Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2016
Images from the Internet
The Invoking 3: Poltergeist Dimensions
(aka The Invoking 3: Paranormal Dimensions)
(aka The Invoking 3: Paranormal Dimensions)
Written and directed by Lee
Matthews
Ruthless Pictures / MVD Visual
81 minutes,
2016
Just a
couple of housecleaning bits to begin.
First, although this is the third of the anthology Invoking films, I have never seen the earlier editions. Second, although
Lee Mathews is listed as the director, with one exception, he is actually the compiler of the shorts that make up the
collection, and in fact he directed only the last of the nine tales included in
this edition. And lastly, while the subtitle of the DVD is Poltergeist Dimensions, the film itself and all information about it
has it as Paranormal Dimensions.
Perhaps it was changed legally so as not to step on the foot of the overrated Paranormal Activity franchise?
Although independent
from the other Invoking series, the
overarching theme remains the same in that it is supposedly based on true events
in the supernatural world, or as the film states it: “Although hundreds of
disturbing paranormal events occur every year, most of these chilling
encounters go unreported – until now.”
There is
no overriding arc or bookending addition that ties them all together, but
rather it lets each speak for itself. The one thing all these dark tales have
in common is the title cards, which state the location (twice with typos) and
time of day. The shorts come from around the world, although most from the
eastern half of the United States. Like the ABCs
of Death series, another anthology work with multiple directors, many of
these are either without dialog, or kept at a minimum, but is not afraid to use
the original language in which it was filmed (for which I totally agree); in
those cases there are subtitles.
Like most collections,
there is a wide range of quality of story, though each looks good (i.e., not
amateurish) in its own right. The weakest link, in my opinion, is the opener,
“The Dark Comes Quickly” (2014), a 15-minute found-footage style opus of a trio
of obnoxious PhD students who go looking for a temple in the Mictal Mines in
San Luis Potosi, Mexico (about 250 miles due north of Mexico City). It’s frat
boy mentality and handheld cameras. There’s a cool beastie and Aztecs warriors,
but it falls flat. The other eight tales are more interesting and much less
annoying.
Fortunately
it is followed by “The Dweller” (2016), a 6-minute piece filled with yuck, rot,
worms and something hiding. The only human character here is well handled by
the busty Tessa Netting (she was on Glee
and Disney’s Bunk’d, but thankfully she
actually acts here rather than emotes like a cartoon), arguably the
biggest name in the film.
The theme
of this particular short, the figurative thing
under the bed, is a common thread/threat throughout a few of the films
here, two of them being incredibly similar in the final act: this one and the
finale, “3 AM” (2016), though both “Selfies” and “Bedroom Window” (2016) come
awfully close.
Don’t get
me wrong, they are all fun, even though they rely on a similar trope. Others
include (but not exclusively) aliens, demons, and the zombie apocalypse.
Lemme get
to some of the standout pieces, though I don’t think there was a stinker in the
house, even with my whine about the opener. Let’s start with “La Dama de Blanco”
(2015), also found on YouTube as “The Lady in White.” Four young men (college
age) take a night drive to the beach resort of Puerto Piritu, on the
north-central coast of Venezuela (about 200 miles East from Caracas). The time
posting for this episode is 4:44 AM. The story has an inevitable and obvious
track, and it’s a tad too long at 17 minutes, but it’s actually well directed,
acted, and lit, considering most of it takes place in a moving car in dead of
night.
“Prisoner
at Bannons" (aka “The Thing at Bannon’s Lookout”; 2006), takes place in
Lawrence, Kansas, dealing with an exchange between a couple and some mysterious
woodland creatures. It definitely has a couple of big surprises in it,
including a bucket of deplorables
turn of events, but the Richard Matheson-worthy twist is the icing on the tale,
as mixed metaphors might say. The news crew aspect is a bit of an add-on that I
can understand but believe to be not totally necessary because it doesn’t
really add to the story (other than perhaps comic relief in a Scream/Gale Weathers kind of way), but
it also doesn’t take away much either. With or without, it’s one of my faves
here.
One of the
two stories based in New Jersey (isn’t that scary enough?) is the brief “Heartbreak
of the Dead” (2014) which starts off confusing, but leads to a very satisfying ending.
Thousands of miles away in Prague, I’m mixed about “She is Not My Sister”
(2016; 7 min, which can be found on YouTube), where a a boy and his step-sister
deal with a playground demon. The effects are great and the verbal punchline is
cute, but on some level the ending left me uncomfortable and sad.
The last short
I’ll discuss is, as I said, the finale, “3 AM,” directed by Matthews. Located
in the bleak (here, anyway) and desolate Brecon Beacons area of Scotland at
3:00 AM, a woman is alone and frightened by, well, just about everything, including
a Romper Room jack-in-the-box. Yes, it even has the official RR logo from when I was a kid. Didn’t even
know they were still a brand. But I digress… This short was a bid of a joy
ride, and Matthews manages to make the viewer jumpy about practically everything.
He works the dread nerve like a pro.
There are
no extras other than the chapters, obviously broken up by each story as a new
chapter. This is the second film by the director, the other also an anthology
of shorts (I’ll bet there is included one by him) that is not part of the Invoking
series. I have to say that I like horror shorts because they’re usually more
directly to the point, without too much fluff. And that’s just what you have
here, a nice bunch of meat and taters tales to tantalize by keeping interest
taut.
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