Review: Blood Quantum

(This review originally appeared at SciFi&Scary)

I became a fan of Jeff Barnaby’s work a couple of years ago when his first movie, Rhymes For Young Ghouls, came out. A friend on social media, whose opinion I trust, raved about it, and she was right. It was a compelling drama that incorporated elements from other genres. It was also a story about Natives and Native themes (the residential school system in Canada) told by Natives. This was a big deal because there just aren’t that many stories told from their perspective.

Because the movie was really fucking good, Barnaby’s name became one that I immediately looked out for. I wanted to know what he was going to do next, when it was going to come out, and when I could put it in my eyes. And here’s the thing; I’m not alone. Other friends who love movies can’t wait to see what he’s going to do next also.

Fast forward a couple of years and word comes out that Barnaby is working on a Native zombie flick. My mind starts racing because I can see all sorts of great possibilities for a Native-led zombie story.  

“Let’s face it, Native Americans/First Nations characters don’t show up very often in mainstream science fiction and fantasy stories, and when they do, they’re often plagued by stereotypes. They’re monosyllabic mystics, stuck in the 1800s, or they’re relegated to laconic (a.k.a stoic) warriors in horse cultures, or, even worse, erased from the continent entirely.

“I’m not sure why the Indigenous people of North America fail to evolve in the imagination of science fiction and fantasy writers. Why we get trapped in the amber of yesteryear, never to break out of notions of noble savagery, braids, and loincloths. In a field known for its creativity, science fiction and fantasy has let its readers, Indigenous and non-Indigenous, down.” — Rebecca Roanhorse

I think that it is possible to argue that the only fiction genre that has been harder on Native people than the horror genre is the western. I say that as a fan of both genres. I think their treatment by both genres has been pretty bad for different reasons. In the case of horror fiction, a cluster of tropes has developed around various Native cultures. So you get things like Native curses, mysticism, Shaman, Native artifacts, creatures from Native mythology, Native burial grounds. The usage of these items is often done without any basic-level understanding of the cultures involved or even acknowledgement that these folks exist. Frankly, the word “Indian” is often used.

I cringe when horror writers arbitrarily insert something Native into their story. Here’s the thing; I don’t think they are doing so out of intended malice, but come from a place of ignorance, which is still harmful. I recently read a horror novella and the protag saw that the man he was talking to had darker skin and decided that, “He must be Indian”. Not only is a slur being used, but whether this character is Native or not had literally no bearing on the story. It was a brief aside that could have been completely avoided. Another book from a couple of years ago featured a “vengeful spirit from native legend”. Do I even have to mention Poltergeist?

I see this cluster of tropes as being a minefield and I get nervous when horror fiction ventures into that territory. I hope that the genre can grow away from this cluster of tropes. The way to move in that direction is to have more horror stories told from Native perspectives by Native creators. Have you read Stephen Graham Jones, Waubgeshig Rice, Darcie Little Badger, Cherie Dimaline or Owl Goingback yet? If not, get on that.

Which brings me back to Blood Quantum. Because this is all of the shit I was thinking about before I even watched the movie.

When a Native creator is going to tell a zombie story where Native characters are immune from the plague because of some quality in their blood AND it’s called Blood Quantum, you know there are going to be fucking layers to this story. Hell, that’s just the title.

“If you’re Native American, there’s a good chance that you’ve thought a lot about blood quantum — a highly controversial measurement of the amount of “Indian blood” you have. It can affect your identity, your relationships and whether or not you — or your children — may become a citizen of your tribe.

Blood quantum was initially a system that the federal government placed onto tribes in an effort to limit their citizenship.” — NPR’s Code Switch 

I was blown away by Blood Quantum.

For me, Blood Quantum worked on every level. What kind of movie is Blood Quantum? It’s a zombie horror movie. Is it successful at this level? Yes it is. What mode or style is being used to tell this zombie horror story? Exploitation/grindhouse. Is it successful at this level? Yes it is. Did the movie have a message or themes, and if so, how were they implemented? Yes, Blood Quantum had all sorts of subtle and overt things to say in service of its themes. But it inserted those things into a kick-ass story.

There’s all sorts of little things at play in Blood Quantum. Little tweaks and pokes and jibes at Native presentation in North American culture. One of the main characters, Traylor, is the Chief of Police on the reservation and everyone calls him Chief. He wears a low slung holster that plays on the visual tropes of westerns.

In the opening minutes we get some sketched character development. But Blood Quantum wastes no time in kicking the zombie action off with a tense scene in the local white police station holding cells. From there it’s balls to the wall action as the Native characters have to deal with the zombie uprising.

There are two types of Zombie stories: those about dealing with the initial uprising and those that deal with the aftermath and how civilization survives. Blood Quantum aims to explore both of these zombie story types. But before we make a time jump to deal with the aftermath, we get a great visual shot of Traylor, having just fought off zombies on a bridge, facing the camera with red blood covering his face, like he’s donned war paint, acknowledging the change in his life and the things he must now do.

One of my favorite tweaks to the nose of the zombie genre is what they call the zombies. For years it was a funny thing to notice in zombie movies that the word “zombie” was never said. Often, they were given nicknames: cannibals, rovers, shamblers, etc. In Blood Quantum they get the decidedly Canadian nickname of “Zeds”.

Blood Quantum is a beautifully shot movie. It just looks great. There’s some great location scenes and set work. During the opening credits the landscape is constantly rocking back and forth, indicating the upheaval that is going to occur.

There are some great performances in Blood Quantum. Stonehorse Lone Goeman’s is a standout and he’s destined to become a cult favorite. Michael Greyeyes as the Chief of Police, Traylor, does great work as he tries to strike a balance between the different elements and factions in his compound. He’s also the make-hard-decisions and get-shit-done guy. There are other effective performances in the cast and even some old Native heads like Gary Farmer show up.

Jeff Barnaby set out to make a Native exploitation zombie movie, it’s a gory feast that achieves that goal. Blood Quantum is a full tilt boogie blast of a movie that also has a lot to say. I didn’t catch all of the thematic elements in my first or second watch but I look forward to picking up on more stuff in future watches.

I watched Blood Quantum with my wife and she had some thoughts on the movie that are worth sharing. 

“Although Blood Quantum does not dwell on some of the obvious symbolism in the movie, I was struck by Lysol’s character. This movie was set in a time when residential schools were a reality. Indigenous children were separated from their parents and forced to live in horrendous conditions. They were abused and neglected and disconnected from their family, culture and heritage. Lyson embodies that. There are references to Lysol being gone for a time. His return does not lead to easy reconciliation and healing. It is a catalyst for chaos and destruction. He underscores just how extensive and harmful the removals were, and how destroying a person’s sense of culture and family can destroy their very identity. While he is not the protagonist and certainly not the hero, it can be argued he represents centuries of abuse inflicted upon Indigenous persons in North America. The actor straddled that fine line, making me sympathize with him while still despising some of his actions, which is an indication of the strength of the cast and the caliber of the writing.”

Recently on Twitter, Jeff Barnaby asked:

“Is #RezHorror a thing now? Do you know how spectacularly off the charts shit frisbee amazing that would be? Like who’s going to write the first Devil worshipping story in Navajo land? The first cosmic horror set in the arctic? There is no end to the stories.”

A world of story possibilities has opened up. Let’s make sure that this opportunity isn’t wasted. So many people have so many great stories. Let’s make sure there’s room for all of them.

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