the constraints imposed by filming aboard the HMAS Castlemaine.
The tight narrow corridors and compartments certainly increase the sense of containment and entrapment. It’s the reason that wartime submarine movies can be so palpably tense. But once everyone is aboard the ship, Blood Vessel becomes quite static. The lack of room means that it’s difficult to stage fight-or-flight sequences, building up the heart-pounding visceral terror of the monster in pursuit of its next victim. Instead, the vampires declaim and then strike. It’s all done with conviction and no little style, but there’s nothing to leave the viewer reeling. It’s a film that it’s difficult to dislike (and which deserves a big tick for its witty title alone), but it’s not a vampire horror likely to take your breath away.
The special features on Umbrella’s Blu-ray include two entertaining episode commentaries (marred somewhat by a tendency for everyone to talk excitedly over everyone else). The highlights of the extras are the informative ‘making-of’ documentary and the production diary. Rather than the usual contractual-obligation promo fluff, these films provide an intriguing insight into the practicalities and challenges of bringing an indie genre flick to the screen. Both pieces also reaffirm that, in such circumstances, enthusiasm, teamwork, and a willingness to go above and beyond are as essential as raw creative talent.
