Review: The Breach

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2023
Images from the Internet

The Breach
Directed by Rodrigo Gudiño
Hanger 18 Media; Lightbulb Distribution;
Raven Banner Entertainment; Strike Media
93 minutes, 2022 / 2023
www.strike-media
https://lightbulbfilmdistribution.com/

This film is so Canadian, it should come with maple cookies (they are so good, eh). It takes place in the small town of Lone Crow, in Northern Ontario (filmed in lovely Parry Sound, Ontario).

Based on the novel by Nick Cutter and screenplay written by Cutter and Ian Weir, the main protagonist is the Chief of Police, John “Hawk” Hawkins (Allan Hawco, main character in the series “Republic of Doyle,” 2010-2014), who is one week from retirement (of course). Was his last name derived from the original version of the Canadian group, The Band, known as The Hawks?

Allan Hawco, Mary Antonini

Speaking of bands, the executive producer this film was Slash from Guns 'N Roses who also supervised the score. And there is more relative to the music world, but I will get to that later.

In a well-done pre-credit epilogue, much like a television show, it takes place on the same day as the post-credit film starts, rather than years before. This is actually refreshing for a film. In this way we are introduced to officer Connie Parks (underutilized Mary Antonini) and appropriately named coroner Jacob Redgrave (Wesley French). The coroner is there to check out the body of physics professor Cole Parsons (Adam Kenneth Wilson) that is found, but I will not give out the gruesome details, though we get to see it pretty up-close.

Emily Alatalo

This leads Hawk, Jacob, and guide/tracker/ex-girlfriend of Hawk and previously Jake (no tension there, right?) Meg Fullbright (Emily Alatalo) to head north into the bush to Links Creek on the Porcupine River to find out what happened to Parsons. This leads, naturally in these days of technology, to the overhead drone shot of the lone car on roads surrounded by forest or a boat on a narrow river, with a somber music soundtrack.

While the trio are off on their adventures, Parks (as in parks her butt in the station) holds down the fort, garnishing information on Zoom from a conspiracy-minded friend, Alex (Alex Lifeson; yes, the guitarist from Canadian musical juggernauts, Rush).

Wesley French

The house is abandoned and looks great for those of us who like deserted buildings that are on their last legs; they are fun to photograph. But there is something going on in this house: doors seem to close or unlock by themselves. The soundtrack does well to emphasize the eeriness and creepiness of the joint.

It gets even stranger with the appearance of Cole’s PTSD-affected wife, Linda Parsons (Natalie Brown), and another unexpected guest, as relationships unrealistically develop. And there is a spooky shadow on the wall… Parts of the upcoming plot points are easy to guess, though the steps to that are thankfully murky until they are revealed.

There is a bunch of films reflected in The Breach, such as From Beyond (1986), Bite (2016), Night of the Living Dead (1968), and especially The Fly (1986), one scene in particular. And yet, there is so much more. I have often theorized that when enough pre-used ideas are combined right, it creates something new-ish. In this case it also includes numerous genres, such as police procedural, body horror, sci-fi, cabin in the woods, and one that was unexpected. This has its foot in many different ones, keeping it coherent – not an easy task as previous attempts have shown – satisfying tick boxes in all of them successfully.

The relationships between certain characters are common to give it a “human” touch and possibly to make the characters more likeable, of course, but are completely superfluous to the actual story and burn up time and distract. Sort of like Hooper’s affair with Ellen Brody in Peter Benchley’s book, Jaws, which wisely never made it to the screen; it just did not matter to what was going on, narratively. This is my one gripe, so not bad at all.

Natalie Brown

I must say the film visually looks great, from the cinematography by award-winning Eric Oh, to the set designs. The blood and gore are fabulous, and the prosthetics and make-up effects by Daniel Baker and Chris Cooper are not the same old same old.

With the power of talent here, much from the world of television, it is no surprise that the acting is spot on. In the out-of-context department, it seems a lot of the cast has appeared, at some point on Canadian police procedural “Hudson and Rex” (a guilty pleasure of my own).

Alex Lifeson (on Zoom)

The director, Rodrigo Gudiño, is the founding editor and publisher of the Canadian horror fiction magazine Rue Morgue, and this may not be his first time behind the lens, but it is his first feature length release. An excellent start.

The Breach is available on Sky Store, Virgin Media, AppleTV, Google Play, and Amazon.

IMDB listing HERE

Review: Love Crime

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2022
Images from the Internet

 

Love Crime
Directed by Nicole D’Angelo
CineRidge Entertainment; Cinema Epoch; MSC Productions
67 minutes, 2022
www.facebook.com/cineridge/
I have been really been impressed by this local collective of multi-pronged actors/directors/writers/filmmakers. They all support each other both in front and behind the camera, and still manage to be prolific on a meager financial means.

One consistency is that their films tend to be minimalist, taut, and more often than not psychological. I have reviewed a number of them, such as Quarantine Girl (2020; also directed by D'Angelo), Choke (2020), and Heartbeat (2020). 

Nicole D'Angelo

Our fare for today is a crime drama, founded somewhat on Arizonas-based Jodi Aria (director Nicole D’Angelo), who murdered her lover of a tempestuous relationship in 2008, Travis Alexander (Shane Ryan-Reid). I don’t obviously know what their real relationship was like, so when I refer to the actors’ role, I will use the first name, and for the real person, their last in this review to slow down the confusion.

Time is very fluid in this story, as the chronology is bounced around, yet the timeline of where we are at any scene is clear, thanks to some good direction and editing (more on that later). For the prologue, Jodi is already arrested and in holding as she interacts with grizzled police officer Ross (Sam Dobbins). He is stern, yet sympathetic to Jodi, unlike his boss, Detective Mace (Lisa London), who sees this as a case to be a publicity slam dunk (the real trial was heavily mediated).

Deeply religious, Jodi projects the same onto Travis, as the devout tend to do. She is way more committed to this relationship than Travis, yet she is still a believer. As I said, the real relationship was tumultuous, and this is expressed between break-ups and rejoinings. This is smartly symbolized in the editing, as some B-roll scenes are shown both going forward and backwards.

The personalities of the two main characters are also back and forth, in that they often complement each other, and yet they are quite different. Jodi is what I call god-delusional, grasping on to the weights of faith to keep herself steady. Travis, on the other hand, is a motivational speaker who is quite glib and sometimes impatient with Jodi’s questions about remaining “pure” in some ways; he is constantly using his experience with words and charm to console her, but you know he is being dishonest and it is almost as uncomfortable to watch as her divinity focus. As they swirl around each other, Mace makes like a bulldog trying to break Jodi’s façade, which may be her truth or her self-imposed wall to protect herself from what she has done.

Shane Ryan-Reid

It is easy to see the cracks in both Jodi’s armor of love of Travis and god, as much as it is to see through the weakness of Travis in both. Her overwhelming needs outweigh his lack of them, and in the film, there is no black and white personalities nor actions, as they both have their issues that they bring to the relationship. The fact is that this was a long-distance relationship, with him on the road a lot (Arias and Alexander actually lived in different states).

With multiple events happening over the overlapping timelines, I was quite impressed with the video editing by Michael Tang, which highlights the minimalist and stark (there’s those words again) cinematography by Gregory Hatanaka and Caleb Tou. For example, there can be two opposite events happening, such as an argument and a sex scene interwoven together, and it works. Occasionally, the writing by Jamie Grefe shows some nice flairs as well, such as when Mace states to Ross, “If truth is bitter, my coffee should be, too.”

D'Angelo’s double duty as both lead actor and director proves she is capable for the task. I was truly impressed with the artful directorial skill in which she handles the story. The film may be on the short side, but it was the perfect length to tell it.

The film is available to watch for free on Tubi, and on demand by Amazon and Vimeo.

IMDB listing HERE