Becoming a parent changes absolutely everything, especially when unplanned. Blood Relatives sees a nomad’s life gets upended by the arrival of a daughter he never knew he had, causing a seismic shift in his isolated bachelor lifestyle. The twist here is that the central character is a bloodsucking vampire whose inner mensch gets brought to the surface by his new teen daughter. Writer/Director Noah Segan’s feature debut brings a charming soft touch to the vampire tale, favoring dad jokes and affecting bonds over savage bloodletting.
Francis (Segan) drifts through towns and backroads in his coveted 1969 Barracuda Fastback. He’s a drifter with a specific routine and holds dear a few material possessions, including family mementos and a leather jacket. Francis was born before World War II but maintained a youthful appearance through a steady diet of blood. But his comfortable yet niche way of living on society’s outskirts changes when 15-year-old Jane (Victoria Moroles) shows up at his hotel door. Her mother just passed, leaving her alone in the world, and she has a few peculiar characteristics that she wonders if she inherited from her dad. Traits like super strength and an appetite for meat so rare it’s practically still bleeding. Francis balks at the idea of a daughter, but showing Jane the ropes of vampirism slowly erodes his carefully guarded walls as they embark on a road trip.
Segan uses the genre to heighten the humor of a quirky family drama. Francis and Jane may be vampires – or half-vampire in Jane’s case – but it’s a heartfelt tale of a bachelor coping with becoming a parent for the first time. Through vampire hijinks, like Jane struggling with her killer impulses, the two slowly get to know each other and form bonds. They also bicker and butt heads in their attempts to find common ground. Francis is aloof, while Jane is a fiery teen with every bit of angst that comes with her age. The way that Segan uses their need to hunt as the connective tissue between strangers bound by blood provides layered humor and a refreshing new way to explore those awkward, tentative first steps toward family. Segan wrings a lot of humor from the long reveal that his vintage hot rod, leather-clad cool vamp is nothing but a Yiddish-spouting softie at his core.
Blood Relatives hinges on the relationship between father and daughter, and Segan and Moroles nail it. They’re an adorable pair that effectively pull you into their complicated but ultimately charming relationship. They also smartly play their vampire characters as deeply human, heightening the absurd comedy while grounding the emotional element with authenticity.
Of course, this is indeed a vampire movie, so expect this father/daughter road trip to leave a small trail of blood. While some of the feeding scenes wring more humor than blood, not all of it works. The day-for-night shot sequence that sees Jane discovering more about her monstrous side looks out of place and distracting. Those hoping for a stronger emphasis on the horror might also be disappointed; this isn’t that type of tale.
In Blood Relatives, Segan pens a sweet story about a first-time father trying to reconcile his former lifestyle with newfound fatherhood, making all the mistakes along the way. From it unfurls a genuine, sweet family comedy; the genre merely exacerbates it. Like most dad jokes, not all of the humor sticks its landing. Nor does the horror. But as an utterly sweet love letter from a new dad to his kids, Blood Relative goes for the jugular of an infectious and charming horror comedy.
Blood Relatives made its World Premiere at Fantastic Fest. Release on Shudder is TBD.
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