WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Netflix’s Blood Red Sky, available now on Netflix.
While Netflix’s new film Blood Red Sky hasn’t received as much hype as the Fear Street Trilogy or some other big-name Netflix projects, the film has unexpectedly had an exceptional first few days on the streaming service. In fact, even though some of the reviews are middling, it’s vaulted its way to the number one spot on Netflix’s Top 10 ranking, which includes both movies and TV shows.
Blood Red Sky’s two main characters — a mother and her son — are traveling on a transatlantic flight to America when their flight is hijacked. This isn’t a simple “terrorists take over the plane” thriller movie, though, as it’s actually a horror film. And the real premise of the film is what happens when hijackers have to deal with “vampires on a plane.”
Despite really only appealing to the niche crowd of vampire-enthusiasts, Blood Red Sky has received some positive ratings. Rotten Tomatoes‘ Tomatometer score locks it in at a surprisingly high 72 percent, while its audience score is a bit lower than that at 43 percent. Metacritic also has a score of 43 percent, while its user score has mostly positive ratings at 6.1 out of 10 possible points. However, what exactly prompted the positive reviews is not immediately obvious.
Overall, Blood Red Sky is a pretty simple movie — trap a group of people in a confined space, introduce a monster and see what happens. At that point, the hijacking is almost a second thought because, by the end of the film, everyone — hijackers and passengers alike — shares the same, explosive fate. It’s not an original idea or the promise of a plot twist that is attracting viewers, and while the film’s cast gives a commendable performance, there aren’t any big-name actors to draw people in. Despite all that, however, people are still clamoring to watch it, and it’s well on its way to becoming a sleeper hit.
And to understand why the response to the film has been so strong, it’s important to look at viewers’ takeaways. From a cinematic standpoint, Blood Red Sky has some issues. Pacing is a problem because of unnecessary backstories, and as multiple Reddit users have pointed out, cutting those would’ve shorted the film and eliminated nagging plot holes. Lighting is also an issue at times. Sure, while working with the lights on an airliner, things are going to look bland, but it was almost too natural looking. And as far as the writing goes, the movie has a simple premise with a contrived and predictable ending, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. In truth, Blood Red Sky is a decent horror movie that will have you on the edge of your seat at times and rolling your eyes at others.
But the best part of the film is its ability to genre hop. While it’s touted as a horror film about vampires, it’s actually deeper than that. Arguably, the chemistry between Nadja (Peri Baumeister) and her son, Elias (Carl Anton Koch), is what drives the film forward. It’s her desire to protect her son at all costs and his willingness to help his mother at his own detriment that makes the film’s explosive ending all the more heartfelt.
So, while the cinematic aspect of Blood Red Sky is largely average, its ability to make its viewers think might be what’s prompting its success. At the heart of the film is a moral debate within Nadja about how far she’ll go to protect her son, even if it means the end of her own life. And on the flip side, Elias is left to make decisions that no kid should have let, lest an evil spread across the world that may never be stopped. Blood Red Sky may not be the best movie ever released on Netflix, but no one can accuse it of lacking heart.
To see why Blood Red Sky ended up on Netflix’s Top 10, the movie is streaming now on the platform.
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