Review: Backwoods

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2020
Images from the Internet

Backwoods
Directed by Thomas Smith
Fighting Owl Films
70 minutes, 2020
www.fightingowlfilms.com

 Most of what I have seen of Thomas Smith’s films, such as The Night Shift (2011), Night of the Krampus (2013) and Demon Squad (2019) – all of which have been reviewed on this blog if you search for it – have been enjoyable, relatively horror fare lite with minimal blood, some good spooks, and a touch of 1940’s film-style banter and humor. Many of them seemed right for television series like “Supernatural” or “Buffy, the Vampire Slayer.”

For his new release, this time Smith has delved into darker territory, both zigging and zagging a new course from anything I have seen from him. That’s not to say there isn’t some wit involved, such as the football team being the Owls (yeah, their slogan is the Fighting Owls, of course) named after Smith’s production company, and the playing field is dedicated after Khristian Fulmer, who starred in most of Smith’s films. But I digress, as this one is much more serious…

Isabella Alberti, Michael Anthony Bagozzi

You know your night is going to be bad when you wake up after a post-high school football party in your cheerleader outfit, bound and gagged, as does our protagonist Molly (Isabella Alberti). That’s the opening situation with which we are presented. Through a series of flashbacks we get to learn how she got there, and we see how she end up in the backwoods of Alabama (where this was shot), home of the urban legendary Hangman (Scott Alan Warner), a serial killer who was known to murder the men and “keep” the women. Supposedly he was killed years before by the coppers but, this is a genre film.

The central characters are Molly, her incredible asswipe of a boyfriend/jock Hunter (Matthew McCoy), her younger sister Olive (Angelina Alberti), and the bullied waterboy, Noah (Michael Anthony Bagozzi), who is Molly’s friend. Along for the ride are some of Hunter’s pals (aka the body count).

Jeremy Sande, Matthew McCoy

There are multiple bad guys: Hunter, an older drug dealer (Jeremy Sande) who lusts after Molly, and of course there’s the Hangman. And then… well, like Sweeney Todd, he wouldn’t want us to give it away. Each has their own unconnected motives and singular desires, and all will converge at some point. That’s how genre films unfold.

As for the Hangman, lots of local areas have their own stories that overlap with these kinds of legends, such as when I was growing up in the New York area there was Cropsy that was told around the Cub Scout campfire, a burned killer in the woods waiting to kill campers (that I grew up in Brooklyn close to a street named Cropsy Avenue used to weird me out as a young’n); The Burning (1981) was based on this story. The Hangman doesn’t need a mask, and his disfiguring is not shied away from in the chronology (i.e., when you see him the first time, he’s shown clearly). He has a mutant look that would fit well in the family from The Hills Have Eyes (1977).

Personality wise, the Hangman is actually more “human” than most either masked or deformed killing machines in these types of releases, in that one can almost empathize with him at times, and Warner does an exceptional job expressing emotions through the big rubber mask and hands. Sometimes the viewer can care more about him than some of the victims, though the dread is still there. He makes listening to Christian music a bit ominous (okay, yeah, it is anyway, right?).

Scott Alan Warner: The Hangman

The film can be a bit talky at times, seeming to delay the action, but then again it does help with the character development, so it’s still a win-situation, unless you’re so hyped up and conditioned by modern fare you need quick editing and random slaughter. There are certainly some fun kills here, don’t get me wrong, and they are surely enjoyable, but it takes time. Then again, this would not be considered a “slow burner” either; it’s kind of in the middle, which is a nice place to be situated.

Speaking of the kills, even though the main antagonist is known as the Hangman, we get to see a number of people die a varied of ways, rarely by hanging, ironically. This is actually fine, because the way it is presented gives us a bit more blood and general mayhem. The only thing of which I’m not certain (perhaps I missed it?) is whether this Hangman is the same as the legend, or perhaps a progeny. Either way, it opens up for a franchise, which would be welcomed.

The visuals are beautifully shot by Kris Skoda, who also fills a bunch of other crew shoes. It is well written by husband and wife team of Smith and Erin Lilly (the latter of whom has a decent cameo role as “The Feral Woman,” aka Karen, though I don’t think she’ll be calling the cops on strangers), with lots of twists and unexpected turns, and as I said, which does well to build some character development that is so rare in these kinds of slaughter films.

As a departure from the tone of filmmaking he usually employs, Smith does a really fine job at giving us a mutant slasher, with a fine balance between art and blood, twixt talk and terror. I can honestly say, in the number of films of his I have seen, I have never been disappointed, and that includes this one.

Backwoods Trailer: TBD

Review: Jug Face

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2013
Images from the Internet

                            

Jug Face
Written and directed by Chad Crawford Kinkle. 
81 minutes, 2013
www.jugfacethemovie.com
www.Moderncine.com
www.Werenewco.com
www.moderndistrib.
www.MVDvisual.com

This film has had quite a number of festival selections, won some awards, and is listed on quite a number of Top 10 lists of the year. I can certainly understand that, as the acting is superb, the direction well handled, the tension palpable and the story is engaging through most of it. But for some reason it left me cold.

In the deep backwoods of Tennessee, there is an ancient creature living in a relatively shallow hole in the ground (called “the pit”) that has a few inches of water in it that trades good health in exchange for a sacrifice of its choosing, in a relationship similar to the Morlocks and Eloi. Whoever’s face appears on a potter’s jug (inspired by the unnamed being), they must have their throat cut and the blood spills down into the hole, satisfying the bloodlust until the next jug face.

We meet Amy (Lauren Ashely Carter, looking younger than her years), who is a teenager in trouble in many ways, including an affair with someone close to her, a friendship with a much older man (the potter, played excellently by Sean Bridges with just the right amount of pathos and innocence), promised to a rotund and boring neighbor nearer to her age, is pregnant (it says it right on the box, so I’m not giving anything away) in a society that demands virginity, and now she had found out she’s the next jug face. To make matters worse, if that’s possible, she’s stolen the jug before anyone sees it, causing death in her wake.

Because the thing in “the pit wants what it wants,” the community will do whatever it takes to keep it satisfied, due to its “taking” others until its chosen wants are met. On top of that, those who die by its hand that have not been chosen are cursed to wander the woods for eternity.

This sounds like it could be a hoot, but it fails in my opinion. Why? For many reasons, not all of which I will tell because of giving away too much, but here are some thoughts. The tentacle being, which we only see in extremely quick edits and blurs of motion – to keep the suspense, I’m sure, but c’mon – is supposed to be a religion of sorts, perhaps being an analogy of the fanaticism of those who follow Jeebus, in some way. Well, with the exception of what was written and rewritten and transcribed and rewritten and transcribed, religion is based solely on faith that something had happened a long time ago, can happen now, or will happen at a later point. The being in the hole, however, is now and visceral, its effects immediate and destruction by its figurative hands a real consequence. This is not religion, because there is no faith in the unknown. It’s desires are made known and you damn well better obey.

Due to this, I wonder why this community is committed to keeping its number small. I mean, the more who live there, the better the odds of survival. If you live in a community of 20 and every couple of years someone has to go, well, I don’t like the odds. Why they don’t all leave is another question. Is it a matter of “my land, my honor”? Screw that. If there was a creature living on my block that demanded that someone from the block has to be fed to it, well, I’m not staying in that neighborhood, never mind the city. It defies logic to me.

Everyone in the area treats every day like its normal. I’d be shitting bricks wondering if it was me, my partner, or my kids who were next. In a community that small, I would be heartbroken if anyone was chosen. These people are poor as dirt, Amy’s father sells moonshine to store owner in town to make any money.

Perhaps I’m reading this wrong. Maybe it’s not about religion, but politics. I mean, poor people – especially in the deep south, it seems – tend to vote against their own best interests (i.e., Republican) so maybe it makes sense they would stay around, even if it means the possibility of self-harm. That could be why I was so frustrated by the relationships in the film.

There are some decent gore applications, including a dismembered hand here, an unconnected intestine there, and especially some throat slicing, but much of the action is a whirl of motion and editing that leaves much of the actual attacks as wanting, for me.

Lastly, I found the ending to be unsatisfying, and an easy out. I’m not going to say what it is, but surely there could have been a more going against the grain, rather than… well, what it is.

As a side note, I think it’s cool that the central character’s parents are played by Larry Fessennden and a frumpy looking Sean Young, who also played the parents of the central character in the 2005 film, Headspace (reviewed HERE).

As for the extras, there is an interesting albeit standard “making of” documentary that lasts for 30 minutes so you get to hear the origins and meet the cast / crew, the trailer, and a short written and directed by Kinkle called “Organ Grinder.” That was fun, even in its six-minute length.

Pay attention to what I say, or listen to the others, it’s all good. I have no ego in this, as it’s not my film. Considering that more have liked it than I have, it may be worth your checking it out. Actually, listen to no one and make your own choices, unlike the people in this film.