Blood of the Beast

Plot

Billions of people are killed in World War III, and most of the surviving males are rendered sterile. As a result, humanity resorts to cloning as its primary form of reproduction. All goes well until the first generation of clones turn nineteen and degenerate into bestial killers. The military attempts to contain the threat, but they are unsuccessful. Three groups of survivors who have fled into rural Florida are besieged by the killer clones. Ultimately, Jesse is the last to survive, and the film ends as he is surrounded.

Cast

Production

Blood of the Beast was shot in Gainesville, Florida. Director Koszulinski was inspired by the French documentaries Blood of the Beasts and Night and Fog, and he used footage from Hiroshima mon amour. Other influences include Nineteen Eighty-Four, Brave New World, Nosferatu, Night of the Living Dead, and I Am Legend. Koszulinski cast himself as the lead when he could not find anyone else willing to commit.

Release

Koszulinski submitted Blood of the Beast to festivals that he knew would not discriminate against its experimental structure. The theatrical premiere was on September 15, 2003, in Gainesville, Florida.

Reception

Eric Campos of Film Threat rated it 3/5 stars and called it a memorable and smart film that is reminiscent of 28 Days Later but with a fraction of the budget. Kyle Mitchell of The Gainesville Sun wrote, "The classic moral and functional questions of cloning dance quietly beside horror and gore for a truly mind-twisting mix." HorrorNews.Net wrote that the film is too confusing and experimental to enjoy. In The Encyclopedia of Zombie Films, Volume 2, academic Peter Dendle wrote that the film "pretends to be a meditation on technology-gone-awry in a dystopic future but winds up being more of a meditation on pretentiousness."

Awards

Koszulinski won Best Horror Director at the Rhode Island International Horror Film Festival and Best Emerging Talent at the Dahlonega International Film Festival.