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Family Blood Reviews

This isn't a vampire movie. It's an addiction movie. It doesn't sugarcoat things, it instead takes no prisoners and sends us reeling with the cold hard truth that addiction ruins lives and families.

Full Review | Jun 24, 2020

Vampire films are almost always chock-a-block with tropes, but this one doesn't have even a drop of originality.

Full Review | Original Score: D | Dec 7, 2018

A promising premise -- vampirism "manageable" through 12 steps -- winds up being a suspense-free thriller with a lot of pretty actors covered in fake blood.

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Grave Reviews

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Family Blood (2018)

April 24, 2020 Gravereviewer Leave a Comment

Family Blood (2018) Movie Review Written By: FR Edited By: Grave Reviews Staff

Film Information

Director: Sonny Mallhi Writers: Nick Savvides, Sonny Mallhi Producers: Adam Hendricks, John H. Lang, Greg Gilreath Date Released: May 4, 2018

Cast: Vinessa Shaw as Ellie James Ransone as Christopher Colin Ford as Kyle Ajiona Alexus as Meegan Carson Meyer as Kristen France Jean-Baptiste as Mrs. Jensen Eloise Lushina as Amy

Rating = 2/5 Graves

***May contain some spoilers***

Family Blood (2018) follows the story of  Ellie who moves to a new city with her two children.  Ellie has been struggling with drug addiction for years  and must try to remain sober for her children. However, when she met Christopher, he introduces her to a different kind of addiction and her struggle to recovery becomes heightened.

Gore Factor

Family Blood does not contain a lot of blood or gore. However, the film focuses on creating tension and jump scares with the viewers. Most of the scenes that would otherwise result in bloodshed is not shown. Towards the end of the film, there is a bit of blood. However, these special effects were not well-done.

The Grave Review

Family Blood (2018) is a straightforward story with a small flare of vampirism. Within the last decade, vampire films have been romanticized, taking away from the demonic theme that they present. Family Blood takes a similar approach and combines the horror element with a dramatic story. However, the drama overcomes the horror aspect in this film.

The progression of the story is fairly slow-paced. There are few points in this film that are significant. The story does not start to become substantive until the end of the film. As to performance, the characters displayed respectable portrayals. More specifically, Vinessa Shaw did a good job in portraying her character as Ellie given that her character was the focal point of the film. In addition, Colin Ford and Ajiona Alexus, who played Ellie’s children also performed with diligence.

The concept of Family Blood (2018), overall, was interesting and sound. The film creates a unique spin on the concept of becoming a vampire. This, in turn, affects her life as well as the people around her. The filmmakers may have intended to equate the “vampire transformation” to drug addition and the various stages of recovery. However, if this was in fact the intention, the way such concepts were executed were not relatable nor impactful. Nevertheless, Family Blood (2018) may be appealing to vampire lovers as it portrays a different perspective.

For the foregoing reasons, Grave Reviews gives Family Blood (2018) two graves out of five graves.

Do you agree with our review? Comment below.

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Family blood.

Directed by Sonny Mallhi

Ellie, a recovering drug addict, has just moved to a new city with her two teenage children. She has struggled to stay sober in the past and is determined to make it work this time, finding a stable job and regularly attending her meetings. Unfortunately, new friends, a new job, and the chance of a new life, can’t keep Ellie from slipping once again. Her life changes when she meets Christopher – a different kind of addict – which forces her daughter and son to accept a new version of Ellie.

Vinessa Shaw James Ransone Colin Ford Eloise Lushina Ajiona Alexus Carson Meyer France Jean-Baptiste Ciaran Brown Davis Aguila Denise Santos Bishop Stevens Louis Robert Thompson Kate Jo Hughes Erica Hector Wallace Tucker

Director Director

Sonny Mallhi

Producers Producers

Greg Gilreath Adam Hendricks John H. Lang Christine Melton

Writers Writers

Sonny Mallhi Nick Savvides

Casting Casting

John McAlary

Cinematography Cinematography

Larkin Donley

Executive Producers Exec. Producers

Floris Bauer Gavin Dorman Ryan Turek

Art Direction Art Direction

Chelsea Daly

Stunts Stunts

Kelli Victoria Scarangello

Composers Composers

Andrew Grush Taylor Stewart

Costume Design Costume Design

Elizabeth Crum

Blumhouse Productions Gunpowder & Sky Divide / Conquer

Releases by Date

• Theatrical limited

16 Mar 2018

04 may 2018, 10 may 2018, releases by country.

• Digital Netflix

92 mins   More at IMDb TMDb Report this page

Popular reviews

Review by Rosie ★½ 11

I was missing horror, found this Blumhouse horror-thriller on Netflix. Stars Vinessa Shaw as Ellie, a mom of two teenagers who is also a drug addict, struggles to stay sober. When she meets Christopher, she discovers a new type of addition. Acting was passable, I did like Shaw. It’s a slow movie but a very moody and atmospheric one. The story was vague until the latter half when things were revealed, it just goes downhill from there. Tons of generic jump scare from loud noises and cats out of nowhere. It was at least competently shot. But it had some nerve when you think it's going to end, it doesn't and they kept going. Just end. It’s an irritating watch because it had some potential. 

Blumhouse Films Ranked

Review by lauren ½ 5

what do you get when you cross a mentally ill vampire with a society that abandons him and treats him like trash, i'll tell you what you get, you get what you fucking deserve

Review by bailee🔪 ★★

I’m just a humble farmer thirst watching for PJ Ransone.

Review by irene ★★½

i read vampire james ransone, blacked out and came to an hour and a half later completely confused

Review by alexa ★★

@ vampire james ransone *slaps neck* COME GET Y'ALL JUICE

Review by Ken B ★★

Horroctober 2022

People are really just smashing the 1* or 4* button on this one aren't they!

I'm going to voice of reason this mofo. It's OK. Turns out Blumhouse is only human. I can kind of see why this might have appealed to them. However, there's downbeat then there's plain drab. Unfortunately this is the latter.

Review by ashley ★

i think it's nice that james ransone took the time to star in a student film

Review by nadine 🔪 ★½

when i said netflix should add more horror movies this isn’t what i meant 😔 takes a well-known folklore tale and revamps it a bit to serve less tropes (kind of) and an... allegory for addiction? i see the idea but eeehh that execution dragged it through the floor and to hell cause shit got so melodramatic and corny without wanting to be. James Ransone is by far the best part because he appears to be the only one who doesn’t overdramatize his character. 

what was intended to be a slowburn ended up just being slow with no burn (aside from my burning ache to maybe turn this off halfway through).

Review by Björn ★★★ 2

Veins. They're not only essential to keep your blood flowing through your body, to keep you alive, they're also the core to what keeps a vampire alive.

In Family blood, the characters are the veins and the story is the blood running through them. When veins are being cut open, without anything being done about it, the blood keeps on going and going, untill the veins are empty. Blood splatters around with no bounderies. No limits. All over the place. Yet, in the end, the veins are still empty, and the blood hasn't come to dry yet. The red color of blood will always remain, but in time it will ineviably lose it's brightness.

That's why Family blood isn't a…

Review by riley ★½

must a movie be good? is it not enough to watch james ransone be a needy vampire bitch?

Review by daniela ★★

somebody told him the truth several times and told him that he was fly, hot and sexy and beautiful and he's ALL of that. he's EVERYTHING of the sort...

Review by Cinéologist ★★ 3

The story could have been far more intriguing had it started at the point when the son discovers that his mother had become a vampire. This is the dramatic push of the final thirty minutes of “Family Blood,” a horror film so bloated with heavy-handed metaphor between drug addiction and vampirism, the work never gets the chance to take off. It appears that co-writers Nick Savvides and Sonny Mallhi (who also directs) are unable to decide whether the picture is a drama that just so happens to have horror elements or a full-on body horror movie. Due to this indecision, the screenplay suffers from a sort of malaise: curious one second, dead dull the next.

It even misses to underscore…

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[Review] ‘Family Blood’ Has Teeth, But Lacks a Strong Bite

Anyone who has dealt with the disease of addiction in their lives knows what an absolute nightmare it can be. Director Sonny Malhi ’s second feature film, Family Blood , seeks to take its audience on a journey through that nightmare.

The film follows Ellie ( Vinessa Shaw ), a divorced mother of two who has recently regained custody of her teenage children and moved to a “sketchy” neighborhood. Ellie happens to be a recovering pill addict who regularly attends Narcotics Anonymous meetings. One evening, a mysterious stranger, Christopher ( James Ransone ), an addict of a different sort, finds Ellie, high and barely conscious, in a park after a meeting and decides to assist her. After the interaction, Ellie begins to feel ill and notice changes in her appetite. Meanwhile, her children are fed up with both their mother’s apparent inability to remain sober and her new, twisted relationship with Christopher. Things come to a head when the children finally need to decide how to deal with their mother’s addiction once and for all.

Family Blood gets right to it and opens with a young girl frightfully searching her disheveled home for surviving family members while a mysterious person or entity hunts her down. The scene is suspenseful and sets up the viewer for an atmospheric thrill ride. Shockingly, Family Blood turns out to be a melodrama with gore. Sure, there is copious amounts of blood, but there is also the angsty teenage son, Kyle ( Colin Ford ), who acts out at school, broods in his room while listening to loud rap music, and draws disturbing pictures. Of course, Kyle begins dating Meegan ( Ajiona Alexus ), another angry teenager with delinquency issues whose mother died of an unnamed sickness, which is tearfully explained the second time the characters interact.

While it’s probably inevitable to go for the drama in a film about a mother in recovery and the effects her addiction has on her children, the after-school special type of teenagers, around whom most of the film is centered, are unnecessary and distracting. Addiction is a horrible, terrifying disease that is, unfortunately, not explored in much depth here. The cornerstones of what creates a film’s most basic addict character are all in place – Ellie has lost everything, she goes to Narcotics Anonymous meetings, she struggles to rebuild her family, but that’s about it. Instead of presenting the audience with a unique look into the life and mind of someone struggling with sobriety, a lot of time was spent focusing on mother-son arguments and unearned death scenes. For a film taking a bold stance and saying that addiction is itself a monstrous force and the horror is in the cycles it creates, there are no unique insights or thought-provoking ideas for the audience to grasp within this particular story. What’s more, the central thesis is so muddled by the useless drama that, by the end, it’s not altogether clear whose side Family Blood t akes.

That’s not to say the story is bad, after all, there is a rather poignant metaphor to be found within Family Blood . The issue is that the film is just simply not as groundbreaking as it believes itself to be or, perhaps worse, as it ultimately could have been. If the film had been a bit more patient with its story, dug a little deeper, gone a bit further into Ellie’s psyche, explored the struggles of addiction beyond what the audience has seen on various episodes of Intervention , Family Blood could have been excellent. To its merit, the film is stylized, well-shot, and makes good use of music. It even (fleetingly) touches upon important ideas surrounding gentrification and race. The one glaring issue with the film is that the concept is gripping, yet underdeveloped and rushed.

In addition to its great style and imagery, the film also boasts a wonderful lead actress in Vinessa Shaw. While the film never explicitly seeks to judge Ellie for her struggles, Shaw portrays the weary mother with such vulnerability and heartfelt empathy that it would be nearly impossible to do so. In one particular scene, Ellie recounts how she came to be addicted to pills to her Narcotics Anonymous group. It’s a heartbreaking moment, highlighted by how Shaw manages to convey pure despair and guilt with merely her face and her voice. The audience remains on Ellie’s side throughout the film, even when she relapses, even when she develops an insatiable bloodlust, and this is in large part due to Shaw’s performance.

Family Blood takes the seeds of a great idea and plants them in the soil, but nothing fully blooms. However, while the film may not live up to its full potential, the end product is certainly worth a watch. The film takes a risk in making a monster of addiction, and while Family Blood may stumble a bit, it’s a commendable effort despite itself.

Dog dad, film lover, horror fan, and bookworm. Used to be 5% more punk than he is now. Please follow @DaxEbaben on twitter

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Family Blood Reviews

• 1 hr 32 mins
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A recovering drug addict moves to a new city with her two kids in an attempt to start over and stay clean, but her past demons come back to haunt her once again, this time in a form far different than before.

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Family Blood

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First blood (rambo), common sense media reviewers.

First, most popular Rambo movie is bloody and violent.

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Rambo was rewritten (for Stallone specifications)

No real positive role models. In hindsight, Rambo

Rambo is tortured with knives in Vietnam flashback

Non-erotic, bare-butt shot of Rambo hosed down by

Profanity often used. "F--k" said a few times. "S-

A mention of Soldier of Fortune magazine. Billboar

Social saloon drinking and smoking. Sheriff uses c

Parents need to know that First Blood is the 1982 classic action movie in which Sylvester Stallone plays a Green Beret Vietnam veteran who fights back against a bullying small-town police force. This is the first of the Rambo franchise, and while it's not as violent as the sequels, the movie nonetheless has…

Positive Messages

Rambo was rewritten (for Stallone specifications) from the book's pitiless, murdering character to someone who never intentionally kills, but casualities and wounded still result from his actions. His commanding officer, Trautman, seems to be the voice of reason and the only person who understands Rambo. Authority figures of small-town sheriff and his men are irredeemable bullies who pretty much dictate the fatal flow of events. Movie addresses lack of respect for and the mental/physical treatment of Vietnam veterans upon returning home.

Positive Role Models

No real positive role models. In hindsight, Rambo clearly suffers from PTSD and carries with him emotional scars to match the physical scars across his chest and back, which leads to him fighting back against the bullying police officers and taking to the nearby woods.

Violence & Scariness

Rambo is tortured with knives in Vietnam flashbacks, brutalized by cops in modern-day America. Plenty of beatdowns, shoot-outs, spearings on Viet Cong-style death traps, and a memorable scene in which Rambo stitches up his own arm wound. One of Rambo's traps kills a bloodhound (off-screen). Rambo never directly kills anyone here (except an animal he hunts for food); he just wounds and maims. Police officer dies from falling out of a helicopter; his dead body is shown sprawled over the rocks below. Explosions, especially when Rambo comes out of woods and back to small town.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

Non-erotic, bare-butt shot of Rambo hosed down by police.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Profanity often used. "F--k" said a few times. "S--t," "horses--t," "a--holes," "ass," "bitch," "goddammit."

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Products & Purchases

A mention of Soldier of Fortune magazine. Billboards for Coca-Cola, Kool Lights cigarettes.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

Social saloon drinking and smoking. Sheriff uses chewing tobacco. Talk of reporters drinking in the local bars. Cigar smoking.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that First Blood is the 1982 classic action movie in which Sylvester Stallone plays a Green Beret Vietnam veteran who fights back against a bullying small-town police force. This is the first of the Rambo franchise, and while it's not as violent as the sequels, the movie nonetheless has its fair share of violent and bloody moments. While Rambo doesn't directly kill anyone, many of the police officers are injured and maimed by the booby traps Rambo sets up in the woods, including spikes to the chest. One of the officers falls to his death out of a helicopter; his dead body is shown sprawled across the rocks below. Rambo suffers brief flashbacks showing his torture and imprisonment at the hands of the Viet Cong. A cop beats Rambo with a billy club. Violent explosions occur, especially when Rambo reemerges from the woods and reenters the small town. Some profanity includes "f--k" used several times. Brief, nonsexual male nudity (buttocks) is seen when Rambo is being hosed down by the bullying cops. The sheriff uses chewing tobacco; other characters drink and smoke cigars. Now, years after its release, it's clear that the movie addresses PTSD in veterans, as well as the emotional scars they carry upon returning home, especially if the public treats them with contempt or indifference. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

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Community Reviews

• Parents say (13)
• Kids say (57)

Based on 13 parent reviews

A very good action movies for older kids

What's the story.

FIRST BLOOD introduced John Rambo ( Sylvester Stallone ), a cross between G.I. Joe and Tarzan, and an icon of American film in the 1980s. We see him first as a shaggy-haired drifter trying to visit an old platoon comrade in rural Washington state -- where he learns that the man, his last surviving friend, has died of Agent Orange-related cancer. The downcast Rambo is subsequently sighted by bullying local cops, and is harassed and arrested for vagrancy. When the small-town lawmen brutalize him in the town jail, flashbacks to Rambo's wartime torture by Viet Cong push the well-trained Green Beret back into full combat mode and instincts. Escaping into the wilderness, he fights back using guerilla weapons and tactics. Ultimately, he makes one-man war on the entire town with captured National Guard firepower.

Is It Any Good?

This '80s classic is a crude but often effective actioner. Even if its worthwhile themes about the country's treatment of its soldiers kind of get lost in the fiery mayhem and the now-classic pose of the Rocky leading man brandishing enormous rifles and bandoliers.

The problem-plagued production shot alternate endings, one in which Rambo died, another in which he didn't. Audience reaction to First Blood made the filmmakers take the softer option -- and made the producers very wealthy when the film and its sequels became a hit. At least Rambo got to deliver a powerful climactic monologue (the only time he speaks at length) that puts into words the vet's feelings of anger and betrayal. And that reminds us that Stallone could be a fine actor, when not caricaturing himself.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about the difference between the military and the civilian mindsets in First Blood , and how Rambo was educated by the Army: "When in doubt, kill."

You can also discuss the shabby treatment of American Vietnam veterans compared to that of other war vets, and how Hollywood's portrayals of those veterans -- as either psychos or super commandos -- contributed to the problem.

Families can also talk about whether the amount of violence in the movie is fitting, given its subject matter. Are there times when violence needs to be graphic to get a filmmaker's point across? Why or why not?

Movie Details

• In theaters : October 22, 1982
• On DVD or streaming : November 23, 2004
• Cast : Brian Dennehy , David Caruso , Richard Crenna , Sylvester Stallone
• Director : Ted Kotcheff
• Studio : Artisan Entertainment
• Genre : Action/Adventure
• Run time : 97 minutes
• MPAA rating : R
• Last updated : July 10, 2024

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

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Tv/streaming, collections, chaz's journal, great movies, contributors, family portrait.

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What is it about the sound of wind? It can be undeniably relaxing, a common setting on white noise machines. But there’s something slightly menacing about it as well. Something coming. Something moving. A storm on the horizon. A pathogen traveling through the air. 

The sound of wind rustling the grass and leaves is almost a character in “Family Portrait,” adding to a rising tension in this unique, confidently made film that very purposefully plays more like a dream than realism. Set in the days just before COVID, it’s a foreboding film, a drama that recreates the sense that something bad is going to happen or may have happened already, and the common practice of a frozen shot of a happy family doesn’t capture what’s happening around that single second of forced smiling. That might make “Family Portrait” sound like a melodrama as hundreds of filmmakers have used events like the one Kerr does here to unpack the fragile bonds between blood relatives and those who marry their way onto family trees. But this is not exactly that movie. This is a relatively happy family. Like so many were in early 2020.

Kerr’s opening shot is one of the best cinematic overtures of the year. In silence, we watch a group of seemingly well-off people moving through a field, images that recall a family gathering. It’s almost as if the camera can’t figure out who it should settle on, giving us the POV of a participant in the event while also defining the film’s fluid visual language. A character walks into a moving frame that goes too fast for her to keep up or slides over to someone else, almost like the wind is moving it. Silent at first, the sounds of the event slowly filter in as the kids play and the adults talk over one another.

After that tone-setter, Kerr settles into a large family estate where relatives have gathered for an annual event: the taking of a photograph for the year’s holiday card. Most scenes unfold with a static camera, almost as if someone placed one in the room to eavesdrop on a conversation – although that shouldn’t be construed as a criticism of Kerr’s incredibly strong eye, one that can make even these frozen shots feel more than mundane.

Eventually, a protagonist emerges in the form of Katy ( Deragh Campbell ), who has brought her Polish boyfriend Olek ( Chris Galust ) home to take the family portrait. Tension seems to emerge from the fact that he’s not included in the shot and that no one seems to have the urgency needed to take it with enough time for Katy and Olek to make their flight out. Conversations circle back to some of the international tension with talk of the death of a family member and a fascinating one about a photograph that may not be what it seems – you know, like how family photos don’t tell the whole story too.

It becomes clear that the matriarch of this clan has inexplicably disappeared. They can’t take the photo until they find Mom, but only Katy seems overly concerned. Is it because of the flight she might miss, or is something stranger going on? An extended sequence in which Katy walks the grounds and swims leads to a companion shot to that opening montage in which, soaking wet, she moves through a space where she passes other family members. Again, Kerr’s camera isn’t locked on Katy in a traditional manner, enhancing a sense of displacement and confusion – two things that would define so much of 2020.

Even at 74 minutes, “Family Portrait” sometimes feels like it would have made a stronger 20-minute short film. It’s stuck in that space where a filmmaker has too many ideas for a short but not quite enough meat on the bones for a feature. 

And yet, a mastery of tone here makes that criticism fade in memory—kind of like how we pick and choose what we remember from family gatherings. Snippets of discussions with interactions come to me when I think of annual Tallerico family reunions of my youth, and the photo that usually ended such events. If I close my eyes, I can almost hear the wind.

Brian Tallerico

Brian Tallerico is the Managing Editor of RogerEbert.com, and also covers television, film, Blu-ray, and video games. He is also a writer for Vulture, The Playlist, The New York Times, and GQ, and the President of the Chicago Film Critics Association.

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A Quiet Place: Day One

Film credits.

Family Portrait (2024)

Deragh Campbell as Katy

Chris Galust as Olek

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Katie Folger

David McGuff as Stuart

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Paramount+ with Showtime have just released the first images for the highly anticipated prequel series, Dexter: Original Sin , which will take the avenging serial killer back to his roots with an exciting young cast.

The prequel series is set 15 years before the events of the original show, and boasts an excellent cast to portray the younger versions of characters audiences have grown to love. Patrick Gibson stars as Dexter, Christian Slater as his adoptive father Harry Morgan, and Molly Brown as Dexter's foul-mouthed sister Debra Morgan. Per Variety , the prequel is "set in 1991 Miami [and] follows Dexter (Gibson) as he transitions from student to avenging serial killer. When his bloodthirsty urges can’t be ignored any longer, Dexter must learn to channel his inner darkness. With the guidance of his father, Harry (Slater), he adopts a Code designed to help him find and kill people who deserve to be eliminated from society without getting on law enforcements’ radar. This is a particular challenge for young Dexter as he begins a forensics internship at the Miami Metro Police Department."

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While the Morgan family is set to return to Original Sin , some notable characters from the original series are returning as well. The returning characters include James Martinez as Angel Batista, Christina Milian as Maria LaGuerta, and Alex Shimizu as Vince Masuka. The series also adds new characters into the Dexter universe, including Patrick Dempsey as Aaron Spencer , Reno Wilson as Bobby Watt, and Sarah Michelle Gellar as Tanya Martin. Clyde Phillips, the original showrunner of Dexter and the most recent sequel, Dexter: New Blood , returns to helm the prequel series.

Dexter Has Been Thriving for Nearly Two Decades

Based on the series of novels by Jeff Lindsay, Dexter ran from 2006-2013, and is considered the crown jewel for Showtime . Anchored by the iconic performance of Michael C. Hall, the series was a smash hit for the network. The series followed Dexter, a blood splatter analyst for the Miami Metro Police Department by day, and a serial killer by night. Operating under the code set up by his adoptive father, Harry, Dexter only kills people who are guilty of heinous crimes. Series regulars also included Jennifer Carpenter as Debra Morgan, David Zayas as Angel Batista, James Remar as Harry Morgan, and Luna Lauren Velez as Maria LaGuerta.

Which Dexter Finale Offered the Better Ending For the Series?

New Blood gave Dexter a chance to make up for the original ending, but its finale only upset the fans further. With that in mind, which one is better?

The popularity of the show led to the sequel series, Dexter: New Blood , which aired from 2021-2022. The series takes place ten years after the series finale, in which Dexter faked his death, as he finds a new life in upstate New York. However, when his son Harrison discovers that his father is there, the misdeeds of Dexter's past threaten to catch up to him. New Blood was meant to definitively wrap up Dexter's story, after many fans felt letdown by how the original series ended. New Blood was a smash hit for Showtime, averaging 8 million viewers an episode, making it the most-watched series in its history.

Dexter is streaming on Netflix .

Source: Variety

He's smart. He's lovable. He's Dexter Morgan, America's favorite serial killer, who spends his days solving crimes and nights committing them.

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‘Hillbilly Elegy’ Gets a Blockbuster Sequel

Our critic traces J.D. Vance’s shift from bootstrap memoirist to vice-presidential candidate.

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By A.O. Scott

“I am not a senator, a governor or a former cabinet secretary,” J.D. Vance wrote on the first page of “Hillbilly Elegy,” by way of establishing his regular-guy bona fides. That was all true in 2016, when Vance was a former Marine and Yale Law School graduate with “a nice job, a happy marriage, a comfortable home and two lively dogs.” His memoir reads a little differently now.

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This is partly because Vance is, in fact, a senator, and also, as of Monday, the Republican vice-presidential candidate. Much has been made of his political evolution over the past eight years, from never-Trump conservative to MAGA loyalist , from analyzing right-wing populism to embodying it. While Vance’s critics view this as brazen opportunism, he has explained his ideological shifts (including in a recent interview with Ross Douthat of The New York Times ) as a result of a twofold intellectual awakening: It turned out that Donald Trump wasn’t as bad as Vance had thought, and that American liberals were much worse.

This turnabout is notable because part of the legend of “Hillbilly Elegy” is that liberals were its intended audience and biggest fans. Published by a major trade house, respectfully (if at times skeptically ) reviewed and widely discussed, it was both a message to the establishment and an application for membership.

The book tells the story of two migrations. One is the large-scale movement of poor whites, among them the author’s maternal grandparents, from rural Appalachia to the cities and towns of the Rust Belt. The other is Vance’s path from one of those places — Middletown, Ohio — to the geographic and demographic precincts of the ruling class: New Haven; Silicon Valley; Washington, D.C.

To the extent that “Hillbilly Elegy” is a bootstrap narrative — the chronicle of a young person’s rise in the face of adversity — it can be read as a vindication of the status quo. An imaginary reader, comfortably ensconced in the seat of relative privilege, will be gratified to learn that this ambitious Ohioan has pulled up a neighboring chair, and fascinated by the story of how he got there. The tale is painful but also inspiring. Vance’s childhood was shadowed by his mother’s struggle with opioid addiction, but he was saved by his loving grandparents, in particular by his salty, tenacious grandmother, Mamaw, whose portrait is the book’s most memorable literary achievement.

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After assassination attempt, Trump and Biden seek calm, unity

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Reporting by Nathan Layne, Gabriella Borter and Soren Larson in Bethel Park, Pennsylvania; Additional reporting by Katharine Jackson, Sarah N. Lynch, Richard Cowan, Caitlin Webber, Nandita Bose, Ismail Shakil, Joseph Ax, Andrew Hay and Kanishka Singh; Writing by Frank McGurty, Scott Malone and Michelle Nichols; Editing by Lisa Shumaker, Howard Goller and Lincoln Feast.

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Washington-based correspondent covering campaigns and Congress. Previously posted in Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo and Santiago, Chile, and has reported extensively throughout Latin America. Co-winner of the 2021 Reuters Journalist of the Year Award in the business coverage category for a series on corruption and fraud in the oil industry. He was born in Massachusetts and graduated from Harvard College.

Helen Coster is a U.S. Presidential Election Correspondent at Reuters, where she writes a mix of spot news, enterprise and analysis stories, with a focus on the Republican Party and conservative media. Prior to 2024 she covered the media industry for Reuters, and was also a Senior Editor on Reuters’ Commentary team. A graduate of Princeton University, she has reported from six countries, including Pakistan, India, and Greece.

Brazil rules out three potential new cases of Newcastle disease in poultry

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