Rare Blood

After years of striving, with no one prepared to back me directing my film projects (though many were willing to option my scripts) I was left with no option other than independently funding my first feature. The challenge was firstly to pen a script that was riveting, but set mainly in a single location. The second challenge was to make a film with a high production value, and to attach a talented cast and crew. The objectives set, my partner Gillian O’Donoghue and I set about writing the script, and collaborating with like-minded individuals to develop the project.

Rare Blood secured, as word of mouth grew, an A list South African cast, and a talented and dedicated crew. With the objective of producing a film with a high production value we secured eclectic and picturesque locations all within a tight geographical radius. And Gillian painstakingly chose the cast costumes and devised a colour palate that embellished genre and the story. We planned to shoot and edit in a manner that exuded a high budget, and we believe we achieved this.

We shot our feature in a torrid intense schedule, and are proud to introduce Rare Blood, an edge of your seat psychological thriller with powerful believable performances and stunning visuals, exhibiting a production value that belies the meagre budget.

1. Synopsis: This unique South African film is set in the Dargle in KwaZulu Natal. Keira (Annie Robinson) arrives home to find her sister in law, Olga (Fiona Ramsay) running the farm in her absence. Unbeknown to Keira, her husband, Panos (Brendan Grealy) has hacked into her facebook account and has found evidence of her having a conversation with an 'Irishman'. Panos is about to blow as his sister tries to calm him by manipulating him into changing his will. The situation is further complicated when Gunther, (Mark Mulder) Panos' long time business colleague, who lives in a cottage 'rent free' on the farm begins to get involved. A once longed for dream of a life in the country turns into a dystopian family nightmare. Rare Blood takes you into the belly of what a dysfunctional family really means as the young teenager, Emma (Ella Grealy) gets caught in the crossfire. This complex psychological thriller will take you into a world that is at once both twisted and tragic.

2. The Script: Inspired by true events, the adaption was handled in a manner to capture the harrowing experience of the mother and child, and retain the emotional core, while embellishing the material incorporating sub plots and a twist to enhance the viewer's experience.

Psychological thrillers give the audience a peek into a spine chilling world they otherwise may not have entered. Panos is on the verge of a breakdown. He is paranoid and his sister, Olga, is manipulating him to get what she wants. Keira arrives home after a trip abroad to a very tense situation. Rare Blood is a mind-bending film and will have you confronting your own sense of morality and asking hard questions. The plot is unpredictable with twists and turns!

Often violence and hatred are a way of life passed from one generation to the next. You say it’s in their blood when people are bad, like it’s an excuse. Sometimes you can get away with just about anything..... Rare Blood takes you into the minds of a deeply disturbed family with terrifying consequences.

3. Colour palette and Costume design: In Rare Blood colour is used to psychologically communicate, convey subtle nuances and symbolism into the story. The characters in Rare Blood wear clothes with colours that drive the story forward and that harmonise with the backgrounds. Panos is introduced to the audience wearing his dusty blue denim shirt. The reason we chose blue denim is to allude to his part wild, anti-establishment and mercurial character. Olga enters in her blazing red sweater and silky leopard scarf and we immediately sense trouble brewing in this intelligent and complex story.

4. Production Design & the Location: The remote farm house is anything but cosy. Cold, concrete floors with a Persian rug here and there, buck heads with sharp horns, inverted pitch forks for wall lamps, spiky ‘Mother in law tongue’ pot plants, Doric type Greek columns which support the loft above, the exaggerated horse painting and the pink and blue sofas combine together to hint at what’s to come in the movie Rare Blood. Everything is placed strategically and illustrates the many layers in this twisted psychological thriller.

5. Shooting style. We were, owing to financial restraints, compelled to shoot from the hip, albeit we had every shot planned with the view of firstly securing adequate coverage of each scene, whilst also employing the camera to illustrate the mood of the scene/character, but without drawing attention to the camera, and without resorting to "tricks" that would draw attention away from the dramatic tension. The lighting needed to be effective in creating the mood, yet efficient and quick as our time was precious. We were fortunate to have experienced cinematographer Devin Carter who was both creative and artistic, yet incredibly efficient. The efficiency regarding lighting a scene was achieved by Barry Downard's ingenious lighting design, where he designed "pools of lighting" both exterior and interior that was efficient, yet moody.

6. Sound and score. We needed to, on a limited budget, layer the sound economically, yet in a manner that exuded budget. This was tediously complied by Neil Campbell and Marciano Monjane Rebello (also sound recordist), after doing a full days work. The texturing of the sound design was woven with a view to subliminally affecting the viewers viewing experience. The score needed to be interwoven with the selected original songs, and be powerful enough to exhibit the conflict, yet not appear to be pretentious or imposing. The composer Anthony Downing painstakingly wove a specific motif into each character thus embellishing the story and individual arcs of the characters.

7. Social message. The film’s thematic undertones explore the issues of gender-based violence by portraying violence as a symptom of the characters’ inherent dysfunction and disorder. The film highlights the relationship between dysfunction and abuse, suggesting gender-based violence can be read as a symptom of a greater, overarching societal condition, or dysfunction.

Many of society's problems stem from dysfunctional family units and Rare Blood addresses these social issues by weaving the plot around a conniving, narcissistic family. With the breakdown of the nuclear family in contemporary society, and blurring of absolutes, the impact of social media narcissism is on the increase. Rare Blood strives to illustrate how destructive narcissism is to the family unit.