Good vs. Evil…

Angel vs. Demon…

Dominion vs. Underworlder

BLOODBOUND is an Action-packed, campy, and cinematic short film. Set in modern-day Chicago, a secret faction of angelic warriors battles demons that threaten the city. When a horde of vampires goes on a killing spree, a failing recruit sets off to wipe them out and prove himself worthy of entering the ranks of The Dominion.

FIGHTING DEMONS, MONSTERS, and sometimes...OURSELVES...

We begin with RILEY, a young recruit to the demon-hunting faction called The Dominion, who is attempting to complete their initiation trials under the supervision of their older brother and mentor MARCUS. Displeased with Riley‘s progress, the faction’s inquisitor proclaims that Riley will have until Friday to complete their trials and either become a member of The Dominion or be banished and exiled from the only life they’ve ever known.

When two members of The Dominion do not report back from their latest mission of exterminating a den of vampires, Riley takes matters into his own hands. He takes off into the night to find the vampires and kill them on his own.

Unfortunately, and unsurprisingly, Riley is quickly captured, tortured, and learns of the vampire's true motive: a sinister plot to end The Dominion forever.

Once Marcus realizes Riley is in danger, as per usual, he rushes off with Orlando to save his younger sibling before it’s too late. Culminating in an epic battle between vampires and Dominion hunters...

The team is able to overcome the odds and defeat the horde of vampires.

This is a love letter to classic TV shows like BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER, SUPERNATURAL, and CHARMED.

BLOODBOUND feels familiar, but new.

Growing up, there was a deficiency of explicitly queer characters in media.

Back in the Summer of 2024, Josh, Producer, Writer, & Actor for MARCUS, was particularly lamenting this conundrum, so they took matters into their own hands and wrote a short scene. Carly Belle, Producer, Writer & Fight Choreographer, stepped in to choreograph, and realized the project had some legs to stand on.

Madison, Producer & Actor for RILEY, and Chris, Producer & Director, were shortly roped into the folds. Our multi-talented group soon found how seamlessly we could collaborate and build something from scratch. Each of us brings a unique perspective, never-ending passion, and specialized skill sets.

We were all drawn to Josh's brainchild because of its enigmatic pull of a fantastical and punchy storyline that uplifts queer voices through visual media.

We have three main tenets we are implementing on this project:

Uplift Chicago artists

Achieve pay equity for artists

Create queer media for and by queer people

Casting Chicago talent in our film, we can give actors who typically are on stage a chance to build their film resumes.  Chicago has a thriving theatre scene with incredible actors.  Tapping into this vast network of talent will uplift Chicago stage actors to the big screen.  Our series is set in Chicago; therefore, it is paramount that it is staffed with Chicago artists.

Providing equitable compensation to all staff involved in the creation of the pilot episode is a huge undertaking that has become pivotal to our planning and budgeting. Pay equity would entail paying our artists a livable wage for the amount of hours they invest in our project.

A note on our final tenet...

At its core, BLOODBOUND is a queer allegory. It is about breaking away from the rigid upbringing in a society that doesn’t accept you and forging a new path. Riley, and later Marcus’s choice to be free from The Dominion is how these two queer siblings are able to find themselves and fulfill their destiny to end the binary war of good and evil.

Network TV shows like Buffy and Charmed captured the hearts of many queer people. Buffy was one of the first shows to depict a same-sex relationship on network TV, a defining moment for many queer millennials. However, though the queer narratives were beautiful and rich at times, ultimately, they were side stories. Sometimes the “gayness” was the punchline, not the power.

There were covert narratives, side characters, and of course, big bad villains that could only be described as "Queer Coded". A lack of representation can at the very least be confusing and at the worst a lonely and deeply traumatizing sense of unbelonging. While the media has since progressed and reclaimed some queer narratives...

BLOODBOUND further pushes the envelope by putting queer characters on the front lines, having them fill the roles of fighters, heroes, saviors, and even villains.

Visual Style is bold, cinematic, dynamic, and gritty.

Cinematography is dark, moody, and fast-paced.

Since BLOODBOUND is based on network television, the action moves fast to capture the audience's attention. Combat scenes will be explosive and exciting. Demons have a fantastically campy design. This gives a “gothic superhero” feeling to the show.

Practical effects will enhance the fantasy of the world. From blood to prosthetics to puppets, BLOODBOUND will have the nostalgic monster costumes from classic shows with light CGI to round out a modern feel to these creatures.

The Dominion is ready for its next mission!

In the Summer of 2025, we successfully shot a Proof of Concept for BLOODBOUND. All of the stills on our page are from that shoot. Head over to our Instagram to see clips of what we have shot so far.

In May of 2026, we are on track to slay some vampires in a 30-minute short film. This shoot will take place over six days with a large cast, film crew, and, of course, this fabulous team of producers. We have locations to secure, actors to book, fights to choreograph, and a beautiful script to bring to life.

Check out this breakdown of the needs for our Six-Day Film Shoot

This Seed & Spark Campaign will help fund:

People: Cast & Crew ($3,000)- Chicagoans to the frontlines!

• Our goal is to hire all local Chicago talent and labor for this shoot.
• This involves partnering with:
• Compass Casting, a local Chicago casting company
• Bob Romay, a local Chicago Stunt DP

Filming Locations ($3000)- Chicago Businesses, we need you!

• In addition to personnel, we also plan to support local Chicago businesses
• Forteza Fitness, The Edge on Broadway, and an abandoned church are locations we have our eyes on

Art Department/Production Design ($3,000) - ITS ALIVE!

• Our fabulous Production Design, BUGS, is working tirelessly to bring our world to life
• Support from this campaign would fund building all angelic props, daggers, swords, custom costume pieces, monster make-up effects, and so much more...

Craft Services ($5000) - FEED THE BEAST!

• Over our six-day planned shoot, we gotta feed our hard-working collaborators.
• Help us secure Lunch & Dinner for The Dominion

Production Insurance ($1,000) - Protect our shoot!

• Help us secure the necessary insurance to keep our shoot safe

We need 80% of our funding goal pledged to receive the funds!

Join the DOMINION'S ranks by supporting our campaign:

PLEDGE to our campaign - every little bit helps, and we have different perks for all types of pledges.

SHARE our Seed&Spark campaign with friends, family, maybe a demon or two?

FOLLOW us on Instagram @Bloodbound_Series to stay in the loop and watch our project flourish!

Thank you so much for your support. We couldn't do it without you!