Blood Vessel (2023) Review: Emotional Moments Make Up For Hilarious Special Effects

Directed by Moses Inwang and written by Musa Jeffery David, this drama-thriller stars Dibor Adaobi, David Ezekiel, Levi Chikere, Obinna Okenwa, Slyvester Ekanem and others. The movie has a runtime of 120 minutes and follows six strangers who embark on a dangerous journey trying to run away from the deplorable conditions of their hometown, only to run into another dangerous situation.

– The Review Does Not Contain Spoilers –

The socio-political background of this drama-thriller and the camaraderie that comes out of six people stuck in a horrible situation is enough to make this 2-hour-long movie nail-biting. The small quarters of the ship where these six people find themselves trapped are the perfect place for a thriller like this to take place – it’s tense because it feels suffocating to be hiding in such close quarters – you just know that things aren’t going to work out for them if they are caught.

Of course, the movie wouldn’t exist if a safe passage was easily found, so then we find ourselves trying not to die on the boat.

There’s genuine shock and thrill when the movie starts off. But at 120 minutes, the movie is just too long and too cliched for you to be actually shocked by anything. The stuck-in-a-boat thing is actually quite traumatising, considering the circumstances, but it goes on for too long for its own benefit. Plus, when you watch the cat and mouse chase, you want to the fights and other action sequences to be well done and authentic. That’s not the case with Blood Vessel, where the CGI is just so atrocious that it totally takes you out of the thrill and makes you laugh.

Towards the end of the runtime, there are many moments wherein people are shot. Both the gunfire and the moment when the gun hits and passes through people are just outright bad. Leave realistic to the curb, it’s not believable by any means. Even the hand-to-hand combat sequences aren’t that great and lack energy and conviction. The choreography should’ve been tighter for the fights to sell, but unfortunately, the movie really misses out on that thrill and excitement of watching these tense and shocking moments.

However, what the movie misses out on in terms of action or thrill, it sort of makes up for with emotion. Even though we don’t see all of these people for too long, you will find all the characters to be quite relatable. Thus, when they fall into hard times, you do wish for them to understand the real danger that they are in and take the problem seriously. There are moments of real emotion that will pain your heart sometimes, and the ending is quite emotional as well.

All the cast members do a fantastic job in this movie – there isn’t a moment anyone feels out of place. Although I found the boat owners to be a bit more gimmicky, their “nemesis” feels real and genuine and really makes you want to root for them.

Final Thoughts

This isn’t a new movie or anything out of the box, but it is quite an emotional watch that will leave you rooting for everyone stuck on a ship. There are genuine moments of intrigue and interest, and in spite of the long runtime, it feels like a nice watch.

Blood Vessel (2023) is streaming on Netflix.