Written and directed by Jeff Barnaby
Starring Michael Greyeyes, Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers andForrest Goodluck
Running time: 1 hour and 36 minutes

by Nikk Nelson 

In a genre as crowded as the zombie movie, it’s rare these days to come across a work that isn’t completely reheated corn beef hash. Return of the Living Dead (1985) was one of the first movies I remember seeing at three or four years old. In the prologue crawl, it claims to be based on a true story—something my older brother absolutely delighted in telling me was, in fact, the case. For at least one afternoon, I was convinced that, right before I was born, a zombie apocalypse had only recently abated and there might still be more zombies out there, lurking. Needless to say, I’ve been a fan of the genre my entire life (and/or its terrified hostage). So, the relatively recent explosion of the genre’s popularity has aspects that I’ve thoroughly enjoyed and others I’ve absolutely loathed. Only the first few episodes of The Walking Dead are worth a goddamn, in my opinion. Once Frank Darabont was gone, the show lost its soul, and it's been meandering ever since, much like an armless, jawless walker desperately needing put out of its misery. Still, its firm status as a ratings juggernaut opened the floodgates and streaming services, desperate for content, started greenlighting any project with the word ‘dead’ in the title. It’s almost as bad as the word ‘dark’.

The deluge of direct to video zombie movies has been thick and relentless. And the vast majority of the offered product is corny, brainless, and cliché in the worst possible ways. Anyone who says that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery has most definitely made a zombie movie called something like ‘Casino of the Dead 4: Shooting Die-ce’. It tends to attract the worst of the assault rifle bunker nuts who beat off to the thought of surviving a night against the undead. And there’s plenty of whackable content available. Still, every once in a while, an adept and thoughtful zombie movie will emerge from the horde. Train to Busan (2016) and One Cut of the Dead (2017) are two that immediately come to mind and I think Blood Quantum (2019) belongs in that same company. 

The film is set on the indigenous reserve of Red Crow, following mostly its sheriff, Traylor, through a zombie apocalypse. As far as familiar faces go, I recognized only Gary Farmer, aka Deputy Bob, from one of my all-time favorites, Tales from the Crypt Presents Demon Knight (1995). I was delighted to otherwise see strangers. Jeff Barnaby, a young, indigenous writer/director/editor, making a zombie movie set on an indigenous reserve, with indigenous actors? Fuck yeah. That’s the spirit of Romero, right there. And it’s what, immediately, ninety-nine percent of these films are missing. If I told you that this was Jeff Barnaby’s twelfth feature film, the evidence of his undeniable talent and solid professionalism, in just its framing and composition, would not at all give away that it’s only his second. His debut, Rhymes for Young Ghouls (2013), I plan to track down immediately. [editor’s note: It’s available on Kanopy and hoopla.]

His sensibility as director reminds me of another up and comer, Jeremy Saulnier, but Barnaby’s instincts as far as where to put the camera, to me, are almost undeniably young Scorsese. That instinct isn’t constant throughout the entirety of the film, but its presence is indisputable. If the cultivation of his potential continues at this rate, we could be looking at the inauguration of a masterful filmmaker. Even the moments of the script that are the familiar notes of any zombie movie, they’re all framed and shot so beautifully that it maintains an unshakeable sense of originality. My favorite visual, aside from the stunning animated interludes, is probably the graffiti across a tinshack gate: If They’re Red They’re Dead/If They’re White They Bite.  And, coming by its title honestly, there’s plenty here for the gore hounds too. Numerous blood buckets swing from opposite rafters, comical and heartbreaking, with equal aptitude. Zombie movies tend to get one or the other right. Most of them get both wrong. The same can be said for any sort of social or political messaging. Most of them try. Usually, it’s piggybacking on what’s already been said. Quantum’s look at indigenous genocide, forced relocation to reserves, and the role of disease in that history is present but never quite at the forefront I expected it to be or in fact wanted it to be. The central conflict remains where the best of the genre tends to keep it—at the feet of human nature—as a declaration of doom in failed cooperation. Blood Quantum is a Shudder original so look for it to be available on that platform soon. I hope the relationship between that network and Jeff Barnaby continues. I am eager to keep hearing his voice in that crowded and ravenous arena of independent filmmaking. 

Available to watch exclusively on Shudder - April 28 at Midnight EST.