Watched this film as part of Blood in the Snow 2017. It's an okay film but suffers from a lot of mistakes that first-time directors seem to make.
The story itself claims to be based on true events, but I can find no news sources that point to a story like this ever happening. Overall, the script is somewhat weak and the pacing of the story is too slow in the first half, while the ending feels rushed. It almost seems like this film was shot from the first or second draft. As Phillips is credited as the sole writer, it seems she suffers from the hubris that many directors do where they envision their story as precious and are reticent to make any changes.
Looking at the crew attached, I get the feeling that the successful completion of the film relied heavily on Phillips' more experienced crew during production, including 1stAD Jake O'Neill and line producer Emily Schooley, and the post-production team at Post City Sound. Much of a film is made during post-production and this seems to be the case here. The visual effects in the film appear to be all practically done, which at least is a refreshing change from overly CGIed films. The music is a bit over the top and often telegraphs the few scares before they happen, but is fairly solid overall. As for the cinematography, there are a few interesting shot choices and some nice detail shots of their creepy location, but overall they are pretty standard for indie horror films.
If anything, what kind of put me off of the film was the acting. The lead character Ashley is simply not a strong actor. She is thin and good looking (and that's probably why she was cast for the lead) but a lot of her performance is flat and telegraphed. The film would have been far more interesting with a stronger lead, even if she wasn't as conventionally attractive. Most of the rest of the characters are pretty unlikeable and/or downright annoying, which also takes away from the enjoyment of the film. The actual Blood Child was kind of cute when she wasn't scary, though it seems like this film was banking on the child-being-scary as part of its thrills.
Watch it if it's on Netflix and you're bored, but I probably wouldn't go out of my way to see it again.
