Greg’s Top 5 Uses of Blood in Film

Today it’s my turn to list my favorite uses of blood in film. I don’t have a preference for the amount of blood used as long as the effect is adding to or progressing the story/character in some way. For me, good blood effects add to the narrative as opposed to being their own spectacle

Kill Bill Vol. 1 – Crazy 88 Fight

I enjoyed the spectacle of the fight and the over the top nature of the blood effects. The campiness of the blood fit with the overall style of the film. For me, the bright red and the sheer volume of blood symbolized the struggle and cost of Kiddo’s revenge. And if I’m overthinking all that, it added some lightness to what would have been a very morbid and brutal scene with more realism.

Rocky II – Final Round

You don’t normally think “blood” when you think of Rocky but if you look at his face at the end of the fight it’s pretty much all you see. Both fighters are very busted up, but Rocky looks like pre-cooked focaccia. This stuck with me because in both Rocky I and II he took beatings and they showed the cost of his success. These costs would play inconsistently in later movies but in the first two they were front and center. As much as everyone wanted to be (and still wants to be) Rocky, the subtle message told through the blood was “how far are you willing to go for what you want?”

Blade – Opening Fight

This was literally a Blood Bath! Besides Wesley kicking ass, I like how the blood clearly established that we were dealing with evil creatures and “marked” them in a way. It’s a bit creepy when you think about the guy who thought he was having a great night only to find out he stumbled into the wrong party.

The vampires celebrating being covered in blood set them far apart from the spotless Blade resisting those cravings. The blood is also darker with a slightly brownish tinge making it more realistic for blood exposed to air. The vampires turning to ash is another interesting way to show their type of gore when exposed to silver weapons that was another way to contrast from humanity/goodness. For me the blood quickly set up the bad guys and how bad they were vs. the good guy.

Side note: Actor Kenny Johnson, who plays the one poor non-vampire sap who gets wrangled into this death party shows up years later in the TV series Sons of Anarchy. I like to think that maybe his SoA role is an extension of this same character… that this experience here is what made him move across the country to start a new life in a place with plenty of sunshine. Less trusting and more comfortable around carnage, he knows he can’t go it alone, however, so he joins up with a motorcycle gang in the small town of Charming. To him, the reaper he wears on his gang patch is ironic and appropriate considering what he left behind.

American Psycho

What disturbs me about American Psycho is how regular Patrick Bateman was with this insanity and violence burning secretly inside. To me that’s more terrifying than any monster or off-the-rails character. The blood splatter from the axe strike hits his face almost perfectly on only one side, driving home through the blood the story of a man wearing two faces. I’m not going to pretend the whole movie made sense to me but I definitely get a little antsy when I’m downtown in Chicago around lunchtime and surrounded by suits/business cards.

Die Hard – Bloody Feet

This hilarious clip highlights how each action had consequences later on in the movie. McClane took his shoes off because some rando on the plane had a carpet fetish to calm his anxiety.

I don’t trust anyone on an airplane with that much energy and who’s willing to share unsolicited advice about toe-groping carpets. The blood tells a parallel story of how much John is a regular cop in a bad spot and how much punishment he’s going to take to get out of the situation. The blood is a running tally of just how bad of a day McClane is having.

It all pays off with:

McClane is dragging his left leg as hit ambles in for the final confrontation, foot still bleeding, body covered in dirt, old blood, new blood, sweat, ash, etc. His A-shirt was bright white in the beginning of the movie and now almost matches his skin tone with its dirt and filth. I just wonder how different things would be if he just had shoes…