I still remember the day I became a Tomatometer-approved film critic. I'm not sure it was really years in the making, however, it was most certainly years after I first began writing film reviews and long after I'd decided my focus would be on the indie world. 

Truthfully, I just never really got around to applying. 

While becoming Tomatometer-approved has been a huge blessing that has opened up my writing to an entirely new audience, the truth is that it also creates a really major dilemma. 

Fresh or Rotten? 

I really struggle with the idea of calling a film "rotten." As someone who is fiercely devoted to low-budget indies, there's no denying that I occasionally I tend to review on wee bit of a compassionate, encouraging curve. I mean, seriously, I've reviewed films that were made for less than the toilet paper budget on a studio film. In these cases, a fair review involves also looking at "Have they done the best they could with what they had to work with?" 

You're not going to confuse writer/director Jason Vandygriff's Blood Dried Hands for a studio film. It's an ambitious film that aims high, occasionally gets there, and occasionally whiffs it a bit. It's the kind of film where wannabe cineastes love to sit behind their anonymous IMDB profiles and Letterboxd pages and act all snootier than thou although most of them have never had the balls to pick up anything more than a Polaroid One-Step. 

It's not a great film. Some wouldn't dare call it a good film. For some, "rotten" would be a foregone conclusion. 

However, as I was watching Blood Dried Hands I couldn't help but think to myself "This is not a rotten film." 

Blood Dried Hands is an indie crime/horror/thriller centered around a serial killer, Hayden (Chance Gibbs), with something resembling a conscience or, at the very least, something resembling an awareness that these deadly impulses aren't quite what he wants his life to be. As a small-town detective, Sgt. Edi Sharp (Micha Marie Stevens) closes in on his trail, he wrestles with what to do with a jogger (Anna Pena) whom he's currently holding hostage  in the small rural house he calls home. 

There's no denying that you'll see a lot of other films in Blood Dried Hands, Vandygriff's influences are practically painted on the screen and yet he adds his own engaging flourishing touches. Sgt. Sharp has a struggling home life and a work life that more closely resembles family. 

Stevens shines as Sgt. Sharp, portraying a woman who could be said to be much better at tracking down serial killer than handling the domestic scene. She practically wears her own traumas in her bones, yet that vulnerability never makes us stop believing in her effectiveness as a top cop. A scene where she visits a now imprisoned child killer in prison, Finley Rawls (Vandygriff himself), is a slow-burn scene that feels both extraneous yet essential to the film's tone. Despite my belief the scene could have easily been forsaken, Stevens handles it all beautifully and Vandygriff just plain creeps us the fuck out. 

In fact, the major reason I can't possibly consider calling Blood Dried Hands "rotten" is precisely because of its strong ensemble cast. Stevens fuels it all, however, there's really not a weak link here including an absolutely terrific Chance Gibbs bringing magnificently to life the multiple layers and nuances of a man who kills but feels something about it. Gibbs captures the dark charisma and avoids the lazy one-note performance that so often defines this kind of character. 

Lensing by Anthony Gutierrez is impressive throughout, particularly as he's tasked with capturing the little nuances of both serial killers in markedly different ways. Brandon Lau's original music also helps to amplify the film's unique rhythms and its narrative arcs that range from interpersonal drama to horror to thriller to crime procedural. 

Blood Dried Hands isn't the best film you're going to see, however, it's a competently made, engaging crime/horror/thriller with a terrific ensemble and some nicely constructed crime sequences that will leave you shook. It may not be completely fresh, however, Blood Dried Hands is far from rotten and it's worth a view for those seeking a solid effort from an up-and-coming indie filmmaker. 

Written by Richard Propes
The Independent Critic