Hopefully by now you’ve checked out Noah Segan’s Blood Relatives, the story of a hundred-year-old vampire discovering he’s sired a half-human teen daughter. Segan (Deadgirl, All About Evil, Glass Onion) has delivered a directorial debut that was a hit on the festival circuit, surprising viewers with not only its humor and heartfelt tone, but with the way Segan has infused the proceedings with an authentically Jewish point of view. On top of the casual Yiddish terms Segan’s Francis drops when vexed or perturbed, the backstory of Blood Relatives‘ vampire dad pulls from the very real antisemitic horrors of the 20th century.
Fango’s Lindsay Traves sits with Segan for an extended chat about the under-represented subgenre of Jewish horror, how Segan’s own life and identity (as a dad, a Jew, and a watch collector) informed the film, and what he hopes viewers will take away from his timely yet timeless story of otherness. “My Judaism,” says Segan, “was a way in to what, I hope, is a universal sentiment that is such a huge part of horror.”
Blood Relatives is streaming now on Shudder. (And there’s merch!)
