Trama

A gripping psychological thriller where a paranoid husband, Panos and his cunning sister plot against his unsuspecting wife. A dream of a life in the country turns into a dystopian nightmare.

This fast paced, dramatic thriller is set on a remote farm in the KZN Midlands. A family that once dreamed of an idyllic country existence find themselves submerged in a dystopian nightmare. KEIRA (Annie Robinson) and EMMA (Ella Grealy) return from a trip abroad to their home in the Midlands to a world turned upside down by her husband PANOS (Brendan Grealy), and Emma's father. GUNTHER (Mark Mulder) is a friend of Panos and Keira and is helping set up a business deal while staying rent-free in a cottage on the farm. OLGA (Fiona Ramsay) is Panos's sister and together the two hatch a plan to drive Keira from the farm. The film portrays that struggle, an urgent, heart wrenching one night of hell where they have to act and think fast to survive. Keira is surrounded by a slow rot of hidden agendas and it seems that there is no where to turn.—Gillian O'Donoghue

A demure wife returns home from a trip abroad all fired up to take her failing marriage in hand. A little too late, as her crazed husband has been hacking into her online accounts and together with his cunning sister, they've hatched a plan to make sure she leaves the farm with nothing.

A South African film set in a remote area of the Dargle in KwaZulu Natal. Keira (Annie Robinson) arrives home with her daughter, Emma (Ella Grealy) from an overseas trip to find her sister-in-law, Olga (Fiona Ramsay), running the farm in her absence. Unbeknown to Keira, her crazy, drugged up husband, Panos (Brendan Grealy), and Olga have hatched a plan to get rid of her. Panos has hacked into her online accounts and finds evidence of her having a conversation with a mysterious 'Irishman'.

The isolated Keira has a friendship with Gunther, (Mark Mulder) who is helping Panos with his IT business in exchange for a rent-free cottage on their farm. Keira confides in Gunther and he warns her about Panos' intentions to cut her off financially.

Keira has no time to act as she prepares for a business dinner that has been arranged at the house by Olga. The dinner is tense and particularly embarrassing for Keira as her husband demeans her in front of the guests. Panos appears to be having a manic episode and Keira, trying to please, manages to secure the business deal. Olga has made arrangements to stay with her friend, a two hour's drive away, so she can fly to Johannesburg the next day. She asks Gunther to drive her to Connie's house in Ballito to which he reluctantly agrees, concerned to leave Keira alone with the unstable Panos.

As soon as everyone has gone, Panos sets his plan into action. He asks Keira to back up all the work she has done for him and then demands a divorce. Keira is caught off guard and tries to reason with him. Panos, by this stage, is as high as a kite and with no regard for his daughter, he takes out his gun and launches a terrifying tirade on Keira and Emma. Keira calls her ailing father, Patrick (Graham Clarke) who tries to locate Gunther.

All hell breaks loose and Keira's only hope is the arrival of Gunther. The film descends into a dystopian nightmare with twists and turns, layers within layers as Keira tries to protect her daughter from a dangerous situation.

Rare Blood has an interesting and different exploration of Gender-based violence (GBV) and abusive relationships, instead of focusing solely on the issue of abuse itself, abuse can be seen as a symptom of the greater, overarching problem/ disorder (narcissism) which is highlighted as the root cause of abuse and the exertion of control over the character Keira. If read in this light, and placed in the broader context of South Africa, and a global context, Rare Blood could be viewed as a comment on societal GBV, suggesting GBV and/abuse can also be read as a symptom of an inherent, underlying societal condition(i.e. Patriarchy for example). By: Gillian O'Donoghue