My Review Of “New Blood Rising”

Chad Zuver’s “New Blood Rising” is indie/low budget fantasy that tells the story of a race nearing extinction. The story revolves around a small clan of vampires fighting for survival while facing hunters who are determined to see the species exterminated. “New Blood Rising” stars Kayla Elizabeth, Dana Furlong, Vanessa Leonard, Thomas Sloan, Chad Zuver, Nathan Pelland, Ashley King, Lisa Marie, James Fite, Molly Sute, Allan Meyette and Rebekka Daniel.

Synopsis: Jade, her sister Ophelia, and brother Bryce, are the last three vampires in the world. They come into this small town to figure out a plan to restore their bloodline and raise an army of vampires. Jade says she needs someone with pure and innocent blood to restore balance to the family and for Jade to take over the world. Bryce finds a young girl named Brie, who is exactly what Jade wants. The one thing standing in the way of Jade's plan, is the group of vampire hunters that just moved in next to Brie's house. The Hunters are lead by Archer, and is followed by Karver, Riley, and Ash. Their lone goal is to protect Brie from Jade and her siblings and finally put an end to the vampires.

The story presented by Zuver with “New Blood Rising” offers a twist, placing vampire as victim (sort of) and man as violator (again-sort of). It is a view that is under-told in horror. Usually television medium is the ones focusing on the supernatural as being persecuted so it is a fresh change to see the roles flipped. The film gives a strong story arc that seems coherent and complete-a lot of indie films, especial low budget horror, tend to rush the story and lose a lot of the meat of the story. Chad Zuver as director manages to give us a clear vision that holds one’s attention from start to finish.

The acting is pretty well executed, the cast show commitment to their characters, execute their lines effortlessly. True that some of the needed emotion to really sell the story falls flat at times, but for low budget/homemade style indie cinema “New Blood Rising” delivers a quality product. The action scenes didn’t really have much impact, and the special effects are bare minimum. That would normally kill a film like this but considering the cast’s ability to keep the story alive through drama, and dialog from start to finish I enjoyed watching is vampire flick-“New Blood Rising”.

Overall the film puts out a nice story, gives a unique view on a over-tapped subject, and is entertaining. This is ultra low budget cinema with an “amateur” cast, (amateur being a relative term here because I recognized the names from a couple other projects), so if you are expecting something with high production value or effects gimmicks that dazzle then “New Blood Rising” will disappoint you. If you are a fan of low budget/homemade horror that is nicely executed, gives good story and is entertaining on a stripped down scale, then “New Blood Rising” is one of those films you will enjoy. I dug it- I recognized the vision Zuver was trying present, enjoyed the ride and felt a bit of the lost Gen-X vibe that indie film once held.