All genres of suspense, terror, and horror will be reviewed by Richard Gary. His address to send preview copies supplied upon request to rbf55@msn.com.
When I was a
mere wisp of a lad in the days before VHS, I was such a horror movie geek that
I bought an 8mm projector and some 200-400’ reels of silent film delights, such
as Nosferatu (1922), and some starring Lon Chaney, Sr. I still have
them, though the projector is long gone. When VHS came about, being that these
same films were in copywrite underdrive, I was able to get them for cheap, but
this time I could see the full movies. I fell in love with the style and the
manner of acting; but I especially loved the lighting and tinting. Since the
digital era, I can only recall one film that used some of these techniques
successfully (Creep Creepersin’s Frankenstein, 2009), which employed it
more for occasional affects. For Garden of Souls, director Milewski
creates a love letter to those kinds of early films, using some modern
techniques to achieve it. Being created in the present, even with the added
scratches, the picture is quite clear (a good thing) and the tint is just
perfect. What’s also a delight is that he doesn’t overdo it while still being
consistent. In the story, a grieving widow (Karen Lynn) makes a pact with an
elderly witchy woman (Betty Roehm Widdoss) to try and raise her deceased
husband (Eric Bower) from the grave. While I was expecting an extended “The
Monkey’s Paw” result, Milewski takes it in another direction. While silent,
there is some excellent period-style music that is used to enhance the visuals.
This is well written, directed and enjoyable from first to last frame.
Milewski
plays mix and match with genres on this one, mashing up three (I will only discuss
two because I don’t want to ruin the ending). An American soldier (Ryan Fargo)
is dropped far behind the enemy lines in Viet Nam (yes, I heard of it), when in
total gonzo Leo Fulci style, he starts being hunted by a mud-plastered zombi
with a scarf! (Karen Lynn), requisite with lots of meal worms on its face. But things
keep shifting from minute to minute on the danger levels. The music is right
out of Goblin style with an annoying synth (just like the Italian cinema of the
‘80s). Will our hero escape the creature’s grasp? Milewski is really good at
keeping a shot long enough to establish what is happening, without quick and
zoomy edits so you can see the action. Adding three mashups rather than two
works for the film. Good framing of the shots, as well.
The Tattooist
Directed by Michael Wong
Michael Wong Productions
1:20 minutes, 2018
vimeo.com/michaelwong
Michael Wong
is an award-winning Malaysian film and commercial director based in Beijing.
His work employs a high level of graphics and editing in his releases (check
out more than just this film, especially “ARC ‘Fantasy Realm’,” available at
the link above), and this works really well for this very short but very
effective film. Full of swirling images, music and editing, there is no dialogue
or context as we are introduced to a tattoo artist who is also a violent serial
killer. In this brief span we see a number of his killings and the action is
brutal and swift. Beautifully done. Now I want to see a full feature of this.
Here is the link to The Tattooist:http://www.vimeo.com/michaelwong/thetattooist/
There have been two really great Renfields in cinema history that led up to this film: Dwight Frye in the original Tod Browning’s Dracula (1930; starring Lugosi), and musician Tom Waits in Francis Coppola’s Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992). In both (and the original novel), he was, indeed, quite mad. Over the years, it seems, the cinematic character has been interchanged with Jonathan Harker, who originally went overseas to see the infamous count in Transylvania about a land sale in England.
This new telling and updating takes place in the mythical American city of Bayou City (though many shots are of the Ginni and Richard Mithoff Trauma Center, which is in Houston), as we find the police looking for a supposed serial killer by the name of “the Butcher,” who apparently likes to remove heads. Of course, I don’t think I’m giving anything away when I say that it’s our pal Renfield, who is chopping the heads off the victims of fellow vampires Mina Harker (Roxy Cook Hixon), and her long hair and mustachioed hipster son Quincy (Tyler Tackett, who also was the film’s creature effects assistant), to keep the prey from becoming vamps themselves. To give you an idea of the Quincy character, when a soon-to-be target asks him how he moved so fast, his response is the humorous, “I’m a vampire, dumbass!”
The titular character here is played with constant energy by the short-but-muscular Phil Nichols, who also wrote the story, the screenplay (with adaptions from the original novel, the ’29 film, and F.W. Murnau's (1922), though there is a shadow nod to Coppola’s, as well), co-produced, and co-designed the special effects and make-up (he is apparently a maven in this field, and was trained by the Dick Smith). He plays Renfield as a loon, with a constant laugh that sounds a bit like Cesar Romero’s Joker from the television Batman (1966), looking like a biker with his bald head and goatee beard. His veneer shifts often from just a bit of a pancake look, to complete white face, to having full vampire-on (again, with nods to Murnau and Coppola). The make-up design for him and Dracula (also well played by John Stevens, with a Malcovitch vibe; this is his only listing in IMDB!) are fun, with big pointy front teeth (again, Murnau). For Mina and Quincy, though, the only make-up seems to be huge, oversized teeth that don’t work as well. Most of the other appliance effects, especially, are fun, though occasionally overdone (i.e., the bug headed ex-cop, the final battle between Renfield and Drac). The visual special effects are WTF, though, and I say this amusedly. Obviously occasionally filmed in front of a blue screen, there is heavy use of computer graphics (rather than CGI), like a cartoon or video game from 10 years ago. Once in a while, it may blank out behind someone, and you can definitely see the wires in one shot as a vampire hovers. While this cartoony effect may be seen as a detriment, I actually enjoyed that part of it! Like the rest of the film, it was a hoot (or as Renfield may say, “hoo-haa-hee-haa-hoo”).Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens
Getting back to the story, Renfield is in possession of Dracula’s skull, which Mina and Quincy want to find to resurrect the villain through a blood ritual. Along with a well-done origin story for Renfield, we get to see some fierce battles between the forces of, well, evil and more evil. Drawn into this action are forensic doctor Bonnie Johnson (Keli Wolfe), and her ex-husband, Cranston (British actor Paul Damon), who is the head detective on the “Butcher” case. Wolfe delivers one of my fave lines in the piece: as Renfield is about to walk out of the autopsy room, after creating havoc, he says to Bonnie, “I’ll see you soon,” to which she whines, “Oh, God, I hope not!” (See the trailer, below.)
As a life-long fan of the horror genre, I noted many tips of the hat to previous Dracula incarnations, especially Browning and Murnau, both of whom are thanked during the end credits. Here are some examples:
The sea captain (I am assuming of the Hesperus) who is killed during the crossing that brings Mina and Quincy to the States is named Max Schreck, after the actor who played the Nosferatu character in Murnau
Of course, at some point, Renfield rises up straight as a plank, as Drac did in Murnau, and then was repeated in a similar honor in Coppola’s retelling.
When Bonnie is taken to Renfield’s lair, which is a cemetery tomb, he repeats the famous Lugosi line, “I bid you welcome. Enter at your own free will.”
In a flashback scene, Dracula comments to Renfield about howling wolves being “the children of the night,” and of their music.
In one of my favorite and possibly most subtle homages, when we first meet Dracula in the flashback, he enters the room exactly like Schreck did in Murnau.
There is also the shadow of Nosferatu clutching Mina’s heart, as well as his grabbing her breast as he sucks her blood (yes, the 1922 version has that).
There are a few other clichés here and there, like Renfield telling Bonnie, “Come with me if you want to live!” though its delivery is projected so that the viewer is not to take it as anything but recognition.
At a cost of an estimated $170 grand, I’m sure most of it went to effects and perhaps a bit to pay for some of the large ensemble. This is cheesy entertainment, but it is so obviously not expected to be anything but. One aspect I like about independent films, especially in the horror genre, is that it is so obvious that they are out to have some fun, as well as having a final project. Well, Willems and Nichols succeeded here. Despite the blood, gore, and gratuitous female nudity, this is certainly above, say, the Troma level, but not rocket science either. Just a fun blast. In fact, this film was the Remi winner at the 2001 World-Fest Houston International Film Festival, and an official section at the 2010 Bram Stoker International Film Festival.
The extras as a bit skimpy, being the films trailer and a few from R-Squared. But, there is a title card at the end of the film proper indicating that there will be a sequel (which would probably explain the flashed scene of Mina Harker full-on kissing Lucy Westerna). Something to definitely look forward to in the future.
I don’t believe it would be any stretch of the imagination to state that this has a really bad film title, right up there with So I Married An Ax Murder and Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed Up Zombies.
Part of the reason for it being so is that it sounds more like a 'tween Afternoon Television Special than the slacker high school black comedy that it is (such as The Faculty). Borrowing heavily from the likes of Fright Night, My Stepmother is an Alien (hey, another great disaster of a film name), and the “Head of the Class” episode of long-gone television anthology series Amazing Stories, the premise is that small-town anti-hero and rebel high school student Rusty resents his new step-dad, Richard, for recently marrying his mom. While she’s away on a business trip, a surfer-type mailman friend of Rusty’s disappears and then reappears later fanged and in thrall to Richard (after the title, I don’t think I’m giving away much on who is the vampire here), and yet retaining his duuude-ness (aka, the comic relief, well played by Casey Myers). Rusty and friends set out to stop Richard from finding a key that will open the door to an army of hungry (and drippy/slimy) vampires. And, of course, it’s Halloween.
Rusty (played by the diminutive Lachen Anajjar, who looks like a cross between a much-younger David Schwimmer and Jason Schwartzman), does well as the go-to-guy who the school’s administration hates (except for one of the school counselors, who happens to be duuude’s bro, bro). He’s kind of too cool (you can tell because he often wears his hoodie up) for his own good or even credibility to the story, but that’s just one of many “suspensions of disbelief” that run through this film. I’ll get to a couple of them here and there, but will try not to give away too much. Being more of a buddy film than anything else, we meet Rusty’s best pal (Brandon Martin), and a kind-of doofusy guy (M.A. Alford) who wants to hang out with the cool kids, and the girl the latter likes (Anita Cordell). Oh, other than the mom (Kate Forristall), she’s just about the only female in the film with any screen time, and she’s in it for like five minutes at the beginning and end. Naw, it’s just the three school buds, the “mentor” janitor, the duuude and his bro (called “Mr. B” by the “cool” guys), and of course the titular vamp.
For an indie film, there are actually some high quality effects throughout, including some CGI zombies, exploding heads, and impalings. Lots of appliance and make-up effects as well, especially with the risen vampires, and oh, those fangs. Most of the teeth look pretty good (especially the duuude’s), but Richard’s are way too big for his face to the point (pun intended) that the Robert Kennedy-look-alike Larry Peterson – who is also the best actor of the bunch – can’t even close his mouth. It’s kind of obvious they had to overdub his voice during these scenes because there is no way he could have said his lines with that monstrosity in his maw. But since he’s the big cheese, the head honcho, the grand high exalted mystic leader, his teeth obviously had to be the biggest.
Director David Matheny seems to be confused a bit when it comes to whether or not this is a horror (albeit comedic) flick or one geared towards 14 year olds. The risen vampires apparently are way too easily dealt with (despite the occasional flight, they move more like the vampire examples of the Romero zombies, or Chaney Jr.’s mummy), and the only ones who really seem hard to get rid of are Richard and the duuude. And while there is the spurt of blood here and there, present is also a Nickelodeon green goo level that is overused. Also, not only are the kids the heroes (okay, they look more like college age), but there is no cursing or even the hint of sex anywhere to be seen.
Extras include the film’s trailer (and others by the film company), a gag reel that is “meh,” and a full-length commentary by the composer of the music for the film, which is totally skipable (other than the first five minutes when even he mocks the title: “With that name, It’s either going to be really good, or really bad, but either way I wanted to be involved”.
And yet…
For what this movie is (and titled), it was definitely a fun ride; it has even won some awards, such as Best Feature at the Black Swamp International Film Festival, the Killington Film Festival, and the Little Apple Film Festival. I whole-heartedly suggest that if you do see it, watch it as a group. This is just the kind of film that it’s fun to talk to the screen, so have some fun with the buds. Or the duuudes. These reviews were originally published HERE.
Going into this film, I could tell
it was a bit on the schlocky side, sort of like the late ‘80s slasher VHS
releases. Of course, that is more encouraging to me that turns me away. There
was some fun bad stuff in those days.
Hunter McGregor
For this film, after a cool kill for
the present-day prologue, we are introduced to photographer and evidently silk
screen freelancer Art (Hunter McGregor); photographer = Art, so you see they’re
not scratching deep here. He’s taking pictures along the coastline of New
Orleans, where the story takes place, when he’s hired by his pal Tee (Steve
Waltz) – get it, Tee works in a silk screen shop? – to fill in for a missing
person (that opening segment).
Apparently, the silk screening
business is quite cutthroat and it’s becoming a reality… okay, I confess, this
joke is used in the film, but it works for this descriptor, so there you go.
There are a lot of inside comments abounding in the shop, with tees and posters
that revel in Wild Eye Releasing, the Cockface Killer (a franchise created by
the director, and shows you the comedy level to which we are aspiring), and the
Pallbearers, a band with whom the film’s writer is involved. There’s also those
music and film festivals that come up often.
Now, I’ll be honest with you (as I
always am), I did not go into this expecting much beyond Middle School humor,
and found I was both right and wrong. Some of it is just plain stupid, such has
someone angrily stating, “The next thing out of your mouth better be your
tongue,” but then again I laughed really hard at a spoiled brat of a character screaming
as he’s looking into his fridge (played by cameo king and the first person to
play young Voorhees, Ari Lehman, who plays in the real band The First Jason),
“The maid forgot my fucking chia seeds!”
Bill Heintz and Jason Matherne
However, my favorite piece of dialogue
is as follows:
Cop: “Are you pleading the Fifth!?”
Shop owner 1: “No, I’m pretty sure
it’s the Fifteenth.”
Shop owner 2: “Yeah, payroll was
today.”
Let’s get to those two owners for a
sec. The first is bearded Mark (Bill Heintz, who wrote the film) and then there
is Reggie (Jason Matherne, who directed the whole shebang). Mostly, they
interact with each other (a lot) throughout the film, and are not afraid to let
themselves be complete asswipes as characters. They are not the greatest of
actors, but the camaraderie they share makes up for that.
For a small film, there are a lot of characters in the story, either
working at the shop or are buyers. Nearly all of them are unlikeable, including
our two heroes Art and Tee, but with a large cast of weird and shady
characters, the filmmakers wisely see that as a large number of kills, which is
what the viewer is actually there for anyway, right? And even beyond the main
and secondary people, there are a couple of unintended kills from a dropped
assault rifle that actually is quite funny; though seriously, has no one heard
of a safety? I’m going to assume that the writer was making a commentary on how
most people who have guns have no idea how to use them properly, and move on.
Lauren Alexandra
So, while I’m enjoying the zeitgeist
of the production, here is the problem I am also having, going back to that
Middle School thing. The gender normative level of this is astronomical. The
guys are nearly all macho doofuses, and the women are either “dumb,” sexy
enough “to make your penis pregnant” (yes, that’s a real piece of dialogue), or
bitches. The one character I liked was one of the latter, Lace (Lisa Mackel
Smith), who plays a strong woman trying to get business done. Of course, by the
end, they must denigrate her somewhat, but I stand by what I say (and no, I am
not into her lifestyles).
The men are constantly ogling the
females and the women just brush it off. In the era of #metoo, this does not
sit well. I’ve been in workplaces like that, but not since the ‘80s when it was
deemed annoying but begrudgingly acceptable. I’m glad it is not any longer.
This remains a common motif in low budget filmmaking, especially those in the
slasher genre.
Ari Lehman
But getting beyond that and some of
the other issues, there are some nice touches here that are worth mentioning.
For example, there is a scene where the police are looking over a list suspects
and our intrepid wannabe detectives Art and Tee are doing the same. They cut
back and forth between them showing how sometimes one group is right and the
other isn’t, and vice versa. It’s a clever device that works really well and
had me smiling. These are the gem moments.
Another nice touch is that the story
does well in keeping the killer hidden (at least from me). I made my guesses
and was twice taken by surprise. That was great. Also, the blood and gore are
well done, and there is a lot of it. There’s also some decent nudity, but not
surprisingly, only female.
The extras are kind of sparse. There
is the film’s trailer and a few others from Wild Eye Releasing, and an 11-minute
“Making Of” which is mostly fun and worth the watch, even though it drags a bit
here and there.
Overall, this is a hunka-hunka
burnin’ cheese, but in the right frame of mind, if you’re not spoiled by the
likes of what’s on the big screen, this can be a fun way to spend an afternoon
in the basement with thebuds.
With
great anticipation, I watched this Italian possession film. The land of Fulci,
Bava and Argento, so gorefest and mindfuck, right? Weeeeeell…
Set
in scenic and beautiful Naples and recorded in English, the film introduces us
to lovers Carlo (Mario Rivelli, looking macho with a constant 10 O’clock shadow
and strong jaw line) and American Melissa (Camille Montgomery, being very
svelte and model-like). They move into Carlo’s family home (“The Grotto” of the
film’s original title) – despite warnings – to set up their own happy abode.
Before
long the titular Book of the Dead (actually a tome about Demons of which three
exist in the world) starts being a Talking Tina that can’t be thrown away, and
the ghost of a 40-year-dead evil 10-year-old starts popping in and out. And let
us not forget the demon of revenge, Mul’Adur (Rocky Collins).
Mario Rivelli
In
a concurrent story that will blend, academic Anna (the wonderfully named Shalana
Santana) who specializes in demonology, is searching for said demon book, and
is called in to save the possessed Melissa.
In
very slow-moving exposition, Melissa eventually becomes possessed as a
sacrifice for our not-so-friendly demon. Everything moves very unhurriedly in
this film until the last 15 minutes, and by that time, I was just exhausted
waiting for some action. Yeah, there are moments here and there, but honestly
the film drags a bit.
Part
of the problem lies in the use of tropes that we have seen before multiple
times (popping up in mirrors, shadows moving across the camera, doors opening
and closing by themselves; that kind of thing). The possession proper, when it
finally get around to it, mostly has Melissa in a fugue state, rather than head
spinnings and floating above the bed; rather she sits in a chair staring
blankly.
That
is not to say there aren’t some good moments, such as footsteps showing up in
blood, and the director uses some really nice and subtle camera angles, which
are effective. Just not enough of it. Oh, I do want to add that he also uses
Naples beautifully, showing off how lovely the city can be.
Camille Montgomery
Most
demon possession films have a deeply religious (i.e., Italy = Catholicism)
themes, figuratively if not literally throwing the Bible at the possessor.
However, this relies more on the Evil
Dead franchise where it’s the aforementioned and titular book about demons
that has the sway here. No one even thinks of calling a priest? In Italy?
For
those gorehounds who look for films with somewhat similar themes like The Song of Solomon in the indie realm
and the abundance of The Possession of
[Fill-in-the-Name] that are filling the likes of Netflix, Amazon, etc., you
may be in for a mild shock. Mild because despite the presence of blood and even
some set effects, there really isn’t much in the gore department. But hey, that
may mean you may be able to watch it with your squeamish companions.
Is
the film worth watching to those horror mavens who live and “die” for the
genre? Well, yeah, but with a temperance towards patience. This certainly is
slow moving though not glacially, and the acting is decent (Montgomery
essentially just stares ahead for the last 30 minutes or so, and does a bit of
thrashing about that looks forced; check the trailer below).
As
I stated, the photography is beautiful, and the city of Naples is a splendid
backdrop for the story. The editing is nicely done and there are some jump
scares that will be effective to some.
The
only extras on the DVD is four Wild Eye Releasing trailers, but not this one,
probably because the coming attractions still have the original name, The Grotto, on them.
Paul Simon once famously
sang, “Love emerges and it disappears / I do it for your love.” That’s a tidbit
to hold onto in this zombie apocalypse dramady taking place in London, though
it’s origination is from Scandinavia (Demark and Sweden), though filmed in
English.
Well, zombie is
debatable. As with 28 Days Later… (2002), the world is infected with a
virus which turns people into wild flesh eaters (“fast zombies”), but the
debate can be later discussed on whether these are technical zombies because we’re
not really sure if they are still alive. I’m not gonna touch that question or
discussion at this time.
We are introduced to
very attractive couple John (Ed Speleers, best known for Eragon in 2006
and “Downtown Abby”) and Karen (Zoë Tapper, who has appeared in several British
programs such as “Mr. Selfridge” and “Demons,” where she played Mina Harker).
When the infection shebang
hits the fan, they are in a strained relationship due to not being able to reproduce
their beauty to children (my snide take on it, not the films), so they are
stuck in their high-rise apartment waiting for rescue while the world explodes
around them. They hunker down with food they’ve stolen from other apartments,
and apparently a vast amount of wine and various hard drugs.
These tight quarters,
of course, force them to refocus their relationship and rebuild their bodies to
fight whatever may come through the door, and relearn about each other. The
dialogue is witty and there is a strong, dark sense of humor about it all.
But while the world turns
dark, strangeness also is rising in John and Karen’s haven during the second
act a third of the way into the film when a couple from the building that they
don’t know (but whose apartment they pillaged) show up at their door asking for
help. Reluctantly, they let that other variance of evil in, in the form of Emily
(Antonia Campbell-Hughes) and Leo (Jan Bijovet). This second couple see what
our heroes have, and plan to do whatever it takes to make it their own, in
their version of murder and pillage…but who’s the stronger and willing to risk
the most?
But this is only one
set piece that includes roving gangs, intimate dialogue, and yes, those pesky
zombies that are only present in the storyline on occasion, though they are the
spine to the entire story.
This is not 28 Days
Later…, which is wide roving through London. This is more personal and
claustrophobic as nearly all scenes are shot in their apartment, and as other
characters may come and go, John and Karen and their travails and swirling relationship
are the focus of the story.
There is definitely
some violence and blood, but no more than you would see in a gritty crime
drama, but because its so sparse, it also makes it even more effective in a
little-is-more way. Sometimes the violence comes as absolutely shocking, other
times you’re cheering it on, as this couple delve ever further into a symbiotic
unit that focuses on what must be done, while the mayhem also robs them
of their social humanity piece by piece.
That’s what makes this
a smart film, in that the presence of zombies are always felt, but rarely seen,
and the story focuses on the cultural breakdown while waiting for that rescue.
Survival is a strong master, and one does what one must; it’s the human imperative.
And yet through it all there’s the intimacy and tenderness.
The one thing that
drove me crazy about the story, though? And Jeez, I know just how petty it is,
is as follows: our intrepid couple in the high rise are stuck there for a long
yet undefined time, and yet the electricity never goes out. In a real crisis
where society has completely broken down? I’d give it a couple of days, max,
even with the generators and batteries.
Well, despite that
last paragraph rant, this is a strong film that wisely refuses to take any one
direction of thriller or romance, but manages to have extended periods of both,
and they make it work. Of course, the quality of the actors and a strong
direction by Tublin also help.
If you want a
bloodfest, this is not the zombie film you are looking for; if you want a
deeper story with some human emotion, well, it’s worth checking out.
The indie filming scene
around Dayton, Ohio, is not to be ignored. There is a core of directors and
actors that overlap into a powerful and quite interesting clique of artists,
such as Henrique Couto and Erin R. Ryan, among others.
For this release,
director Couto has assembled some of his regulars and also new talent to
release a demonic tale involving a Ouija board and the requisite evil spirits.
Joni Durian
The center of the film
is troubled Sylvia (lovely Joni Durian), who has several mental ailing, such as
ADHD, agoraphobia (fear of leaving the house), OCD and seems to be somewhere on
the autistic spectrum. Durian does a strong job playing a wide range of
emotions right from the first scene, which is off-putting until the viewer
realizes pretty quickly that she’s not just quirky, but rather disturbed.
Her guardianship is in
the hands of her brother Sammy (Couto’s go-to actor John Hambrick), who
obviously cares for her, but is on the brink. He buys board games that she
likes to play solo and watches whatever Sylvia wants to see on television (but
no indication of a computer or cell phone for her). He also does his best to stop
her from self-destructive behavior and tries to help her focus on a task. He’s
getting to the point of burning out and drinking too much. Sammy’s girlfriend
is Rebecca (Ryan), who often comes to visit and is a seemingly calming
influence and supportive of Sammy’s taking care of Sylvia.
Among the stack of games
Sammy misguidedly brings home from a comic store, of course, is said Ouija board.
If there’s a Ouija and it’s on-screen, you know trouble and malevolent forces
are not far behind; especially when the dissonant note music starts on the
soundtrack when the board is introduced. Just so you know, I am not giving
anything away here, this is the basic set-up to the action in the first few
minutes of the film.
John Hambrick
Sylvia is obsessed
with two things: games of any sort and a desire to make friends (she feels like
those she watches on television are “friends” in the same way we believe that
people we don’t really know or have met on social media are “friends”). And it
is these two things that Sylvia’s trio of spirits of the Ouija board manipulate
for their own purposes.
The title of the film is
a bit of a double entendre because Sylvia is house bound by her OCD fears of
going outside since her parents died, and the much-desired friends/spirits are
also within the domicile. The second meaning for quite a while is that the trio
may actually be inside her mind as well. For example, the board’s planchette moves
in extremely fast circles, but she is still able to “read” it (without the audience
having to watch everything tediously spelled out). This is a nice touch that
enhances the complexity of the story, and of Sylvia’s mind; she’s not stupid,
just troubled with mental illness.
It’s understandable
that Sylvia is attracted to these spirits: they appear caring, tell her truthful
dark secrets about others in a blunt manner, and keep reminding her that they
are all in the middle of playing “a game.” The purpose of said game is the question
the audience will be asking, though it comes across as obvious very soon (hey,
it’s a relatively short – but perfect length – film).
Couto seems to do well
avoiding clichés, but he does have his tropes. As in many of his films, one of
the main characters is a struggling writer. Perhaps this is Couto’s own real-life
haunting inside (note that this film was written by Dan Wilder, but certainly Couto
had some influences on the story).
Dorian’s acting style can
be quite jarring here, as she shows the audience Sylvia’s brain trying to
process the information of what is happening around her. It took a couple of
minutes to get into the vibe of it until her situation is understood, so it works
well. Her moments of lucidity under the guidance of the spirits becomes the
oddity, which works really well. Most of the rest of the cast is pretty good in
their performances; the spirits can be a bit over the top in the acting
department here and there, but in the long run it all works together.
Erin R. Ryan
These spirits, wisely,
are very different from not only the principal characters, but among themselves.
Also, they are different from most other demons (I’m assuming) you would expect
from this sub-genre. They are a little girl obviously played by an adult (Alia
Gabrielle Eckhardt), a wise-acre wiseguy gambler in a sharp suit who
also helps Sylvia with recipes in the kitchen (Joe Kidd),
and a punk rocker who wears her hair in a distracting Misfits’ front rattail style
(Rachael Redolfi). As I said, Couto does not usually dwell in the house
of cliché.
While most of the cast
is attractive, there is no nudity or sex, a low body count per se, and little
bloody visceral material, but the story easily holds the attention of the
viewer anyway as this really is character based more than SFX. That being said,
there are some beautifully shot sequences that are effectively unnerving, such
as Sammy’s recurring dreams about Sylvia’s future.
If you’re looking for
knives and gore, there are other Couto films to check out, such as Babysitter
Massacre (2013), but this is, as I said, story- and character-based, and I
say it’s all the better for it.
Folklore
horror is a hidden gem that doesn’t get talked about much. Well, apart from the
granddaddies of them all, the bigfoot/yeti and the Loch Ness monster. But
nearly every corner of the world has their own equivalent mystical creature. For
example there is the Jersey Devil, or the Mothman, or even the Gitaskog. Many
of these tales arise from the oral cultures of the Indigenous people of the
area, but there are many that rarely make it to the mainstream.
One
of the things that makes this film different is that director Seth Breedlove
has gone beyond the genre into the documentary realm, making it real. This is not a mocumentary like the
extremely overrated The Blair Witch
Project, but he takes a serious probe into the story we are to be
presented.
For
this case, we are looking at the giant birds of Illinois. Not birdmen, but
birds proper, although to be fair, there is a correlation explained here with
the West Virginia Mothman. But the focus here to start is Alton, Illinois,
along the mighty Mississippi. The local natives (pre-settlers) called it the Paisa
Bird, the stories of which were passed down to the French explorers of the area
in the 17 Century.
We’re
not talking about just big birds (and not the ones who live on a PBS street),
but humungous ones that are described as the size of a Piper Cub airplane, and
eats livestock and – you guessed it – human piggies, especially piglets (i.e.,
kids).
The
film begins with a history of these sightings dating back to colonial times by
bringing out a slew of experts in the field, including a world renowned
crypto-zoologist (not my term). They tell of the eyewitnesses from long ago,
where it’s necessary to have a secondhand experience because, well, we’re
talking a span of hundreds of years. That being said, most of the sightings in
the early part of the film are from the 1940s through the 1970s.
What
is my opinion about all these gigantic birds? Y’know, I think it’s possible,
though it seems strange that no one has ever captured one, and the tales of
people shooting them posit that they burned the bodies because they were
scared. I’m on the fence at the 40-minute mark because I do think it’s possible
for there to be big birds. Ten to twenty-foot wingspans? Well, that’s easy to
mistake. Most descriptions seem to be like condors, which can be believable.
And that they come and go, well, there is migration and even small birds can
fly thousands of miles away (though I’m still not sure about coconut laden
sparrows who are African or European). Perhaps they end up in South America for
stretches of time (lots of condors down there). Hell, big pelicans keep
migrating up to Saskatoon from Mexico every summer, so I can see the
possibility of it all. To sum it up at this point, I’m firmly perched on the
fence.
At
the 40-minute mark, the film takes a strange turn and for me kind of puts
pressure on the vibe when the possibility of these Thunderbirds (as Native
Americans call them) are of a mystical nature is introduced. From nature to paranormal,
essentially. Suddenly there’s the question of whether they are supernatural
harbingers of doom, or multi-dimensional beings. Oh, please.
As
the tale moves north to the Chicago area, suddenly we’re introduced to the
“Chicago Mothman,” a more human, bat-like creature, reminiscent of the film Mimic (1997). Wisely, the director
chooses to be a bit skeptical at this point, mentioning the fact that there are
71 sightings in a city of millions, and not to mention the number of CCTV
cameras around. But it is here that we get to start hearing directly from the
“witnesses,” though there is still commentary by the experts; that being said,
I found the addition of the belief in the paranormal aspect gave loose on their
credibility a bit.
Despite
my skepticism, which is not to be read as criticism, this is quite a well-put
together film, that is the right length for its topic, rather than being
longwinded like this sentence. Along with live footage and quite a bit of
from-the-sky drone shots (and rightfully so considering the topic), there is
also some decently done animation (nothing too elaborate) to demonstrate the
eyewitness reports, or what the creature(s) looks like from description to
description.
This
documentary was actually quite fun, presenting one of the first
crypto-zoological animals that I believe could be possible (at least in the
first 40 minutes), and kept my interest throughout its hour length.
