Featuring a soundtrack provided in part by Prince, blood marked the directorial debut of Michael Steven Gregory, who also scripted. In it, after being assaulted and brutalized, a young boy defies the warnings of his idolized brother and joins a gang, the rite of initiation of which is to murder a rival member in a drive-by shooting.

Filmed on location in San Diego, blood's graphic depiction of the consequences of gang violence resulted in its being used by educators, gang prevention counselors and youth corrections authorities throughout California and elsewhere.