[FrightFest 2025]: Blood Shine

Having had its international premiere at this year’s FrightFest, Blood Shine, directed and written by Emily Bennett and Justin Brooks, is a violent thriller centered on religious fanaticism, particularly the sort of obsession experienced and carried out by women. 

Brighton West (played by David Call) is an arrogant filmmaker who intends to squirrel himself away in the wooded wilderness in order to write his next film. When he is bewitched by the appearance of the beautiful and ethereal Clara (played by Emily Bennett), he falls into the trap of the hunter and becomes instant prey for Clara and her drive to carry out ritualistic torture in order to bring about the rebirth of a god. 

Eschewing gender standards on the typical hostage and violent kidnapper movie tropes, Blood Shine also twists the characteristic traits of both Clara and Brighton. As a victim Brighton is insufferable, unlikable, and due to an opening scene, audiences can’t help but almost feel entirely unsympathetic at the violence inflicted on him. Whereas Clara is portrayed as innocent yet alluring, with a touch of desperation, which causes viewers to almost feel sorry for her, as we soon come to realise that despite her fortitude in carrying out heinous torture techniques against a gross man, she is very much still in servitude to a cult led by a masculine figure in that of Larry Fassenden’s leader. 

The cinematography and lighting of the film lends itself to a view into the fractured psyche of Clara, which causes Blood Shine to join the ranks of religious psychological horror held by films such as Saint Maud (2019) and Godless: The Eastfield Exorcism (2023). As a commentary on religious fanaticism and faith induced psychosis, Blood Shine is a bold and visually rich piece, strengthened by the two central performances of Bennett and Call, who play the game of theological cat and mouse throughout with powerful substance. 

4 Screams out of 5