Matt Gordon Archives - Sean Kelly On Movies

A group of teenage girls embrace their dark nature in the aftermath of a death in a secluded mountain community in Spirit in the Blood. Emerson Grimm (Summer H. Howell) is an outcast teenager, who has just moved to the highly religious mountain community of Saint Belvedere, where her father Julian (Greg Bryk) grew up. While bullied by most of the other girls, Emerson ends up befriending Delilah Soleil (Sarah-Maxine Racicot). Emerson shares in confidence with Delilah that she saw a monster in the wilderness surrounding the community. However, when a missing girl is found dead, Delilah refuses to believe the statement by community leader Pastor Carl (Michael Wittenborn) that a mountain lion was responsible and she instead shares Emerson's story about the monster. This attracts the interest of fellow girls Abby (Sarah Abbott), Rachel (Lyla Elliott), and Baby (Ariadne Deibert) and together the five perform blood rituals to unleash their dark spirit to kill the monster. Spirit in the Blood Synopsis Spirit in the Blood is a coming-of-age thriller written and directed by Carly May Borgstrom, in her feature film debut. The film is led by a young teenage cast led by Summer H. Howell (Clouds, Curse of Chucky) as Emerson and newcomer Sarah-Maxine Racicot as Delilah, joined by an adult cast that includes Greg Bryrk (Parallel Minds, Bloodthirsty) as Emerson's father Julian and German actor Micahel Wittenborn (Toni Erdmann, All Quiet on the Western Front) as Pastor Carl. In the aftermath of a fellow girl named Rebecca being found dead, Emerson and Delilah try to release their dark spirits by performing rituals involving their blood that can be interpreted as Satanic Witchcraft. Emerson and Delilah are soon joined by Abby and Rachel, who also believe they have seen a monster in the wilderness. Along with fellow girl Baby, the girls form a coven of sorts and continue to perform rituals to unleash the dark spirit, which they believe resides in a nearby cave. However, Emerson's repeated sneaking around with Delilah upsets her parts, particularly Emerson's rigorous father. My Thoughts on Spirit in the Blood Spirit in the Blood contains elements that remind me of other recent teenage coming-of-age films, including The Young Arsonists and Riddle of Fire. At the core of the plot of the film is the burgeoning friendship between the protagonists Emerson and Delilah. However, the question arises whether Delilah is being a bad influence on Emerson and is buying too much into the latter's story that she saw a monster. There are some plot elements of Spirit in the Blood that I wish that director Carly May Borgstrom built upon further. This includes the suggestion that Emerson's father Julian is an abusive parent, as evidenced by an early scene of him kicking Emerson out of the car in the middle of nowhere and a later scene involving father-daughter play that suddenly turns rough after Julien grabs Emerson's wrists. I also wish that the film included more defined contrasts between the Wiccan-influenced rituals being performed by the girls and the almost cult-like Christian community of Saint Belvedere. While I do not want to spoil whether there's some truth to Emerson's story that she saw a monster, I have to warn that the final ten minutes of Spirit in the Blood elevate this coming-of-age story to a very intense horror film. If there's one thing I commend director Carly May Borgstrom for, she decides to conclude the film with a very intense and violent climax before concluding with a record drop of the punk rock song "Whole Wide World" by Wreckless Eric. It sums up Spirit in the Blood quite nicely.