By most high budget standards, the indie Blood on her Name would be a nice complement were it in that category, because the story, performances and production value here out shines some of the big budget biggies. Gripping and exciting, it’s one of those special movies that works with an upcoming star, a talented director and a gifted writer. The no nonsense thriller gets to the bottom of the story right away, before compelling the audience with a lot of toppings that complete the cake. As for the storyline here, sometimes bringing a very good A game to a production makes it easy to put the puzzle together without having all the edges in line first.
Leigh Tiller (Bethany Anne Lind) has a big problem, a dead man lying on her auto shop bay floor. The young divorcee has so many problems raising her teenage son Ryan, keeping up with the expenses of running a business, getting her fix from the local dealer and dealing with other everyday problems. But, things are about to get worse, because yes, what to do with the body on her business’s floor. The next day her mechanic Rey (Jimmy Gonzales) is a bit suspicious about the cuts on her face and arms, but knowing Leigh is a tough cookie, he accepts her reason why.
So, back to getting rid of the body. Things are just not going her way missing her necklace since the incident and she has a bad feeling about where it may be. Director and co-writer Matthew Pope expands Leigh’s web of mistakes and wrong decisions as she tries to evade the inevitable, He adds Leigh’s father, Richard Tiller (Will Patton), the Sheriff, to the mix and her (Jared Ivers) troublesome son Ryan as well. As the web gets wider and complicated, her life continues to spin hopelessly out of control.
Pope lets his camera do the work of showing the pain, despair and the circumstances in each of the scenes, then makes it do double duty by adding a few twists for good measure. He is one of the better directors whose work is extremely good keeping camera, lighting, sets, sound and characters looking like millions on a small budget. And it’s his first full feature film. Congratulations Matt and I look forward to seeing more of your work in the future.
The performances in Blood on Her Name are terrific and spot on. But the standout is Bethany Anne Lind as the trusting young woman who makes the film work. As the strong willed Leigh, she shows how an incident can turn into a nightmare with a couple of wrong decisions and some very unwise expectations. She can really take a beating, having to face off against some wicked people and her punches, defensive moves and getting beat down looks very real.
Blood on Her Name has not been rated by the MPAA, but contains violence, gore, brutality, sex suggestions and language.
FINAL ANALYSIS: If you like thrillers this one explodes on the screen. (4 out of 5 Stars)
Additional Film Information:
Cast: Bethany Anne Lind, Will Patton, Elisabeth Röhm, Jared Ivers, Jimmy Gonzales, Jack Andrews, Chandler Head
Directed and co-written by: Matthew Pope
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
MPAA Rating: Not Rated, violence, language, drug use,
Running Time: 1 hr. 25 min.
Opening Date: February 28, 2020
Distributed by: Vertical Films
Released in: Theaters, VOD