Blood Machines (2019) - Review

Director: Raphaël Hernandez, Seth Ickerman, Savitri Joly-Gonfrad | Written by Raphaël Hernandez, Seth Ickerman, Savitri Joly-Gonfrad | 50m

(Spoilers and a bit of NSFW stuff below)

---

Two space hunters are tracking down a machine trying to free itself. After taking it down, they witness a mystical phenomenon: the ghost of a young woman pulling herself out of the machine, as if the spaceship had a soul. Trying to understand the nature of this entity, they start chasing the woman through space...

- Blood Machines -

---

When I first saw the trailer for Blood Machines on my Instagram feed some two years ago, I audibly rejoiced that I had finally seen a sponsored post that was something I actually liked the look of; an indie production, high sci-fi concepts, an awesome synthwave soundtrack and a no-holes barred execution of a clear vision. By the time I'd seen the trailer, Blood Machines was already streaming as a three-part, 50 minute film on Shudder, an online streaming service that specialises in horror and sci-fi movies and shows. Blood Machines was funded on Kickstarter, receiving around £100,000 in funding and was released in 2019. I decided it would be worth my time and money to check out a subscription and give the service a whirl. For me, Blood Machines would be the first port of call.

Set in the distant future, Blood Machines follows a motley crew aboard the unnamed, Derelict like spacecraft; crewed by captain Vascan (Anders Henrichsen) and his wise partner Lago (Christian Erickson), the two Blade Runners (one of the many references to other sci-fi properties) have shot down a spacecraft, the Mima. After the ship crash lands on an Amazonian planet, the bewitching priestess Corey (Elisa Lasowski) frees the ships AI (Joëlle Berckmans) before being kidnapped by Vascan and forced aboard his ship (more on his intentions later). Aided by their own failing AI, Tracey (Noémie Stevens), who is modelled to resemble Maschinenmesch from Fritz Lang's seminal 1927 movie Metropolis, they travel across the cosmos in pursuit of their fleeing prey.

Blood Machines serves as a quasi-sequel to director Seth Ickerman's Turbo Killer music video, which he directed and which was scored by Carpenter Brut, who returns for musical duties here (you can watch Turbo Killer below):

Thematically, musically, and stylistically, Turbo Killer and Blood Machines are very similar, in most aspects identical; though neither 'film' shares characters, the basic conceit of an oppressed female entity attempting to escape her captors is essentially the same. With Blood Machines, the analogy is a little less subtle; this is partially to do with the broadcasting of the male characters' intentions early on; "I've been fucking machines for so long, I'm starting to smell like them.", Vascan says as he takes Corey captive, convinced she will "make [things] more sexy". It's a little cringeworthy, even if it attempts to make a valiant effort at social commentary; the issue is that the writing is so clumsy, uneven and at times downright goofy, that it belies the serious intentions of the plot and presents the themes in such a way as to make them unrecognisable. In the hands of a better writer, things may be different. Chief amongst the issues is that Vascan is so cartoonishly villainous that the attempts at making him a sympathetic character by giving him tender moments of friendship with his fellow crewmate Lago, who is an infinitely more nuanced and deep character, come off as cheap; almost like the movie is trying to convince us that we're supposed to root for this intergalactic rapist. That's not to say there are not moments of subtlety that do work; there's a beautifully executed scene in which the Android Tracey refuses to obey the orders of Galdor (Walter Dickerson); with Galdor screaming at her to obey him, the camera zooms slowly on her metallic face and she simply... shakes her head gently. It doesn't sound like much, but in a movie that signals every analogy with a big balloon that reads "Congratulations, it's a metaphor!", it's a moment of quiet restraint that fits perfectly.

The biggest problem with the series is the way it is presented; there is little reason for the show to be split into three parts, especially as they are available to stream one after the other. This works for shows such as Stranger Things, The Crown or Riverdale, as each episode is up to an hour or more long. Here, each episode is between fifteen and twenty minutes and there is only three of them. Halfway through the second episode, there is a superbly executed title and opening credits sequence, which clearly shows that at some point the series was supposed to be a one-part film (and having seen a cut that presents it as such, I can say it is an objectively better experience than the trilogy of episodes it is presented as). Perhaps if each episode was half an hour to an hour long, there would be more time to flesh out characters that are otherwise left wanting.

Where Blood Machines does excel is in the execution of its vision; don't be fooled, this is definitely not a safe for work movie - the Mima AI floats through the cosmos completely naked, though (and I know it's a cliche), it is all quite tasteful. What could have been blatant objectification is rendered 'artsy' by a stylised inverted cross across the bodies of the nude AIs that obscure all full-frontal stuff and transforms such scenes from gratuity into stylish expressions of male desire quelled by women who won't give you what you want just because you want it. It's that kind of empowerment the movie needed more of as opposed to the blatant misogyny that we're otherwise presented with.

Using a combination of miniatures, in-camera effects and CGI that big-budget movies can't surpass, there is a surprisingly tactile world to be enjoyed; injections of ink form the backdrop of the space-bound scenes, rendering a beautiful image of the cosmos that could have been generic but which instead is a beautiful canvas for the action;

Over the images, a familiar film grain and a range of imperfections, from blurry heatwaves to shaking shots, along with shadows around the frame lend a grounded tactility to the series which is often lost in science fiction productions which aim for digital looks to match their futuristic visuals. Pair that with a delirious score by Carpenter Brut, fusing driving disco bass with pounding synths and effects-heavy guitars, and you've got a recipe for success; nowhere is this combination better showcased than in the excellent credit sequence;

Sure, what's going on might not be all that clear, or indeed interesting, and that's a symptom of a movie that seems more interested in impressing with visuals than it is in telling a coherent story; but as a visual and sonic treat, Blood Machines is second to none. I can't remember a more visually impressive film, especially one made for less than £100000, and much less can I remember a soundtrack so listenable and so well-matched to the movie it belongs to. For those reasons alone, it really is worth your time grabbing the Shudder free trial and giving it a watch. Sadly, it falls short of greatness thanks to poor presentation, some wooden acting and a story that is so clunkily written that for most of the duration you feel as if you've been clouted over the head with a club of exposition. Had the story been given more room to breathe, maybe over the course of an hour and a half, Blood Machines could well have been the perfect sci-fi film. As it stands, it's only part of the way there.

---

Sam's Score: 6

---

Blood Machines is available on Shudder.