Hulu is not exactly the streaming platform I think of when I want to watch something interesting, including horror. That being said, they did manage to produce the best Hellraiser movie since the 1990s a couple of years ago—which isn’t saying much—so there’s at least some potential for Hulu to deliver. As we were searching for entertainment, my spouse spotted a movie she had seen before and wanted to watch again having forgotten most of what happened in it. While I watched it, I was certainly intrigued as to what was happening. By the time the credits rolled, however, I was left scratching my head as to whether I liked it or not.

Pros

Makeup effects look good
Middle story is intriguing
Gory horror and a few moments that have striking imagery

Cons

No likable characters
Philosophy of the villains in Jenna’s story is a little confusing for something that is so important
Somewhat uninteresting ending of the third story that was too telegraphed
Mysteries of the story have unsatisfying revelations

Plots & Thoughts

Books of Blood is an anthology horror movie. So, there are multiple stories that focus on specific characters that are mostly independent of each other but are still tied together in some way. The stories are sometimes tied together with a character in other anthology movies like Cat’s Eye or Trick r Treat. In Books of Blood, that is somewhat the case, but it’s also the location itself in which the stories mostly take place. It opens with a man in a library or bookstore, cataloging his books when he’s assaulted by a guy who has come to collect money he’s owed. The librarian tells him of a book worth a lot of money (the book of blood) and where it is before he is promptly killed by the debt collector who storms out into his friend’s car and they ride off into the opening credits. From there, the movie begins its anthology.

The first story focuses on a young woman named Jenna (Britt Robertson) who has experienced a traumatic event involving an ex-boyfriend and has only recently come home to stay at her mother’s after being released from a mental hospital. She’s struggling to deal with her mother’s personality and with her condition in which noises greatly affect her ability to focus or remain calm. She eventually gets on a bus to travel to Los Angeles, but after seeing someone who she believes is following her, she gets off at a random town and finds a bed & breakfast to stay at. Then, horrific things start happening and she’s not sure if they’re real or just visions. In addition, the man who followed her on the bus seems to still be on her trail.

The second story is about Mary (Anna Friel), a college professor who recently lost her son to cancer. Mary is a skeptic of the supernatural and makes an effort to expose those claiming to speak with the dead as frauds. One speaker named Simon (Rafi Gavron) comes to her personally and invites her to test him. Is he really able to communicate with the dead or is he another fraud?

The last of the three stories continues with the murderer from the beginning of the film. Bennett (Andy McQueen) and his partner Steve (Yul Vazquez) head into the same town where Jenna’s and Mary’s story took place and get stranded in a section that seems to be haunted. Spooky stuff happens. There’s not much else to this one.

When I sat and thought about Books of Blood, it was clear that Jenna’s story was the real focus of the film and the other two stories were more filler to try to make it an anthology movie and tie things together. I actually liked the second story the most, even though it’s not the main tale and doesn’t really involve much horror in comparison to the other two stories. I liked the ideas it was playing with and how it concluded. Bennett’s story, however, felt like just a loose end that needed to be wrapped up quickly. As for Jenna, well, we’ll get to Jenna.

It’s not easy to make a good anthology horror film. The reduced amount of time you have to develop your characters and horrific scenarios can often lead to stories that feel a little underbaked or an episode of Goosebumps or Are You Afraid of the Dark—I was going to say Twilight Zone, but that show was too well written to be a comparison. Books of Blood isn’t bad, but it never really hooked me either. It felt like there was almost something interesting just on the cusp of being realized. I think the story of a skeptic exposing frauds and eventually finding one that was convincing could have been expanded into a deeper story with more horror and character growth to the point of being its own movie. That as the primary story could have been interesting, whereas the story about Jenna and the B&B ultimately fell flat for me.

Let’s talk about Jenna and her story. Jenna is an insufferable, whiny, depressed bitch who is not satisfied unless she’s making everyone else experience her bullsh**. In other words, I do not like her and I have trouble experiencing much sympathy for her. You might expect her story to be something that potentially tries to improve Jenna’s view on life with some perilous moments that bring her close to death. You’d be wrong, however, as the movie doubles down by the end and ultimately reinforces her views with the philosophy of the people who are committing the horrific crimes in her story. I know it’s vague—I’m trying not to spoil anything—but just know that when Jenna’s story finally ended, I was scratching my head wondering what I was supposed to feel and why Jenna made the decision she did. It didn’t make sense to me and it made me dislike Jenna even more than I already did because, at some point, the traumatic event that had sent her into a mental institution is revealed and it makes her look even worse as a character. Before her story was over, I wanted Jenna to die. You could say that Books of Blood did something right to make me invested enough to hate a character, but I really wonder if hate and confusion are the emotions the filmmakers wanted their audience to feel.

Gripes with Jenna and her story aside, Books of Blood still manages to have some creepy and visually impactful moments. Makeup and gory effects look good and convincing in a way that certain shots stay with you after the film ends. Had the third story been more than just a brief detour and had the middle story been allowed to go a little bit further, the movie could have been able to make up for my issues with the first chapter.

TL;DR

Books of Blood is a mediocre horror anthology film that explores some interesting ideas but doesn’t quite achieve its potential. With a third story that barely has anything meaningful in it, the film's main focus sticks us with a truly unlikable protagonist for most of the time. There are a few creepy moments that are cool and memorable, but the movie never reaches the level of quality that better horror anthologies were able to achieve.

Dagon Dogs Posts