REVIEW: BLIND BLOOD

Writer/director Michael Marco crafts a mean, gritty, and tense little crime thriller with BLIND BLOOD.

It opens to the sound of food wrappers crinkling and two hit men/drug dealers/cleaners jawing about tacos in a Pulp Fiction-y kind of way. This is our introduction to Jack (Mark Hanson) and Raoul (Michael Marco) Shortly after this conversation the boys have to enter a run-down house and take care of some "business."

The next thing you know, it's nine years later and Jack (the much calmer of the pair, by the way) is working as a mechanic and looks like he's settled into a quiet domestic life. This is rudely interrupted by the arrival of Billy (Billy Blair) who starts asking some unpleasant questions.

Billy decides to sneak into Jack's shop that night, and well, it turns out very poorly for Billy. Jack calls up old pal Raoul to help sort things out, and naturally Raoul arrives with a suitcase full of drugs and a hooker in tow in the form of Trish (Paula Marcenaro Solinger)

The farther along things go, the dicier they get, and it all culminates in a nasty surprise in the form of an old boss, Sullivan (Rick Herod). But I won't spoil any of that for you. Director (and actor & producer!) Marco really understands how to craft tension in a film. There are multiple edge-of your-seat moments in this thriller, which is also well shot, well acted and has a great score.

My only complaint would be in the pacing. I felt that it needed a slight rearranging in the story to really bring out some elements sooner, and to drive home other elements a bit harder. Overall, BLIND BLOOD was a great crime genre film, and after watching it I felt like it was begging for a sequel, which I hope we someday get!