Review: The Forever Room

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

The Forever Room
Directed by Kevin Hicks
Chinimble Lore; Freestyle Digital Media
90 minutes, 2021
www.facebook.com/Chinimble-Lore-113167533387607

Yeah we're playing those mind games forever
Protecting our images in space and in time
– John Lennon

Much as director Kevin Hicks (and his partner, Vickie Hicks, who also wrote the screenplay and was Executive in Charge) updated the communicating through time via media (telephone in this case) with his previous feature, Dead Air (2021; reviewed HERE), they now update and mix the escape room and held captive genres with this, their new full length release.

Samantha Valletta

In this psychological thriller, it starts off with Claire (Samantha Valletta), a young woman who is chained by her ankle in a basement somewhere near Ithaca, NY, that has a cot, a chair, a table, some odd and rudimentary clown paintings, a mirror, and a bucket for, well, you know. However, there is naught to read, no music, and nothing but herself to spend the time. She is way angrier than she is scared of her captor, an older woman named Helen (Vickie Hicks). The latter accuses Claire of committing a heinous crime and states, “You have a lot of skeletons in your closet, dear,” which Claire vehemently denies. That’s just the opening (so nothing being given away).

As the film progresses, things are not always what they seem at first, and much of the story is the basis of the relationship between these two women. Claire is confused and angry, and Helen is (mostly) calm and calculating, many of their exchanges being when it is feeding time.

Each conversation builds on the previous one, with bits of information to the audience to fill them in, using small increments. Despite the claustrophobia of the small room in which Claire forcibly occupies, the story is interesting, and the viewer wants to know more and more of what put these two people in this dire situation. Claire doesn’t remember anything before being chained up, but parts of her past are telegraphed by both events that happen to Claire in the room, and the things she hears.

Meanwhile, people keep appearing when Claire is alone, such as Ethan (Kevin Hicks, this film’s director), Rebecca (Nicole Skelly), and a boy named Michael (Luca Iacovetti) who seems to be playing a game of hide and seek with Claire. Why these people are there seem obvious to me, but at 20 minutes in, I will hold off on my initial guesses. Rebecca explains how she is a figment of Claire’s imagination (“Haven’t you ever had an imaginary friend?”), but something dark brings out these three…and a couple of sock puppets. No, I’m not kidding. Possibly it is a bit like Gerald’s Game (2017) in that the imagination runs havoc, perhaps it is dreams, or is it something more sinister or supernatural than that?

Over time, the frequency of the pop-ins increases and become more intense. Sometimes it is incredibly creepy, especially with Ethan and Michael. Rebecca is sort of a Greek Chorus in that she helps with some self-questioning and pieces of exposition for the viewer. Or perhaps it is Claire’s own brain eating itself because she refuses to eat for days on end.

Despite the small, narrow space, the filming work is well staged, almost like a three-camera television shoot, keep the elbow room still tight, but not to the point of, say, an MRI-level or the sewer pipe escape of the main character in Richard Bachman’s (Stephen King) novel, The Running Man.

Vickie Hicks

As with Dead Air, Vickie proves herself to be a naturalistic actor who makes it look easy, with her cigarette smokey deep voice. Valletta manages to keep up with her, making her both empathetic and unhinged in a fearless performance.

The lighting is phenomenal, with shades of primary colors, but not to the Creepshow (1982) level, but more of a realistic tone, and with the editing gives some expansion to the space. Speaking of the basement, this could actually be a one-set play, using shadows and dark spots for characters to “pop” in and out quite easily. It almost seems Vickie wrote it that way.

Kevin Hicks

For a troupe of five (not counting the two puppets), the story stays engaging for the full run time, and even though the space is small, as is the cast, it remains compelling. The final act is full of unexpected moments and answers quite a few questions. A good watch.

The film is available On Demand from Chinimble Lore and Freestyle Digital Media.

 

Review: Dead Air

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

Dead Air
Directed by Kevin Hicks
Chinimble Lore; Freestyle Digital Media
90 minutes, 2021
www.chinimblelore.com/

Poor William (director Kevin Hicks). He’s a lonely widower in 1984 with two young teen girls (real sisters, Madison and Mackenzie Skodzinsky), one of whom is goddamn obnoxious as she’s entering puberty mean girl age, but I digress already... He’s also bitter. His mom died recently, and now he’s going through some of the stuff she had hidden away, including a short-wave radio. William now has a new hobby.

He has two “Radio Radio” connections: the minor one is some static-filled talking that I was having trouble making out, but you know will be pertinent by the end, and he connects with an equally depressed, housebound (she is agoraphobic) woman named Eva (Vickie Hicks). She even has her groceries delivered. I’m only a third of the way through, but I’m guessing that will be significant.

Kevin Hicks

Shades of films like Frequency (2000), The Butterfly Effect (2003), and The Lake House (2006), there are hints given throughout in blaring terms that there is a connection to the two of them beyond meeting like two birds on the wire (apologies to L. Cohen). I am really trying hard not to give too much away; it just seems the hints are like electric shocks rather than the kind where you get it the second time you watch the film. Still, that does not deter me, because so far it is actually a well-made film. But more later.

There is a supernatural element to this as things go tossing off a table by itself, for example. And who is responsible? Is it the ghost of William’s mom? His late wife? Jeebus?

Of course, there is an ultimate reason why William and Eva connect, though I’m sure that will come through eventually, as they must. They obviously are going to have an affect on each other; but again, it is their relationship that is the center of the story. Then again, there is the film’s title as another clue.

Vickie Hicks

A wise plot choice of the writer (Vickie Hicks) is to have William attending therapy with Dr. Jennings (Chris Xaver), so the viewer can get some exposition on events that have given William some PTSD, insights on William’s character, and to hear what he is thinking. Their scenes together are essentially a modern version of the Greek Chorus, and I am grateful for it.

Eva may be the only one who is isolated, but we never see William go of to work, even though he runs the family farm right off the Finger Lakes of Lansing/Ithaca, New York State. He’s either taking care of the girls, going to therapy, or in the basement (wearing a baseball cap down there) fiddling with stuff and on the ham sandwi… I mean, ham radio (sorry, I’m hungry). Many times people without a populated work environment are socially alienated, so it’s no wonder that he and Eva have a connection.

What is nice is that the relationship between Eva and William is not what one would expect, and by the third act, it starts becoming clear for the characters that there is something metaphysical going on that leads (or led) to a tragic event. There is an easier route the writer could have followed, but I am glad the plot took the course it did. There are some questions though, as since they talk so often, there is no mention of current events or any contemporary happenings, even when they talk all night. That seems odd to me: if I talk to someone for a long period of time, you can bet that I am going to be mentioning something contemporary at some point.

I love that it is set in the 1980s because it is pre-cell phones, computers, and all the other technology that would honestly be in the way of the storytelling. For example, the teens do paste-up storyboards instead of being glued to some version of a screen.

The acting is mostly good, with the best performance by Vickie Hicks, who comes across quite natural in her emotions. Kevin is watchable, too, though occasionally his line reading feels a little forced, especially when he is angry; but this is certainly not enough to take away from the story.

While some of the themes becomes quite obvious early on, the details come crashing down in the final act, and there are definitely some unexpected moments that bump this up into a decent thriller. The supernatural aspects are not overwhelming and there is no blood, only course language.

Some of the tropes used in the story are not new, but that is okay because it is twisted around in a different way, creating a project that sounds familiar but veers off, sort of like hearing new lyrics on an old melody. This makes this a fun watch, but be sure to pay attention to the hints along the way, and see if you come up with the right conclusion.

The film is available across North America in Digital HD and Cable Video on Demand.