Blood Psalms review: Everything and the kitchen Sekhmet

We’re living in a fantastic time for diverse representation in our entertainment. Even better, marginalised and minority groups worldwide are getting to share their great untold stories with the backing to reach a greater audience. Of course, it’s fair to say that not everything will be for every viewer. And that’s absolutely fine.

At the same time, though, our series options are more global than ever. Viewers worldwide can watch and adore Mexican telenovelas, Korean romances, Danish crime dramas, which makes “I can’t relate to this” a weak excuse. On the flip side, creators also can’t really use “Well, you just don’t understand this” as an excuse to dismiss criticism. Good, quality productions have crossover appeal.

This is a very roundabout way to get to my point. As a genre fan, I wanted to love historical fantasy epic Blood Psalms, a locally-made tale steeped in African myth and legend, and which notably doesn’t feature a single word of English. With an aim to explore ancient African history from an on-the-continent perspective – and through a fantastical lens – this ambitious Showmax Original has been made in collaboration with CANAL+, the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition, the Eastern Cape Economic Development Corporation ECDC), the National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) and the MultiChoice Innovation Fund.

Blood Psalms takes viewers back 11 000 years to Kemet, in the southern Egypt/northern Sudan region, where five tribes (survivors of the fall of Atlantis) are facing a prophesised End of Days. Omens, cruel twists of fate and power plays are the order of the day as these tribes – the proud, warlike Akachi, rainmaking witches the Uchawi, fierce nomadic Ku’ua, strategic Great Nziwemabwe, and the cursed, shapeshifting Chini – face the terror of destruction.

Blood Psalms has pedigree, it features an intriguing premise and an all-star cast, and it releases with glowing reviews from some very respected critics. Two episodes in, though, and it feels largely incoherent, and isn’t helped by some very jarring creative choices.

I can’t flaw the actors, who are all-in in terms of their performances. Early standouts include Mandisa Nduna as proactive and likeable Chini misfit Burutti; and Faith Baloyi’s Queen Assili, who is set up as Blood Psalms’ scheming, smirking and highly entertaining Cersei Lannister. Blood Psalms is being called Africa’s Game of Thrones, so the comparison seems apt. Meanwhile, as 17 year old Princess Zazi, Bokang Phelane has delivered the most genuine moment of the series so far, as she discusses mothers with her royal companion.

In general, Blood Psalms lacks authenticity. That isn’t necessarily a problem as so much entertainment operates at a grand archetypal level, but the show’s baseline of credibility is always shifting. Gorgeous on-location shots from the Eastern Cape appear alongside claustrophobic, obviously fake sets. After wielding traditional fire torches for an episode, suddenly characters have proto-flashlights and electricity. Battles are conducted on a cliffside in bright sunshine, but a lens filter and rain machine are supposed to convince us that it’s in the middle of a downpour.

Even a fantasy series has to have a foundation of believability to its universe. Blood Psalms fails in this regard as it tries to cram in everything, and then treat it as matter-of-fact to its world; not even worthy of comment. As an example, lion-headed warrior goddess Sekhmet appears in Blood Psalms as a glorified bad-CGI housecat, who characters shoo out of palace chambers. Then there’s a dragon because… reasons. Blood Psalms has an identity crisis as it flips between grand Shakespearean tragedy (with Mothusi Magano’s mad King Letsha taking centre stage), and campy trash sword-and-sorcery like 1985’s Red Sonja.

As for coherence, Blood Psalms is narratively and visually muddled. You’ll have a better time if you read Showmax’s extensive resource set on the series, but it’s likely the average viewer won’t know the articles or digestible YouTube series exist.

The pieces will all likely fall into place as the eleven-episode season continues, but right now it’s often a struggle to follow the plot and connect characters. Further acting as a barrier to coherence is that there’s no indication of passing time. Blood Psalms can jump days or decades without warning. And don’t get me started on the janky editing, which makes fight choreography unimpressive and hard to follow. It also introduces a strange moment where characters have the same conversation three minutes apart.

Maybe I just don’t get it. Maybe Blood Psalms isn’t for me. Things may improve – Episode 2 was a definite step up from 1 – but right now the series is falling far below the bar set by global entertainment; the same productions which invite in and are accessible to all audiences.

The first two episodes of Blood Psalms are streaming now on Showmax. New episodes of the series will join the streaming service every Wednesday until the end of November 2022.