Wicked Blood

Too often Hollywood tries to make hay from the stupidity of youth. Usually this is a problem for believability, as teenagers aren't really as immature as Hollywood contends, or we'd all be swimming in a world of vandalism and graffiti. The other error Hollywood often makes, indeed, film makers worldwide often make, is to cast older actors for younger roles. Wicked Blood (Bad Blood on my dvd) makes both these mistakes. Don't get me wrong, this is still a high stakes and interesting movie. The lead looks fifteen. What the movie really needed was a girl whom looked 10. Then all the confusion, all the massive bad judgements, all the extreme disregard for consequences, all the fantasy about a new family, and all the quaint references to chess as a game of reality would have made perfect sense. This would have been a far more powerful movie if that had been the case. That's my gripe, and I hope others disagree, because everything else about Wicked Blood is highly professional and entertaining, with great characters, well cast and played. It has an engaging story, not an Oscar for originality, but at least an unusual perspective. The film techniques, soundtrack and wonderful performances make sure it never dips into anything cliche, mundane or boring. This is solid Southern drama with streaks of both violence and conscience, and well worth a look.