It’s a small but fascinating scene in Sinners when a group of Choctaw men try to kill the master vampire. They hunt down Remmick (Jack O’Connell) before he takes shelter in the home of a racist white couple, whose bigotry dooms them. Once the Choctaw men realize the sun is nearly down, they hurry back home where they will be safe. Despite this being the first and last time they are seen, director Ryan Coogler gives them respect and power in how close they get to killing the vampire. If viewers wish to see Indigenous characters with bigger screen time in a horror film, look to 2019’s Blood Quantum. Like Sinners, it updates an old-school monster to tackle a history of oppression.
‘Blood Quantum’ Puts a New Twist on a Zombie Outbreak
After so many movies about zombies, a reinvention is never a bad thing. The upcoming 28 Years Later looks to be a return to the fast and vicious type. The Last of Us infects victims with body horror from a fungus. As for Blood Quantum, the zombies may not look or behave differently from other depictions, but a new twist is added to the subgenre by who is deemed immune. Set in 1981, Canada suddenly becomes overrun by zombies, and the last known place of safety is the Mi’kmaq Red Crow Reservation. The Indigenous residents are safe from infection thanks to their genetics.
The reason for their immunity is never definitively answered, and while it saves them from the outbreak, it may not have a positive root. One character posits that they can’t be infected because, rather bleakly, the world has forgotten about them. Directed by the late Jeff Barnaby, Blood Quantum isn’t too concentrated on learning why the Indigenous characters are spared, nor does it make finding a cure into a plot point. It wants to see the consequences that it brings to the reservation. That’s because zombies are not the only problem when white people come looking for safety and cause more trouble. In charge of the community is Sheriff Traylor (Michael Greyeyes), who struggles with his relationships with his sons, Lysol (Kiowa Gordon) and Joseph (Forrest Goodluck).
The self-destructive Lysol pulls his brother Joseph into his orbit, piling on the family drama before zombies aggravate the fractured home life. Along with Traylor’s father, Gisigu (Stonehorse Lone Goeman), these men of the reservation attempt to keep the infected away, but if they aren’t battling with outsiders, they are fighting among themselves. Blood Quantum makes for a good companion piece to Sinners, and out of what it has in common, it does one thing better than the 2025 hit.
The Supernatural Threat of ‘Sinners’ Is Not as Strong as ‘Blood Quantum’
With so much that director-writer Ryan Coogler does right, Sinners leaves horror fans wanting more from the supernatural horror. The Irish background for master vampire Remmick is a unique depiction of the classic horror monster, but they don’t become as much of a threat as they should be, as they stalk Club Juke and claim anyone who steps outside. It’s a shame that the movie rushes through the neck-biting attacks and the sunrise showdown. Vampires enter the plot of Sinners, but they don’t become the main focus. Blood Quantum, on the other hand, more than delivers with its zombie outbreak, and it is the driving force behind the mayhem that Traylor and his family get sucked into.
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Talk about a blast from the past.
The gore is horrific and spectacular in equal measure. A chainsaw takes care of those flesh-eaters with an enormous blood spray in the first act; Sheriff Traylor’s father, Gisigu, chooses a katana as his weapon of choice. The Indigenous residents might be immune, and they look badass when killing zombies, but that doesn’t mean they are all safe from harm. They can still be eaten alive, and there are many unexpected deaths. Surviving the beginning of the apocalypse is the first step. Now they have to stay alive, without it getting any easier. Although viewers certainly get more zombie action than they do with vampires, there is more to the horror of Blood Quantum than monster attacks, much like Sinners.
Zombies Represent the Ugly History of North America in ‘Blood Quantum’
Racism is scarier than supernatural horror. It’s why the KKK bookend Sinners, a hate group of humans who don’t need to hide from the sunlight like Remmick. With the historical context also comes the importance of finding support within a community, like Club Juke in Sinners, before the bloodshed. Blood Quantum has plenty on its mind, too, with its title coming from a controversial, real-world term. “Blood quantum” has been adapted in Native nations to determine citizenship, but it was first created by white settlers to calculate how much “blood” a Native American has. It’s this history of colonialism and racism that receives one hell of a dose of karmic justice when only the Indigenous residents of Red Crow are safe from the zombie outbreak. The white characters that show up are desperate to enter their reservation and are at the mercy of the Indigenous community, flipping the status quo.
Sheriff Traylor and his community struggle with being protectors to white refugees and the consequences when some who enter lie about being infected. His son, Joseph, adds another complicated issue with his white girlfriend, who is pregnant, but it won’t be until she gives birth that they will know if the baby has immunity. After watching the vampires lurking around the bigger story of blues music and racial injustice in Sinners, check out Blood Quantum, which finds a new way to explore a zombie outbreak. There are terrific, grisly special effects that should satisfy horror fans while making connections to other sins of North America’s past.
- Release Date
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September 5, 2019
- Runtime
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98 minutes
- Director
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Jeff Barnaby
- Writers
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Jeff Barnaby
- Producers
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Noah Segal, Nate Bolotin, Todd Brown, Adrian Love, Robert Vroom, Gabe Scarpelli, John Christou, Ryan Shoup
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Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers
Joss
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