Review: An Amityville Poltergeist

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2021
Images from the Internet

An Amityville Poltergeist (aka Don’t Sleep)
Directed by Calvin Morie McCarthy
Breaking Glass Pictures; 7th Street Productions
89 minutes, 2020 / 2021
www.bgpics.com/amityville-poltergeist /

By sheer coincidence, a few days before this writing, I viewed one of the director’s earlier works, Jesus I Was Evil (2018), on Tubi. It is a silly dark comedy slasher with a pseudo-religious bent that I enjoyed. So, when this one came up, I was glad to get the opportunity to view it. Let’s see if it is worth the watch.

Despite the Amityville name, the film was shot in Portland, OR. I grew up on Long Island, where the original Lutz house still stands and is a tourist trap (which is why it keeps getting resold, more than because of its reputation), but I will not take that personally (smiley emoji goes here, FYI). But the house does have the prerequisite double round-topped windows, so it is kosher…enough.

A shy young man in his twenties, Jim (Parris Bates, giving off a Justin Long/Jeepers Creepers period vibe with a whipsy, high-school ‘stashe) who is strapped for cash (could it be because he’s wearing a Joy Division tee, rather than New Order?), decides to take a job as a housesitter. You can already see where it is going, thematically. But with that title, what else would it be, and if you like this stuff, as I do, that should not matter.

Parris Bates

The house’s living occupant is an older woman, Eunice (stage actor and championship ballroom dancer Rebecca Kimble; is she related to a doctor who is looking for a killer with one hand? Sorry, bad joke…), whose son, Tony, believes her to be a bit messugga, but she warns Jim, in an almost When a Stranger Calls (1979) catchphrase, “I’m not afraid of someone breaking into the house, I’m afraid of what’s already in the house.” She’s seen staying the weekend with her daughter, Donna (Airisa Durand, who also did well as one of the profane leads in Jesus I Was Evil).

Jim has two toxic buddies who are a couple, the annoying pothead and masculinist Collin (Conor Austin), and his cute and oversexed girlfriend, Alyson (Sydney Winbush), who are certain to be phantasm fodder, hinted at by the prologue so I’m hopefully not giving anything away. I write this while still in the first act, so I’m not exactly sure, quite honestly. For example, Collin wears a tee that says “Bitches Be Trippin’” and she cell phones pictures of herself in various sexy attire (or none) to Collin (I notice that one of them is too far away to be a selfie and I don’t see a selfie-stick – is that still a thing? – so I wonder who took it…). Anyway, their personalities are so different from Jim’s, I wonder if they would be friends in real life. Another thing is, as a non-smoker myself, I could tell that these people were puffing, not inhaling. Made me laugh, especially in a scene between Alyson and Jim. That bein’ said, there is a lot of beer, wine and weed that gets absorbed in three or four days.

Sydney Winbush

As the second act starts when Jim is alone in the house which is just when you expect the spookies to start manifesting, and thankfully they do, indirectly at first and then it ramps up, as it should be. Most of the time it looks pretty good, I am happy to report, especially since the obvious budget constraints. Nice move.

There definitely are some serious questions that I have (sometimes I have trouble with reality vs. story), such as the first time Jim sees a Samara-like entity, he is still there the next day, and invites his couple friends to come over. For me? If I would have seen that, I would have pushed right past it, gone out the door, and said screw it, walking home if necessary. In the flow of this story, it’s closer to the first The Amityville Horror (1979) film in that the family obviously stayed too long after the creep factor started.

Jim is a braver man than I, and sticks it out. And throughout, there are a number of really well-done jump scares, be it spirits or soundtrack music, including one that uses kind of a well-worn trope, but still fun.

I am not going to lie, the film seems really slow in spots, and the timeline is at first confusing in a smoke and mirrors kind of way, even with (or because of) title cards with the day and time that pop up on occasion. But when the viewer (i.e., me) gets the gimmick, it is definitely an a-ha moment (no Norwegians involved, though) that makes it all click and the story becomes way more interesting. It is a wise style choice by the writer/director to which I tip a hat and almost insures a second viewing to catch what one missed the first time.

As it should, the third act ramps up significantly, and by the end I was really enjoying myself. Things are explained, origins are clarified and violence is ensured, but certainly not in ways one would expect. The last 15 minutes made up for the previous, though they are somewhat necessary to fully appreciate the outcome, even though some serious editing could have been done to shorten the film. For example, the first act could have been cut a bit, such as most of the conversation of Jim and Alyson sitting on a bed, toking.

A filter is used throughout, that has a bluish hue, sort of like looking at someone in a room where the only light is from an old, black and white television. This makes everything look a little darker. The murkier the tone, the better chance of some spooky action (it is the film’s “tell”). I understand what the director was trying to do, but perhaps it went a little too dim. It’s easy to make out everything, but it is also not as clear as it could have been. For me, this was the biggest flaw in the film, so that’s not bad, despite all my kvetching.

A subtheme of the film is sleep deprivation, and how it can affect the psyche. I know at least two people who have had psychotic breaks from lack of sleep over an extended period. This film plays a bit with that.

The original title was Don’t Sleep, but distributors love to overuse the word “Amityville” for the name (as they do with “Ouija”). I did a quick search and gave up counting at fifty. Sure, it is symbolic for evil ghost by name association, but because there are so many of them, it can easily get lost in the group, which is not fair to the film. And it ends up being time well spent.

 

Review: Beyond the Shadows

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2020

Images from the Internet

Beyond the Shadows

Directed by David James Gustafson

Great Gus Productions

93 minutes, 2020

https://www.greatgusproductions.com/

There is an entire subgenre on the topic of a collective of ghost hunters, ranging from the big budget ones like The Haunting (1962), The Legend of Hell House (1973),  Poltergeist (1982), and The Conjuring (2013), to mostly indies like Grave Encounters (2011), Todd Sheet’s Ouija Death Trap (2014), and this one. The major differences are the smaller funded releases tend to be in the found footage (FF) style; this one is a mixture of both FF and linear (though it all appears to be hand-held camera action).

Brianna Piage Dague, Tyler Roy Roberts, Tyler Ryan

During the extended eight-minute prologue before the opening credits, we meet the ghost hunter crew who host a cable television show called, of course, “Beyond the Shadows.” Led by the dashing family man and aptly-named Drexler “Drex” Faust (Tyler Roy Roberts), they include his assistant and “ladies man” Jonathon Coxman (Sam Olive), and their cameraman, Sammy (Westin Hedin), the latter of whom talks in an annoyingly profane, “bro” and “dude” language that gets on the nerves quite quickly. You may notice that name of the roles are easily identifiable with traits related to the film; it’s a fun game to connect the meanings and the characterizations.

You can see lots of shows like this on cable, as well, such as “Ghost Hunters,” “Ghost Adventures,” and so many others. Where’s James Randi when you need him, eh? We are getting there...

Like many of those programs, “Beyond the Shadows” is a bunch of entrepreneurs (i.e., fakers) trying to cash in on peoples’ fear of the unknown, death and the afterlife. Their next gig, and the major portion of this film, deals with the Chetco River Lodge, Washington State, where a couple of white settlers apparently killed a large number of Native Americans in the mid-19th Century. And, Drex is filled with hubris that you know, if you follow these kinds of films, is going to bite him and the group in the ass.

Gabrielle Malate

For this new venture, they are bringing others along (collectively known as the body count). Of course, there is the detractors and debunkers, in this case Dr. Calvin Harding (Cameron Lee Price) in the Great Randi role, with his assistant Dr. Emma Bright (Stevie Mae), and his own cameraperson and younger brother, Keith (Alex McIntire), to give another angle for editing the film I am assuming; smart move. While most of the film crew are worried about bringing the doc along, they are to be joined by psychic Phantasma Spectre (Gabrielle Malate) and “superfans” hot-for-Drex Ashley (Brianna Paige Dague), hot-for-Drex Rooster (Tyler Ryan) who is an amateur taxidermist in his “gay-rage,” and stoner Lou (Apostolos Gliarmis), who is apparently really into deli-meat sandwiches. Also joining along are the crew’s friend, producer and on-air talent Bryan (Derrick Woodrin), and “groupies” (as Coxman calls them) Holly (Ella Anderson) and Eve (Lindsay Gustafson).

While a dark comedy, bits of it is pretty broad, such as the characterization of Monty (Ty Boice), who runs the Lodge. He is neat, tidy, particular and peculiar. You know he knows more than he is letting on, as he is quite joyous about the hauntings.

Despite the comedy, there is a serious element in here as well, and that is the European/Settlers treatment of the Native Americans. Bryan has a concentrated speech about some of that, which I’m sure will just go over the heads of many stoned and drunk viewers of the film who may consider this part a downer, but I really am glad they are addressing it. This will be a key, underlying theme to the film that will tie everything together.

About the half-way point, the film kicks into a new gear as the group convenes at the lodge, and we get to meet all the new and relevant characters at once. It is a large group of nearly a dozen, so there is a chance for lots of bodies to pile up.

Alex McIntire, Cameron Lee Price

There is tension in the four groups, between the film crew who is trying to put one over on the skeptics, the scientists who not only disbelieve in spirits but are quite perturbed about it all, the uber-fans who are excited to be there in creepy fanboy (and girl) ways, and the psychic (a group of one).

Throughout the film there are flickers to indicate video “noise,” which I am going to guess are subliminal images, but I’m watching this online and my computer doesn’t do frame-by-frame; that’s something you may look forward to doing.

The effects are… well, the physical SFX look good, but thanks to budgetary constraints, most of the killings are done out of camera sight. However, the after-effects look great. There is one major digital FX that looks kind of cartoonish, but being a micro-budget release and the fact they only do that once that I can tell, I’ll let it pass as it did not ruin the experience of the whole film for me. Most of the acting is rather good, with Roberts, Woodrin and Malate coming off the best.

This film is truly a Gustafson family affair, with a few actors and a surprising number of the crew carrying the surname. Kudos for that, as I’m sure that cut the costs enormously (if it was done right).

Anyone who is a regular reader of this blog knows that I am not necessarily a fan of FF films, but combining it with a more standardized format (though handheld), makes it more palatable. As for the story, it was surprisingly interesting and even though there is easily 10 minutes that could have been excised from the final cut (such Racoon’s taxidermy story in the driveway), this kept my interest, especially during the second half. So, dude, if you are a bro and want to see some better-than-Paranormal Activity action, this may be your slice of pie. Shall we put it on in the gay-rage? You can see the full film for free on YouTube HERE. 

Review: The Bone Box

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2020

Images from the Internet

The Bone Box

Directed by Luke Genton

LakeShore Productions; Terror Films

87 minutes, 2020

https://www.facebook.com/TheBoneBox/

There was a time when grave robbing was a profession, much like burglary. Sometimes they would steal the body (look up Burke and Hare), others it was the contents of the graves (such as jewelry). It doesn’t really happen much these days, but this film sheds a light on that very crime.

Gareth Koorzen and Maria Olsen

We are introduced to Tom (Gareth Koorzen). He is recently mourning his wife, but also he drinks too much, and gambles through his depression. What better reason to snatch some gems from the deceased as he is mad at death for taking his partner, Claire (Tess Bellomo). Currently he is living with his Aunt Florence (the wonderful Maria Olsen), who is also recently bereaving her husband – and just happens to live next door to the cemetery. As Dana Carvey might say, “How convenient!”

Working with Elodie (Michelle Krusiec, who was a semi-regular on shows like “Hawaii Five-O” and “General Hospital”), the daughter of the funeral parlor director to get the list of recent burials, Tom spends a night digging away to sell the bling to pawn shops. This is all to pay off a large gambling debt to a bookie named Benji (a cameo by Aaron Schwartz, who’s danced around the big leagues with credits including “Gossip Girl” and his first film, 1992’s The Mighty Ducks).

Tom comes across as cold-hearted and uncaring about his night activity, but other things are going on around him in the house that are starting to unnerve him. Florence has a long speech about how objects become more than what they are as they become memories, and this translates into Tom seeing glances of the deceased he stole from roaming around the house. Is it “real,” his deep-seated guilt, or Memorex? (Sorry…). If so, this could be seen as a direct descendant of Poe’s short story, “The Tell-Tale Heart.” But is it?

We see the spirits (or imagined ones) popping in and out in shadows, backgrounds and eye corners. The way they just appear is well done, sliding through the viewer’s vision, and then poof. One of the ways this is indicated is by a changing painting, drawn by Tom’s late uncle (who’s grave he also pilfered). Each time he looks, a shadowy figure is slowly making it’s way to the front door, a theme also effectively used in a similar fashion in the pilot episode of the television show “Night Gallery” (1969), in a segment titled “The Cemetery” (with Ossie Davis and Roddy McDowell).

Michelle Krusiec

Most of the film takes place within the house (after the opening), but the director helps keep it from getting too claustrophobic by some really smart camera work by cinematographer Gonzalo Digenio. There is very little editing within the scenes, and by using a handheld, the camera moves around the actors as they talk, giving some feeling of the viewer’s own presence in the scene. It’s not overly shaky like found footage, so the motion sickness feeling is not present, but with the lack of editing, this gives the dialogue and the actors themselves a chance to carry the scenes rather than rely on editing for action (Sergei Eisenstein discussed this about 100 years ago).

This ain’t no Poltergeist (1982), where the ghosts are heavily interacting with the living, like shoving Carol Ann across the kitchen floor; this is more subtle, which is also a nice touch. The motive for the spirits’ actions, if they in fact exist, is also revenge, however. This is the first film for director Luke Genton, and he makes the most of it by keeping it small and tight, without making it feel too cramped. Really nice first effort.

Tom is a bit of a dick in that he has let his emotions and addictions get the better of him through his grief, and Koorzen plays him well, giving the viewer a chance to still care about him. His Afrikaner accent is a bit distracting for about a minute, but when you add in Olsen’s similar natural inflection, it actually works – though I would have liked some explanation about that, unless I missed it. Everyone bodes well in the acting area, managing sometimes large amounts of dialogue in particular scenes.

This is a kind of film that would be mostly okay to show to newbies to the genre, as there is very little blood, a small body count per se, and only one or two bits which could be considered squeamish. There is also no nudity or much in the way of cussin’, either. This is more of a personality-driven story, rather than shock, even with ghosts popping in and out here and there throughout. It is quite entertaining.

Review: Ouija Death Trap

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2019
Images from the Internet

Ouija Death Trap (aka Spirits)

Directed by Todd Sheets
Extreme Entertainment / Jackalope Media / Wild Eye Releasing / MVD Entertainment
74 minutes, 2014 / 2018
www.zombiebloodbath.com
www.wildeyereleasing.com
www.mvdb2b.com

Back in the 2010s, director Todd Sheets had a health scare that put him out of commission for a few years. He’s been back for a while now, and I personally think his newer films are better than ever. This found footager was one of his early “return” releases. While I’m not a found footage fan, I am one of Sheets, and decided to give it a try.

S

Dakota Lassen, Raven Reed, Jessica Hopkins

tarting life under the title Spirits, the new name is reflective of supernatural goings on, of course. For our story, high schooler Raven (Raven Reed) has an internship at ShadowView Manor (great name), which has a reputation for being haunted. So, natch, she and her school pal friends – Jessica (Jessica Hopkins), Kota (Dakota Lassen) and William (William Christopher Epperson) – sneak into the office complex building, each with a camera to explore.

Like many films where there are a group heading out to a mysterious place, there is the older guy to fill in the back story, in this case the janitor (John O’Hara, looking and playing very different and almost unrecognizable from Sheets’ later film, Clownado). He’s kind of creepy in his telling of how the building used to be a brothel and how a priest came in and killed everyone; in fact, this is a de facto sequel to Sheets’ House of Forbidden Secrets (2014), and if I am right, it even takes place in the same structure (which I recognized from the earlier film).



John O'Hara

One of the positives about this is the high school kids actually look like high school kids. No thirty year olds pretending to be seniors. I’m grateful for that, because when it’s actors who are older playing younger, I find it distracting – and annoying.

 

So our intrepid quartet meets the janitor, and then starts to roam around the joint, and sure enough strange things begin to happen. People pop in and out, dolls and furniture move by themselves, and before long, our intrepid ghost hunters are terrified, jumping from floor to floor on the elevator (there’s three storeys, according to the buttons). Then they start getting dragged off somewhere by some mysterious beings, the spookiest of which is a girl who looks to be around their own age.

As I said, I’m not a big fan of the found footage genre, and this definitely has a bit of the best and worst of that. For the worst part, it’s the running around with the cameras in the dark, which is really annoying to view. Also, we get glimpses of things that scare them, and they react before we get the chance to see what terrified them in the first place; the oft response, “Are you fucking kidding me?!” does not answer what they are screaming about. They spend most of their time screaming at the top of their lungs. They’re afraid, I get it, but the screech level gets to ya after a while, y’know?



Jessica Hopkins, William Christopher Epperson 

As for the best of, thankfully Sheets works that well, with doors opening by themselves, or releasing hiding spirits; and things moving on their own are creepy. Sure, you know every time the elevator door opens, there’s a chance that there may be something supernatural to meet them, and sometimes there is but not always (another smart move), so it keeps the audience on their toes, as well. For me, the scariest thing in horror films is a closed door that’s about to be opened.

 

Another nice touch is that this appears to be happening in real time, so the events are in the less than 90 minutes time frame. This gives it a bit of a framework, though I’m not sure who was supposed to have edited the four simultaneous cameos (Sheets edited the film). What I also liked is that while this may be a sequel, it also works as a standalone, so you don’t need to know the previous film at all, House of Forbidden Secrets, even though I strongly recommend it as it is quite enjoyable.

The actors definitely come across as honestly scared, which is nice. According to the ending credits, they didn’t know what they were facing when they agreed to film it so they were genuinely frightened. This may be true or not, but it was effective in the screaming and whining. This was also all of their first films.

I realize I’m all over the map about this, whether I liked it or not, but that’s okay. For a genre that tends to bore me, Sheets managed to keep my attention until about 50 minutes in, when I started to weary a bit of the running and screeching. However, it became more interesting close to the end, so I was able to snap back into the story. I’m grateful for that.

The only extras are some Wild Eye Releasing trailers, which are always fun. Meanwhile, Sheets keeps getting better, and I certainly look forward to seeing a lot more of his upcoming films. And while you're at it, especially check out his werewolf release, Bonehill Road.