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A man competes. Sam is young, strong and healthy and he's competing with others like him to become a "blood boy" to a billionaire. If he wins, he'll be immersed in the luxury of the uber-wealthy, offering his youth and vigor to an aging industry titan. Standing in Sam's way is the billionaire's current pick, Charlie. As Sam faces off against Charlie and finds himself in a twisted dynamic of his very own with his competitor, he confronts just how far he will go to win -- and faces the dark underbelly of his aspirations. Directed and written by Jordan M. Hahn, this provocative high-concept short drama is a taut, compelling portrait of the strange, surreal world of "blood boys," whose blood is transfused into aging but ultra-wealthy men in hopes of revitalizing them. Stories of blood boys have seeped into popular imagination; here, the film imagines a modern-day competition of gladiators, overseen by a sympathetic but cynical doctor. But instead of fighting horrors in a ring, these young men are offering themselves up to a powerful billionaire, whose choice will set the winner up in an elite milieu of privilege. Visually, the film has the cold, dark gleam of amoral aspiration and the rhythms of a first-rate thriller, weaving spectacles of masculine strength and power with more intimate scenes where the power play is psychological and emotional. As Sam and Charlie circle one another in more ways than one, the storytelling balances a tricky interplay of teasing seduction and emotional manipulation, played out by actors Booboo Stewart and Damian Joseph Quinn with vehement rivalry and chemistry. They're drawn to one another, but undercurrents of resentment and ego also shape their interactions. Charlie enjoys his status as top boy, while Sam seethes at being made to feel inferior. It only stokes his determination to win, especially when the prize is so rarefied and so tantalizingly close. Slick, disquieting and as riveting as a car crash, BLOOD BOYS could be filed under an emerging corpus of narratives that have sprung up around the lifestyle and ethos of the shadowy but powerful uber-wealthy, especially as their influence comes out into the open in the news. Beyond its bona fides as a sleek, dark psychological thriller about competition and morality, there are also teasing questions about masculinity, power, dominance and the will to power that bubble under the physical and psychological battles. It makes for a tantalizing knot of storytelling that will make viewers wonder just what money can or can't buy -- and whether it is worth the cost. BLOOD BOYS. Courtesy of Jordan M. Hahn at https://madhouse-films.com.