Horror Movie Review: Blight (2022)

Mysterious and frightening, Blight comes from writer/director Jeff Van Gerwen and stars Ashley van Kirk, Joel Crumbley, Tripp Karrh, Kalee Griffin, Kristin Calhoun, Han-Sam Jung, and Erika Ramirez.

In it, a group of friends gather to throw a party for their friend, who has returned after having spent a year in a psychiatric hospital. This is Logan, and she is not the same person she was the year before, and her friends are all too keen to pretend like nothing has really happened. Part of that comes from the fact that they don’t really know what happened and another part comes from the fact that some of the relationships have moved on.

So, what did happen? The year before, the group had all gone camping the night of a solar eclipse. Hoping to have a good time, and willing to buy into the rumour that the eclipse was alien related. Something happened to Logan when the eclipse occurred, and across the film, we learn just what that was… sort of. The film’s structure isn’t always the easiest to follow because it jumps between time periods and styles (the camping part is found footage style for example).

Yet, it makes for a very compelling watch because it is so mysterious and a feeling of dread builds and builds. As things start to go wrong at the party, accusations are thrown around, and fractured relationships break apart even more, it becomes quite a suspenseful watch.

It turns out to be an inspired decision to have the three parts of the story (pre-eclipse, during the eclipse, and one year later) playing out at the same time as it’s a great tool to drip-feed more detail to the viewer. As things ramp up, so does the feeling that all the answers are right in front of you, but you just can’t see it yet.

A lot of the enjoyment comes from a strong cast, who throw all their energy into making the mystery feel substantial. They’re believable as a group of friends/couples who have known each other for years and believable as a group that are slowly drifting apart. A year is a long time, and people change, which is showcased well through the differing character behaviours. It’s not long enough to do too much with them, but it does enough to make the events matter.

Are you hoping for a clear-cut ending though? Alas, you’re out of luck as Blight wants you to think about it afterwards and come to some of your own conclusions. If the film wasn’t as compelling as it is, this would be a problem, but it keeps you hooked, right to the end.