Critic Reviews

Blood Relatives is a blast from start to finish. Noah Segan orchestrates a strong sense of atmosphere while still focusing on well-developed characters. His screenplay is whipsmart, while he demonstrates an excellent command of tone.

With this deconstruction firmly in place almost from the beginning, and through wonderful central performances by Victoria Moroles and Segan himself, Blood Relatives isn’t just a very good first feature, but a deeply endearing horror-comedy that’s one of the best genre films of 2022.

Blood Relatives delivers familial drama and genre hijinks.

Blood Relatives is a warts-and-all brand of vampire indie that gets by with a bit of help from tremendous actor chemistry.

Segan doesn’t force anything. He takes each situation and imagines what might realistically happen — and then what might happen next. He builds a world that feels real, and anchors it with a relationship so wholesome that its easy to see why a lonely vampire would upend his whole existence to preserve it.

Like the cobbled-together parts of an aging engine, or the seemingly incompatible members of a chosen family, Blood Relatives holds together with just enough passion and love that its sturdy engine takes audiences for an enjoyable if not always memorable ride.

The energy flags in this lighthearted dark romp, but that happens in comedies that live and die on their snappy, shticky banter. Blood Relatives is still shticky enough — and sticky enough — to deliver laughs with bite.

Blood Relatives isn’t always a great comedy about vampires, or fathers and daughters, but it is a charming road movie.

With his reedy voice and fractionally mis-set eyes, Segan exploits his unsettling qualities in a deadpan performance that he lifts, as director, with pleasingly snappy, almost comic-book-like direction.