Q&A: Danny Blanco on The Kids

Danny Blanco made The Kids in Corpus Christi for roughly $1,200. Not the $5,000 listed on IMDb. He shot it on two cameras borrowed from collaborators, in locations from his own neighborhood, with a cast that included real people from those same streets. The Home in the film was based on an actual place. Some of the people who lived there appear in it.

The story: Enzo gets out of prison and has exactly one person to call. His cousin Marcus. Marcus runs a crew called The Kids. What follows is forty-eight minutes of Enzo realizing he can't leave, and eventually not wanting to.

Where It Starts

Blanco didn't build the story from the crime outward. He built it from the moment Enzo understands what he has stepped into.

"During the Brixx Robbery scene, when he realized he was now a part of something crazy he wasn't expecting nor wanted to be involved in, since he just got free from prison a few hours earlier that day."

That scene is the hinge. Everything before is setup. Everything after is consequence.

The Choice That Wasn't Really a Choice

After the robbery, Enzo had an opening to walk. He didn't take it.

"After the Brixx robbery, Enzo had his chance to leave, but he chose to stick around and was quickly immersed into the Kids' lifestyle, making it harder to leave."

Part of it is Vanessa. Part of it is Marcus. Part of it is that prison doesn't leave you with many options, and the crew offers something that functions like belonging.

What The Kids Actually Are

The name sounds like nothing. That's almost the point.

"The Kids by name within this movie's world was feared by some as a threat, but respected by most. They are mostly well known for their brutal invasion-style robberies, their partying and massive drug habits. Every cop knew their names and crimes they committed but still let them be. Every drug dealer used their services at one time or another."

A crew that operates in the open because the city has made its peace with them. That detail, cops knowing and doing nothing, is not invented.

Based on Something Real

"This story is loosely based on some true stories from growing up that I experienced, some stories that were told, seen and lived, some stories not true. The Home was based on some people's real-life situations and habits that we used and lightly portrayed. No glamour, just raw real-life situations some people actually live every day."

Blanco doesn't clarify which parts are true and which aren't. That ambiguity is intentional. The film doesn't want you comfortable.

Loyalty as the Film's Engine

The thing Blanco wanted to land above everything else was what Enzo is actually protecting.

"I wanted the audience to feel Enzo's loyalty and love he's always had for his cousin Marcus and his sister Tori, also his loyalty to his new family, becoming one of The Kids himself, as he solidifies his place when he takes on Skinny in place of his cousin Marcus."

The fight with Skinny is where Enzo stops being a visitor. Blanco frames it as a declaration.

Corpus Christi

The film is rooted in a specific place. Blanco knows it from the inside.

"Corpus Christi has a lot of great parts and subdivisions, but the Home was an actual hub for some real homeless, drug-addicted people living there. Most I knew. A few we used on my short film Too Late for Promises. This location was also my old neighborhood, so the westside area served us well to film."

That's not local color. That's people Blanco grew up with, appearing on camera in a story partly about them.

How It Got Made

The IMDb budget is wrong.

"That number was actually a lot lower. There was no budget, pretty much. The money accumulated throughout filming was probably up to $1,200. My brother 2 Swift had his Red Komodo and his audio boom. My new buddy at that time Mike Castro had his Sony FX6. I had bought some lights. Equipment rental wasn't an issue."

Blanco and Castro did the editing and color grading. Blanco wrote the songs and score. 2 Swift handled foley and mixed all the audio. Three people covering everything.

The Shootout

The hardest scene physically was the shootout. They built the blood effect from scratch.

"We had a DIY blood shot pump system that we had to get right. It was probably about 45 degrees outside. Some of the cast couldn't make it, so we improvised. It actually came out pretty dope."

What to Know Before You Press Play

"This movie isn't a polished, feel-good story. It's raw, tense, and loosely based on true-life circumstances some people actually live on a daily basis."

That's the only pitch Blanco makes. It holds up.

Crime

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Streaming now on Relay.