You would think after seeing the trailer of Blood Red Sky, you would know what you’re in for. Well, the good news is, this vampire movie has more in store than its giveaway twist.

Synopsis: Nadia (Peri Baumeister) is dealing with a mysterious illness and takes a flight to New York with her son to seek treatment. Unfortunately, their plane gets hijacked and she must unleash her dangerous secret to save her son Eli (Karl Anton Koch) and all those on board.

Blood Red Sky is one of the coolest vampire films I’ve seen in a while. It is a cross between the classic and modern trope of bloodthirsty monsters that gives viewers a finer appreciation of the myth.

The story is interesting because of its layers. One is told at present time after a hijacked plane successfully lands on the runway. It also tells the timeline of the hijacking through a flashback. As the flashback is taking place, another flashback occurs to tell the story of how Nadia became infected with vampire blood. What I liked about this method of storytelling was that despite the details that were being revealed, what happens in the end is still a mystery. What will the military find when they enter the plane? What happened in the melee? That was the question that remained until the final moments of the movie.

I liked that there was a very real sense of suspense about the whole thing, mainly because Nadia was outnumbered by armed killers from the beginning. Also, while she was quite powerful, she wore her weakness readily and the main villain was ready to exploit it at the first opportunity. She was a vampire but she was a reluctant killer unlike the hijackers who were willing to shed blood without any cause.

The film showcased real monsters in the movie, and not just the mythical kind. The evil that lies in the heart of man and malice and greed for power was evident in the actions of Eightball (Alexander Scheer). He was the scariest character from the get go.

The undulated love between Nadia and her son was the heart of the story and it was heartbreaking to see Elias try to hard to save his mom and find and cure for her. Her anguish at having to make hard choices to save her son and the passengers also made Nadia more human than any character on board.

I liked Elias’ dynamic with Farid (Kais Setti), who was basically the only sensible guy on board.I’m glad he made it to the end, although I’m not gonna expound on his fate.

Excellent acting from the cast and excellent story and direction from filmmaker Peter Thorwath, who co wrote the story with Stelan Holtz. It was an exciting film indeed, at par with Snakes on a Plane but with vampires on board. Again, I say, very very cool.

All in all, Blood Red Sky was an interesting addition to the vampire genre. I hope this will inspire the same level of suspense for future offerings. You can always have more tricks up your sleeve even if you are working with an time-worn trope like vampires.