Blood Red Sky is a Netflix exclusive, which recently released on 7/23/2021. The German-made vampire horror flick was directed and co-written by Peter Thorwarth, with co-writer Stefan Holtz.
I will always suggest that you watch a foreign flick with the original voices and read the subtitles. You get a more organic version of the dialog between characters and voice inflection. Unfortunately, I was having troubles with my subtitle settings where it just wasn’t working properly. If you just don’t like to watch a movie and read words at the same time, obviously, choose the dubbed version. However, the kid’s dubbing was not good. Not good at all. It was a distraction any time he talked. Otherwise, the rest was done well. Regardless, try to watch with subtitles if you can.
Blood Red Sky opens with a scene that is near the end of the storyline, hooking you into “what the hell is going on” mode right out of the gates. It immediately leaves you desiring to find out more and gets you invested in a couple of the characters. A large passenger plane is forced to make an emergency landing on an Air Force Base in Ireland. A message was recently received that there are terrorists aboard, as well as a bomb. This of course has the base, and its authorities, reeling and scrambling trying to figure out what to do. After the plane comes to a stop on the tarmac, a single individual escapes from a hatch below the plane. A young boy named Elias (Carl Anton Koch). And there’s a man in the cockpit, also alone, waving for help and to begging to be let off the plane unharmed, and of course, he’s claiming that he is not one of the terrorist.
That’s our set-up. Hardly seems like the introduction to a vampire movie, right?
We then move back in time, prior to the boarding of the same plane. Elias, from the opening scene, is the son of Nadja (Peri Baumeister). In being introduced to her, we find that she is a secretive woman who wears a wig to hide that she is completely void of hair. It turns out that Nadja is flying to America with her son. She is seeking a specific doctor’s help to possibly cure a “disease” she’s been carrying, one that is akin to leukemia, or so it is portrayed. Prior to leaving for her flight, Nadja takes a medicine that fights back the hardships of her unfortunate malady.
Curious, too, (wink wink) that the flight she has purchased will primarily be shrouded in the dark of night as they are flying from Germany to America. Kind of like the Red Eye flight…only for double digit hours.
We also meet Farid (Kais Setti), who befriends Elias while they are waiting for the flight to board. He becomes a key player in the whole story, and somewhat an ally to Nadja and her son when the action begins.
As the passengers are settling down for the long flight, a group of men slowly and quietly begin to hijack the plane. A few murders before anybody knows that anything is happening, remove the air Marshalls, and they’ve successfully finished part one of their devious plans.
The hijackers finally announce their presence to the passengers and order them not to interfere, or else yada yada. Of course, what they tell the passengers is a ruse, as the criminals have other plans. They also force a passenger of Middle Eastern descent, Farid nonetheless, to read a script for a recording. Yes, that same message that was received by the Scottish Air Force in the beginning of the movie. This is also a way to throw off the authorities that would eventually get the false memorandum. Once again, they have different plans.
I’m not giving anything away as this scene is in the movie preview, but, as Elias is trying to find a place to hide from the hijackers, Nadja chases him down, as any mother would. Nadja is shot down by one of the psychopathic hijackers named Eightball (Alexander Scheer). He turns out to be one of the focal characters throughout the movie. He was a little over the top but added a level of intensity to it all.
And this is where the real fun begins in Blood Red Sky.
As we already know from the previews, Nadja is not suffering from any Leukemia-type disease. We know that the hijackers are in for a shocking surprise as Nadja tries to protect her son from the violent antagonists. And it gets extra bloody!
The creativity in Blood Red Sky came from the situational setup with vampires on a plane. But we’ve had zombies and snakes on a muthaf***in’ plane before. So…not entirely breaking new barriers there. Adding hijackers to the mix may have been a nice add-on, or it could’ve been just a distraction. Without them, though, Nadja makes it to America problem-free, assumedly, and we don’t have a story.
They inject a heartfelt and sorrowful backstory to show how Nadja came to be infected throughout the movie via flashbacks. This was a crucial part to the story in building sympathy and care for Nadja in what she is having to endure.
The vampires were cool, but nothing truly new. Blood Red Sky had great makeup and practical effects, and when computer graphics were used it wasn’t in-your-face noticeable. I loved the mannerisms of the vampires as they were more feral and animalistic than a controlled conscious killer. The film was very bloody and violent, which was perfect for the type of vampire imagined for Blood Red Sky.
Fair warning, there are a few doggie deaths if that bothers you. They are off-screen, but still in there.
My Bloody raw thoughts:
I liked Blood Red Sky overall, but it struggled to the finish line. The storyline was well done, but the last half of the movie was a bit of a letdown after the great character and plot development. However, since the beginning of the movie had a good setup, and you become invested in the characters, it’s worth the watch to the end. The acting was good all the way through, as well.
They did a good job with the steady progression of Nadja from being a coherent protective “human being” to a ferocious somewhat mindless vampire by the end of the movie. That portrayal gives a heartrending take on her as a mother trying to defend her only child.
Honestly, they could’ve cut out 20-30 minutes on this one and it may have been intensified and perhaps a step up from just decent. I think there was a flow and pace they wanted to hold to through the entire movie, and they held to that, at least until the climax in the last fifteen or so minutes.
Blood Red Sky
Released: 7/23/2021
Rating: TV-MA
Genre: Horror, Action, Thriller
Running Time: 2 hours 1 minute
Director: Peter Thorwarth (Bang Boom Bang, Not My Day – Germany Origins)
Writer: Stefan Holtz (Bang Boom Bang, Not My Day – Germany Origins) & Peter Thorwarth
Stars:
Peri Baumeister as Nadja (Irre sind männlich, The Saboteurs)
Carl Anton Koch as Elias (Acting Debut)
Alexander Scheer as Eightball (Gundermann, Carlos, Eight Miles High)
Kais Setti as Farid (Dogs of Berlin, Tracing Addai)
IMDB Rating: 6.2 out of 10
Rotten Tomatoes: 75%
Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score: 60%
Metascore: 43 out of 100
Streamable on these Apps with subscription at time of Blog Post: Netflix Exclusive
Rentable on these Apps at time of Blog Post: N/A
Blood Red Sky Official Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8M_1eyrBtQ
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