The BAU team must profile a delusional killer in rural Tennessee, and a family member protecting him puts a child at risk.The BAU team must profile a delusional killer in rural Tennessee, and a family member protecting him puts a child at risk.The BAU team must profile a delusional killer in rural Tennessee, and a family member protecting him puts a child at risk.
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Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaReid mentions Richard Trenton Chase, a paranoid schizophrenic who was convicted of murder in 1978. He started out killing and eviscerating animals and eating their entrails, and moved up to humans. The bloody rings made by the unsub's containers in this episode were found at Chase's crime scenes. He suffered from many delusions including the "alien" one mentioned by Reid.
- GoofsWill sings the song "This Is My Father's World" with his music teacher at the beginning of the episode. The sheet music is displayed both on the piano and later spattered with the victim's blood. Although the sheet is titled correctly, the music on the sheet is not "This Is My Father's World" but is instead a beginning piano piece called "The Spinning Wheel."
- Quotes
Mary Mays: Mr. Hotchner. Do you have children?
Aaron "Hotch" Hotchner: Yes, I do.
Mary Mays: Is there anything you wouldn't do for them?
Aaron "Hotch" Hotchner: I wouldn't clean the blood of the victims off the floor.
Mary Mays: I didn't know my son was killing anyone until he brought home that boy.
Aaron "Hotch" Hotchner: You know, Mary, sometimes what we don't do... is every bit as powerful as what we do.
Mary Mays: You don't understand.
Aaron "Hotch" Hotchner: I understand that your son was drowning, and you made no effort to save him.
Mary Mays: You don't know what I did.
Aaron "Hotch" Hotchner: I know what you didn't do. You didn't call the police. And every day of your life, you're gonna have to ask yourself what would have happened if you'd gone to Boston to help him.
Mary Mays: Eddy told me he was bringing me an angel. I... I wanted to protect my son. What else was I supposed to do?
Aaron "Hotch" Hotchner: Almost anything would have been better.
- ConnectionsReferences The Andy Griffith Show (1960)
Like what was said when reviewing "The Popular Kids", while a lesser episode "Blood Hungry" is not the worst from the first season. That dishonour still belongs to "Machismo", one of the show's overall weakest, and while some of the season needs to be re-watched an episode would have to be really bad or even more mediocre to be worse. There are some great elements in "Blood Hungry", but it could have been so much better.
"Blood Hungry" does start off very well, being emotionally disturbing and affecting. The song the boy sings is truly beautiful and one of the show's best and best-utilised songs. Most of the production values are stylish and atmospheric, and the music gives a haunting and melancholic vibe. Love the interaction between Gideon and Garcia, which had some very funny moments (some of the funniest of the first season) and do not feel at all out of place especially considering how dark some of the story is.
The episode does have some effectively shocking and unpleasant moments, especially the brutal (even by 'Criminal Minds' standards) murders, and the family loyalty angle is well-realised. The performances from the leads are very good, especially Mandy Patinkin and Kirsten Vangsness, whose Garcia is like the brightest ray of sunshine.
However, while there is definitely some atmosphere, the story wasn't anywhere near as interesting as it could have been. Some of it is predictable with some lethargic pacing, and there are parts that are illogical and too padded out complete with a weird plot twist and the unsub's back story could have much more, or at least better, elaborated upon, too underdeveloped and ambiguous.
Also didn't like that the team take so long to figure it all out when it is never really that surprising, that they don't have much to do and that the unsub is caught too easily and conveniently. Also agree that the camera work is distractingly slapdash in places, which it isn't usually on 'Criminal Minds'. The support acting is very much variable with nobody standing out.
On the whole, an average episode to the first season though with some great elements. 5/10 Bethany Cox
- TheLittleSongbird
- Sep 17, 2016
Details
- Runtime42 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.78 : 1
- 16:9 HD