Blood Father

"A father makes his own justice."

2016 1h 28m FR

😐

6.2

MID

🍅

89%

FRESH

👌

METACRITIC

⭐

6.4

IMDB

★6.2TMDB · 1,718🍅89%Rotten Tomatoes●66Metacritic★6.4IMDB · 69,909

ActionThrillerDrama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

An ex-con reconnects with his estranged teenage daughter while fighting to keep her alive after she becomes a target of violent drug dealers.

“A father makes his own justice.”

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Cast

Mel Gibson
John Link
Erin Moriarty
Lydia
William H. Macy
Kirby Curtis
Michael Parks
Preacher
Thomas Mann
Jason
Diego Luna
Jonah
Dale Dickey
Cherise
Miguel Sandoval
Arturo Rios

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Jean-François Richet
Writers: Peter Craig, Andrea Berloff
Languages: English, Spanish
Countries: France

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

88 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 53% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 10 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Spanish.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Jean-François Richet, shot by Robert Gantz. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Sven Faulconer. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Mel Gibson and Erin Moriarty and William H. Macy carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "A father makes his own justice.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Jean-François Richet directs. Robert Gantz behind the camera. Sven Faulconer scores. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in France. Dialogue in English, Spanish.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

188 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
2Earned back only 53% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
3Released 10 years ago.
4Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Spanish.
5Directed by Jean-François Richet, shot by Robert Gantz. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Sven Faulconer. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Mel Gibson and Erin Moriarty and William H. Macy carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "A father makes his own justice.".
9IMDB entry: tt3647498 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 12 themes, including "drug dealer", "trailer park", "parent child relationship", "on the run".

The technical file

Cinematography: Robert Gantz
Original score: Sven Faulconer
Production design: Eve McCarney
Costume design: Terry Anderson
Makeup / hair: Scott H. Eddo
Stunt coordinator: Jimmy Romano
Runtime: 88 min · 1h 28m
Status: Released
Budget: $13,000,000
Box office: $6,903,033
Return: 53% of budget
Original language: FR
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Blood Father (2016)
Rotten Tomatoes: 89% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 66/100
IMDB rating: 6.4/10 · 69,909 votes
MPAA: R

Also by

Jean-François Richet

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

Gimly2016-09-02
★ 6/10
Blood Father doesn't bring anything particularly original to the table, but in spite of this, the oft maligned Mel Gibson shines in this small grindhouse throwback that I honestly had a really good time with. But Blood Father is an awful title. Final rating:★★★ - I personally recommend you give it a go.
Reno2016-11-04
★ 6/10
An ex-con back on his feet for his daughter! I did not find this French film any special. This is an English language film, because they have targeted the American market. Many similar Hollywood flicks were already made, so it is just a different actors and the locations. But the actings were good and some of the scenes were nicely composed. This is a book based film about an ex- con, when he comes to know his daughter is in a real trouble, he does everything he can to protect her. So it is like a running and chasing kind of theme, but how they come out it is the remaining film. Mel Gibson was great. I felt like I haven't seen him for ages, I mean this kind of performance gives the impression that he's back. Though the film was not that great, for an entertainment it will do okay. It is a short film than usual action-thrillers. So you won't have trouble in pace, no proper developments, like the characters or the story, it only moves forward so quickly. I think the end was good, only if they are not planning for a sequel. But that part was not clear, so there's no surprise if they make another film. I say watch it for Gibson and for entertainment. 6/10
Dark Jedi2017-11-29
★ 6/10
Classic story with good guy (well, good might be stretching it), in this case the father, trying to save chick from the bad guys. The bad guys are of course totally dislikeable murderous thugs with a distinctly below average intelligence. Mel Gibson plays the role of ex-con, caring father and kick-ass protector of his daughter quite well. He pretty much makes this movie which is a roller-coaster action ride. As with most of this type of action flicks the story and script is fairly mediocre. His old and not very trustworthy friend for example was not really adding any value and his actions was soooo predictable. The thugs, although certainly projecting the required amount of “despicable bad-guy-ness”, were really nothing more than that. Stupid, stupid and more stupid. How they even manage to track John and Lydia down all the time is really beyond me. With that said it was a enjoyable movie. The one were you just relax in the sofa, watch the scenery and arses being kicked. The stuff that Mel Gibson is really good at.