Brad Anderson’s new project, “Blood,” has been making the rounds as a new horror film. Heavy on the symbolism and dripping with references to mythology and demonic cultures, “Blood” does a fantastic job of subtly dishing out more vampire-centric content in a market overflowing with apocalyptic films. It also does a better job of portraying a more realistic view of vampirism instead of romanticizing it while also drawing attention to the heights of a mother’s sacrifice. It makes heavy use of gory topics with a subtlety that keeps the film from being described as gross. The film keeps the audience guessing until its very conclusion with an open ending. While this might be quite off-putting for some, it is nothing short of exceptional direction for most. However, because of Brad’s sophisticated direction, the film hasn’t made much of a buzz as the open ending puzzled the audience to no end, all the while failing to make a lasting impression. The film does deserve accolades and a larger audience base for its exceptional storyline.
‘Blood’ Plotline: What Is The Film About?
“Blood” is a horror film where a boy named Owen is overcome by a disease that shares traits with vampirism. Owen and his big sister Tyler had just moved in with their mother, Jess, into a desolate house. The property came with a very sinister dried-up lake, which had been the cause of many misfortunes that befell the family. To save Owen, Jess had sacrificed her morals and pride, as well as her job, and had not uttered a word to anybody about the condition that he suffered from. Jess had kept the entire situation under wraps and had not even bothered to defend herself when Patrick, her ex-husband, came in guns blazing to hold her accountable for the supposed neglect of her children.
Owen And Tyler’s Dysfunctional Family
Jess and Patrick were parents to the duo. Jess worked as a doctor, and thus she didn’t spend much time at home most days. Unable to cope with the stress, she took to abusing drugs. This had driven a ridge between the couple, and Patrick took solace in the kids’ nanny’s arms. Jess, shocked at Patrick’s adultery, had applied for divorce and full custody of her children. Patrick had earlier got the kids a dog named Pippin. Patrick had been awarding her custody of their children and their dog while he kept the house. He had challenged the custody by using pictures of Jess abusing substances from three years ago. Jess had been sober for a long time and had shifted to her Aunt Silas’ house, which she had inherited with Tyler and Owen. Patrick continued to contest Jess’ custody rights by scrutinizing every single move.
What Ever Happened To Pippin And Owen?
The tree, daunting in itself, had beckoned Pippin’s attention, turning him into an unrecognizable monster who then attacked Owen. Something was bound to happen to both Pippin and Owen during the scene when the three of them partook in an adventure to the lake, except Tyler, both Owen and Pippin got stuck near the tree. As they made their way back to the house, much to the family’s chagrin, Pippin’s attention was very much arrested by a presence near the home. As soon as the door was opened, he went bounding toward the presence and did not return till the very next day. His absence had led Owen to disobey Jess as he went to seek his dog out by himself. Owen had shut himself in his room as soon as he came back, but Pippin’s arrival had gotten him out the door in a jiffy. However, Pippin seemed to have transformed into a rabid dog, and in a frenzy, he attacked Owen, mauling at his neck, before Jess killed him to save her son. Jess and Tyler rushed Owen to the ER, and soon Patrick came over to blame Jess for this incident.
Owen, meanwhile, was stuck battling for his life, and when he finally came to, his family had a short respite. Owen immediately went into shock while puzzling his attending doctors about his condition. All his reports had eventually come back as negative, ruling out rabies as well. With his tests pointing toward anemia, Owen started presenting potentially deadly symptoms. He started showing signs of his newly gained attraction to blood, and when he did not receive enough, he started going into shock, his vital signs going haywire. The change in his temperament was noticed first by his mother, Jessica, as she had been monitoring his vitals. Jess, alarmed by her son’s condition, immediately switched to covering up his new instincts for fear of Owen being called a monster.
Did Owen Die At The End?
Jess had taken a lot of precautions to save her son. The moment she had spotted him reaching for the blood pouch and taking a huge gulp from it, Jess had tried in vain to reintroduce him to normal food. However, the minute she took away the blood, his body started seizing and rejecting food. Jess improvised in that situation by stealing blood bags from the hospital’s storage. She regularly took a few bags from the storage before the security got tighter, and she had to resort to other means. She tried to feed Owen rabbit blood, but it was of no use because Owen’s condition refused to cooperate with Jess’ tactics. She resorted to feeding him her own blood to sate his needs for the moment. Helen, a patient with cancer at that hospital, had earlier professed the wish to end her life; however, she soon found the need to live as she pondered Jess’ advice to her. She became the target of Jess’ fight to keep her son healthy and alive and thus was kidnapped and detained in the basement. Jess took blood from her at regular intervals to help Owen; however, his gradual transformation into an evil entity made it impossible for Jess to keep up. Tyler discovered Owen’s condition as she spotted her mother growing tired and absentminded gradually. Owen and Jess sat Tyler down and laid out the basics of his condition, and Tyler agreed to help.
Meanwhile, Helen found an opportunity to run away, but it ended up with her rushing to her death as she lost her life on the wire fence. Owen swooped at the chance and drank her blood fresh from source before Jess buried the body and washed the dried blood off of Owen. The situation worsened as Owen was not able to go to school in his condition, while Tyler stayed back for a day to figure out if there was any way to help Owen because he had almost harmed his half-brother in a fit of insanity. Tyler quickly took him back to the lake, where it had all started; however, as they reached their destination, Owen could not control his instincts anymore and gave into chasing his sister around for her warm blood. Jess rushed to save Tyler and had to kill Owen, as he had become beyond dangerous to everybody around him. Owen, in the moments of his consciousness drifting in and out, had also given his consent to Jess to put him to sleep forever.
‘Blood’ Ending Explained: What Is the Significance of the Tree?
Trees have always had enormous significance in different cultures. From religions worshiping holy trees to satisfy deities to cults worshiping trees to bring down utter havoc, trees have played a significant role in myths as well as real life. Trees are also quite famous for housing spirits in various cultures, be they pure or evil. Blood,” the film, revolves around a demonic spirit housed in a tree on the family’s property. Once upon a time, as the pictures suggest, the area surrounding the tree had been teeming with life and healthy nature, with abundant water in the lake creating a picturesque view for those to enjoy. Aunt Silas had been the real owner of the house and had passed on the house and its sprawling acres of land to Jess and her family. The film suggests that Aunt Silas might not have had kids, which is why Jess inherited the property from her, which now became their home until a more permanent solution came by. More emphasis has been put on the myths encompassing vampirism and the barbaric nature that comes with it.
The lake, however, had lost its once pleasant and charming beauty and has given way to a desolate landfill of murky waters mixed with carcasses. The film hints at the large tree being the cause of such destruction. It could be that during Aunt Silas’ stay at the house, there might have been a ritual of summoning or rousing a dormant evil spirit that the tree might have housed as a parasite. The evil entity had been quietly sucking the life out of people until Pippin, Tyler, Owen, and Jess intruded upon its territory. The change between Pippin and Owen brought about through the film could have been a ploy set up by the evil spirit to drive away the family or to possess the family to find fresh “blood.” It could also be housing the ungratified spirit of Jess’ aunt, who might have lost her sanity after the years passed on, which is why the place gave off a rather unnerving aura, driving all of the buyers away before a reluctant Jess ultimately settled there as a temporary measure. Another theory along the lines of this thought could be that Aunt Silas’ death had been far from an ordinary one. Tyler had mentioned that somebody had earlier tried to destroy the tree and the very site it stood upon; therefore, she also had this inexplicable thought of attempting the same to help out Owen. This could suggest that Aunt Silas might have tried to burn it up as well because a glance at the unresponsive state of her husband in the picture shown at the very beginning of the film could point to the fact that the evil spirit might have hit him first; however, this is just a hypothesis.
Similarly, yet another interpretation of the film could be drawn from a psychological point of view. Owen’s pet dog, Pippin, had been very close to his heart. Not being able to take Pippin’s betrayal after his soul had been switched to a more monstrous and rabid dog hungry for blood, Owen’s mind could very well replicate the entire situation on its own. Thus, providing him with a coping mechanism for changing his own psyche to suit the trauma induced by the incident. His unwillingness to accept the situation could very well suggest damage to his psyche, and thus, changing was the only way he could easily accept it and have a funeral for his dog. However, this is merely the most logical explanation that I could think of to explain the shift in Owen. But, the situation does turn sordid, as even after Owen’s death and Jess burning the tree, the evil presence seemed to linger and might be back with a vengeance. Only this time, the target was Jess because she had been the one to kill Owen while they were in touch with the swampy land absolutely near the tree. It could be that the pet dog Jess had adopted at the end had been the harbinger of her sins and thus might be the indication of a soon-coming change of psyche that Jess might go through. It could be because she could not deal with the death of her son, and the fact that she had to put an end to his life herself could have dealt a heavy blow, which is why the trauma shows later when she finally accepts it. Although there are endless hypotheses that could be drawn from the open ending of the film, a satisfactory one is yet to be found.
