Blood on Her Name (2019) Poster

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6/10
Above average performances in an average film
valleyjohn23 June 2020
Blood on her name Is an interesting little movie about a garage owner who tries to cover up an accidental death and the more she tries to cover her tracks the more things spin out of control.

The film itself isn't particularly memorable but what does stand out is the performance of Bethany Anne Lind . She really portrays a woman suffering from severe stress very well .

It's not a long film (85 minutes) so it doesn't outstay it's welcome . It almost feels like a TV episode and that's not a criticism.

If I did have any criticism it's that the director liked the blood spreading on the floor affect a little too much but it didn't ruin what was a slightly above average thriller .
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6/10
Surprisingly decent, however massive spoilers!!!!
Mehki_Girl25 July 2020
Warning: Spoilers
If this movie was a case study for everything you shouldn't do when covering up a crime this is it.

1. She accidentally killed someone or at least that's what they make you think.

2.Instead of reporting an accident and that she was trying to defend herself, she decides to get rid of the body.

Stupid move number one

4. She tells everyone, including her son who apparently was there but behind the door so you didn't really see him to forget it. And she tells her worker not to report the crime.

Stupid move number 2

Necause everyone is going to remember she didn't want to report someone that she claimef was trying to rob her place of business. Why not?

3. She drives out to the lake and discovers that his phone is still on (GPA tracking) and for some reason that I don't recall or even if they gave one, she decides to take the body back to her place. (Not a good idea to throw a body in the lake as the body is going to bloat in a couple of days and it's going to float to the top. She's got the body wrapped in plastic tarp taped up. Which is going to be a great place for all the gases to build up and it's going to pop up like a balloon to the surface of the lake.)

Stupid move number 3.

4. She later drives over to where he lives. Where her dad who is a sheriff sees her. And a woman who has come out of her house and has also seen her idling her truck in front of their place.

Stupid move number 4.

5. She then drives back home. Opens up the trunk of the car where the body is. Opens up the plastic that she's wrapped around the body. To remove the phone.

6. Now she waits to take the body back to his house and leave it in the shed near his house.

Stupid move number 5.

7. She also takes the time to write a note saying that his body is in the shed.

Stupid move number 6.

8. Later, not too sure how much time has passed, she realizes she's lost her necklace.

9.She starts to look for it and she goes back to the bar that she was at the night before. She also makes a stop to a drug dealer. And decides to buy some pills, because the one thing you need to be while you're trying to hide a crime is getting high on drugs..not for nothing your son is on probation for the same offenses. And his dad is in jail for the same offenses.

not to mention when your necklace is found everyone in this small town is going to remember you were running around looking for a lost silver necklace.

Stupid move numbers 7,8, 9

10.She goes back to the shed with a flashlight in the night to see if she can find this necklace. Meanwhile, the man's sons decide to check the shed, possibly because they saw the light.

Stupid move number 10.

11. She doesn't turn off her flashlight, even though she's well aware that something has made them had to the shed. Nope, it's shining all through the shed and through the window. Did I mention that this was at night?

Stupid move number 11

12. High on pills, she falls asleep at her garage and leaves all the stuff that she left trying to find this necklace for her employee to find. He thinks this is another robbery attempt. So this point, he calls the cops. He also sees the pills on the table. Again she's trying to make excuses, don't call the cops but it's too late.

Stupid move number 12.

13. Dad shows up, he's the cop. She tries to play tough but soon she can't really keep up the front and dad knows she's done this and tried to hide it.

Despite all the stupid moves she makes in the movie and maybe that's the point of the movie, the actress actually plays her role quite well and it does keep your interest to see what's going to happen and what's really going on.

Because, while she gives an explanation to her dad that this man she accidentally killed is connected to her husband (he and her husband by used to run stolen cars through the garage and she feared that they would take the business away from her), you still kind of wonder what's going on here?

Especially since her face shows evidence of having been an altercation. Also, another reason why you would wonder, looking back why wouldn't she want to report this robbery that she claims was happening? And of course everyone has seen her bruised face.
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7/10
Tense and Confident Neo-Noir Thriller
TwistedContent28 February 2020
In its 85-minute runtime, this air-tight and confident directional debut, an exercise in Midwestern small town murder and revenge neo-noir, manages to do a whole lot, pleasantly surprisingly so. "Blood on Her Name" is primarily a character study, a study of guilt and remorse that shows how most of us could never cope with having committed a terrible and immoral crime. Compelling and tense story and its morale center teams with the equally compelling lead performance to highlight this top tier indie thriller.

In "Blood on Her Name" Leigh, a single mom with enough trouble on her shoulders, finds herself crumbling down in panic after having accidentally killed someone. Guilt takes over quickly and chaos ensues as she chooses to deliver the dead man's body to his family. It's a tightly made, consistently engaging movie, despite the plot being relatively small-scale and on simple terms. Via director's careful attention to the character's emotions and morales, dilemmas and the search for what's right, "Blood on Her Name" goes a level deeper and draws the viewer into experiencing the dark side of the human, a person in trouble, her actions and consequences. Morally complex rather than complex story-wise. "Blood on Her Name" is, by all standards, a bleak drama/thriller, filled with unrelenting tension and completely devoid of humor, which some might find that a little problematic. The movie is further supported by authentic performances, most notably the lead one, by Bethany Anne Lind. Will Patton offers up another good version of his seemingly frequent character of a bad-man-in-disguise & main cast is concluded with equally good work by Elisabeth Rohm, Jared Ivers and Jimmy Gonzales. Visually "Blood on Her Name" might not be a stand-out of any kind, but it is undeniably shot and edited competently and effectively, further atmospherically tweaked with a subtle original score and befittingly grey and dirty color grading.

In the niche of southern gothic / small town murder / down-and-dirty psychological thriller and such, "Blood on Her Name" is great addition. Coincidentally, another spiritually very similar movie tcame out the same day as "Blood on Her Name" - "Disappearance at Clifton Hill". It has really been a great day for indie thrillers. My rating: 7/10.
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7/10
Always Cover Your Tracks
pkdyer196528 February 2020
Nice low budget well acted indie flix. If you want to dispose of a body this is the way not to do it. Bethany Anne Lind plays Leigh Tiller a single mum trying to run a garage and cover her tracks. The ever young Will Patton plays her dad and local sheriff, the relationship between the two is strained especially when he finds out what she's done. Things spiral out of control to a ending thats from a spaghetti western. Good watch better than wasting your hard earned money on cinema rubbish.
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7/10
A family's history. A mother's love.
donaldricco25 October 2020
I really liked the beginning, and I LOVED the end! I thought that Bethany Anne Lind was very good, though I didn't always understand what her character was doing. A great deal of what she went through seemed needlessly complicated. But the start and finish to the story where well filmed, well written, and well acted. Honestly, the last scene almost made me trip out!
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3/10
Some things can't be undone.
nogodnomasters11 March 2020
Warning: Spoilers
Leigh Tiller (Bethany Anne Lind) works in her ex-husband's chop-shop (they just switch tags). Husband in jail. She is in debt and takes pills for pain. Son (Jared Ivers) is on parole. There is a killing in the garage which involves Leigh. She opts to cover it up rather than report it and she is not that good as a criminal. We get some background information, but I found her dilemma a problem she created and I didn't feel for her bad decisions. The film moves slowly until the climax which was not worth the wait. Decent acting for a trash script.

Guide: F-word. No sex or nudity.
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7/10
Not Bad For A Low Budget Crime Thriller
redrobin62-321-20731111 April 2020
"Blood On Her Name" is a good example of the incredible tensions that could be created to present a full feature film with decent pacing and actors when the budget is less than what you'd spend on a family of six at Walmart on a weekend shopping spree. When compared to, say, a 100 million Hollywood blockbuster, the entertainment value still persists. So, yes, this film is recommended and I'm not aligned with anyone who created it.
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4/10
Why do they make such films ?
shashrvacai12 May 2021
Good job by the cast and crew, but why even make a film about such a bland story? Those efforts could be put somewhere else.
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6/10
Do not leave traces of your sin !
saptesh7869 May 2020
Warning: Spoilers
Simple and good story having no subplot nor surprised twist. But director succeed to last tension till end. A mother is trying her best to escape her son form being suspect of killing a stranger at their shop. Brilliant acting by Bethany Anne Kind in the role of a stressful and caring mother. Her good acting and some suspense are only two thing will bind you in such simple story line downtown movie. However end is not logical. How a woman kills another woman who saves her from being shot? As me this is not justified thing and such end takes this movie to bottom of disappointment. Watchable at once.
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2/10
Bad decisions all around.
LordCommandar29 February 2020
Warning: Spoilers
A woman who made some bad decisions all around. A very fast moving meh thriller, about a mom who covers for her son accidentally killing a man, but the mother is dumb as hell in everything she does to cover for him. In the end I was glad what happened to her happened because overall she was an absolute idiot. Watchable only once for a Sat afternoon. ..very meh
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8/10
Surprised at the low IMDb rating, 97% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes is more accurate
Top_Dawg_Critic4 March 2020
Newb writer (along with Don M. Thompson) and director Matthew Pope makes his full length feature film debut with this low budget indie B-grade film - Blood on Her Name, and considering his inexperience, I feel he nailed it!

It's a small southern town neo-noir thriller written and directed very well - better than some big budget Hollywood blockbusters from seasoned filmmakers that I've recently seen.

Pope's screenplay was excellent coming from an inexperienced writer. It's slightly slow paced, but the 85 min runtime and the constant tension, suspense and twists, time flies by, especially with Bethany Anne Lind's convincing stellar performance. There were some plot and technical issues - I still don't know what happened with the mom/wife, but nevertheless, it was a well put together dramatic crime-thriller. The last 5-second ending was stellar - if you catch it.

Casting and performances all around were on point, with the exception of the son, Jared Ivers, who was very bland and stale. I get this is his third-ever acting role, but maybe with a seasoned director directing his character properly, he wouldn't have seemed out-of-it throughout this film.

Cinematography and score were also on point. I certainly recommend this little gem and will probably see it again. It's a well deserved and honest 8/10 from me. Click on my username to see more of my 1000+ ratings and 800+ reviews.
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6/10
Better than expected.
Go_For_The_Jugular25 July 2022
I saw this streaming for free on 'Freevee', so I gave it a shot.

I wasn't expecting much from a free movie, but this was really good.

An engaging little story, very well acted by a great cast. Is a little bit slow in places, but gives you enough on-screen to keep you interested. A few plot twists and things you don't expect, keep you guessing right until the very end.

All in all, a solid film.
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2/10
Ugly cry face
socalsongbird9 August 2020
I had to fast forward past several parts. About 30 minutes in, and I was already over it. I guess her reaction to things are reasonable. But there is no "down time". From the very beginning she is sitting there, breathing insanely heavily with a stupid look on her face. Mouth constantly open. For the whole movie. Acting on her part is one dimensional. Like they told her to just act with an ugly cry face the whole time. It wasn't a bad movie but definitely could have used a better main actress. Also, the kid who played her son has a very small head and it was distracting
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6/10
Better than I thought it would be
daveburns101 October 2021
Good support actors made this movie worth watching.
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7/10
Great acting, so-so characters
lighterthanair-8256923 September 2021
Basically well done thriller, and acting all around was excellent, particularly the protagonist and her son. But as is often the case, it's hard to root for a character that is so... flawed, to say the least. In fact, the only character that had "character" was Rey, the mechanic. No spoiler, but I thought the irony of the last few seconds was awesome, I actually broke out laughing it was so fitting.
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1/10
Sheer torture
billcr127 September 2021
Blood on her Name was 85 minutes of torture for me and I love crime dramas. Tarantino is my favorite director. This is not Pulp Fiction or Reservoir Dogs, two of his best. A white trash woman is shown at the opening covered in blood and holding a very large wrench. A man is lying on the floor of a garage and the killer woman moves the body around against all common sense. Her dad appears to be the only cop in the entire neighborhood and her son is on probation for fighting in school. Oh, and her husband is in jail. There is not one person to identify with for the audience, unless one has just been paroled after completing a sentence for burglary and crack addiction. The ending is ridiculous and this is a truly bad film.
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7/10
Hold On!
Guanche489 July 2023
I was doubting whether to see it or not, perhaps because of the low rating. Deserves more. Is short and entertaining.

The actors are all very good, except for the son of the main character, Leigh Tiller, who was not given any type of personality or dialogue, terrible because it takes away from the quality of the film in my opinion. The story is very exciting and sometimes terrifying, from the beginning it kept me on my toes. The ending seemed somewhat confusing and at the same time unexpected.

For me it is not okay to name this mother's love, but rather psychopathic love, which is not good for anyone. Or would it be better to say like father like daughter? Or as they say in the movie from father to son? Think it over.
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3/10
Slow and boring
teodoramonika11 July 2021
3/10.

Slow and boring.

See if you don't have anything smarter or kill time.
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5/10
Backwoods Flop
Draysan-Jennings21 March 2020
Another backwoods film that missed it's mark. Had all the ingredients to make a good movie, but some how failed. Good storyline and decent acting with no substance. Just kinda drags on and on and on. You wait for something to happen but never does until the end. Which sucked! Terrible ending. That was just sad. Don't bother with this one folks.
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9/10
Much Better Than The IMDB Ratings Give It Credit
afloridason14 August 2021
The very beginning may make you think you missed something, but it soon falls perfectly into place, and then it just grabs your attention, and you can't help but get invested into it. All of the characters make sense, there's no added storyline used as filler, and any plot holes is filled before the movie ends. I wanted to give it 10 stars, but I had a personal problem with the very end. It makes complete sense, and in many ways, the ending should earn it that 10th star, but I held back, only for personal reasons that I cannot say, without spoiling the whole movie. This is a must see noir, suspenseful thrill ride, that deserves much higher ratings than it has here.
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3/10
Boooooooooring
chuggdog5 April 2020
96% tomato rating. Wow, who paid them off? Made for tv dribble. So boring and drawn out for a 84 minute movie. Fast forwarded thru many boring parts. Lame acting, couple of known actors to help bump this movie. Couldn't save this predictable movie.
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1/10
PWT
takato052414 August 2021
Warning: Spoilers
Yay, another movie about some poor white trash people that brings nothing new or fresh to the table. You never care about any of the characters as they all created their own mess. Pointless things are thrown in like the teenage son having a parole officer. Every wrong decision that could be made by our main character is made. It wants to be a crime thriller, but there are no thrills, and the crime committed is never punished until the last few minutes through street justice. The only thing I liked was that she died at the end.
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1/10
Another worst film! Full of boring conversation, and annoying overuse scene! Avoid at all cost!
kwenchow1 March 2021
Warning: Spoilers
This film start with a woman "Leigh" staring at a dead man on the ground, and she closing the garage's door scene! As turnout, this film is about Leigh need to cover up her son "Ryan" for killing a husband of a woman "Dani"! Entire film full of boring conversation, and annoying overuse scene! Such as, overuse of the driving scene, overuse of the walking scene, overuse of the taking pill scene, overuse of the calling names scene, overuse of the searching scene, overuse of the drinking scene, overuse of the arguing scene, and overuse of the staring scene! Make the film unwatchable! Barely intense scene is, Dani stabbing Richard to kill him! At the end, Dani killing Leigh to revenge for her husband! Leigh open her eyes at the very end! That's it! Wasting time to watch!
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4/10
Rush of blood
Masquerading as one of those snappy crime thriller that's been done to death, this one has nothing new to offer. Plots thin as a sliver and you'll struggle to find a coherent tale thru the holes in the script. The tale had much promise but has been squandered by over plotting.
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9/10
This is what independent cinema is really about
mjfhhh25 March 2020
It's hard to be a single mother. Leigh id running a business when her husband is in jail and standing by her delinquent son who has blinded another boy in the eye. When a man breaks down into Leigh's garage it ends in his death. Inspite of everything Leigh is a good person. Would it be her undoing?

Modern indie films always plays safe. If you examine most of low budget genre films they are the repeat of what has been done before. Then you stumble on a gem like BLOOD ON HER NAME and realise what independent cinema is really about. Always challenging the viewer, always keeping a mystery card up its sleeve, the film confidently leads us towards the heartbreaking finale.

BLOOD ON HER NAME is all good news. The acting is superb. Particularly from Bill Patton, who makes the film. His energy carries it forward and his character has a few surprises in store.

The lead Bethany Anne Lind is believable as a woman who is not perfect but who has everything to lose. At the same time she is not ready to compromise on her values. Again she does a great job, as virtues are hard to sell.

This is the first film from Matthew Pope, and for a first picture it is almost perfect. The accents are right, the violence is not over the top, the drama is heartbreaking and there's even a message one can carry out as the credits roll. The characters are deep enough to care for (even villains) but not deep enough to be a bore. I highly recommend this little thriller. Without a doubt it deserves a widescreen release more than most of this month's big releases.
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