Review: Dark Whispers: Vol 1

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

Dark Whispers: Vol 1
Directed by Angie Black; Jub Clerc; Lucy Gouldthorne; Katrina Irawati Graham; Janine Hewitt; Briony Kidd; Isabel Peppard; Marion Pilowski; Madeleine Purdy; Megan Riakos; Kaitlin Tinker
Deadhouse Films; Hemlock and Cedar Films; Gold Hawk; Stranger With My Face
100 minutes, 2021
https://www.darkwhispersanthology.com/
https://www.facebook.com/darkwhispersanthology/

Nice. This release not only comprises short films made by women, but also exclusively from Australia. Perhaps they should narrow it down further to Wednesday afternoon between 3 and 4 PM? I kid because I am impressed. There are 10 stories here, so let’s break ‘em down and see whuts whut.

The wraparound story, “The Book of Dark Whispers,” is directed by Megan Riakos, who curated the anthology. In it, a woman, Clara (Andrea Demetriades) finds her grandmothers book with the title of this piece that has been passed down to her mum, and now that mummy is no more, she is the owner. She then proceeds to read it, giving us an opening and framework for the stories we will be seeing. These tales have been gathered together for this anthology.

First up is Angie Black’s “Birthday Girl” (2008). In this short tale, a sad woman (Sarah Bollenberg) takes an elevator in a hospital, and is visited by a spirit. This story is not scary, but rather is sad as you can feel for her. It’s beautifully shot, with lots of close-ups of her face. It was very touching and beautiful.

Next up is “The Man who Caught a Mermaid” (2014) by Kaitlin Tinker. What happens when a delusional older man (Roy Barker) who collects classical LPs and is obsessed with fishing – specifically to catch a mermaid – actually nabs one? Why, he chains her (Bilby Conway) up in the garden shed, of course. She is both scary and, in a way, beautiful (thanks to Sharp FX), and our anti-hero is fixated on her, in a male gaze kind of way. Is he any better than someone who kidnaps women and puts then in a secure place, even if she is half fish? And what happens when his lonely wife (Verity Higgins) finds her? These are the questions answered in this fish tail – I mean tale. The make-up is stupendous, and the filmmaking is spot on. This one, with a really nice twist or two, kept me on the edge of my gills.

For a step in a different direction, Isabel Peppard gives us “Gloomy Valentine” (2006) a stop-motion animation tale. Without dialogue, we meet the sole character, a humanoid-like doll with a porcelain face and a rag, sewn body. It is after a hard break-up with another human-like character. Slowly, her pain starts to manifest around her, threatening to swallow her up. The artwork is beautiful, and the action is smooth, rather than jumpy, as can be with this kind of animation. The backgrounds are worth paying attention to, as well, as the detail is nicely handled and interesting to look at. I watched it twice, once for the character, and then again for the “sets.”

Similarly, in the wraparound, between each short piece, we see the stories slowly and increasingly start to influence Clara’s world in small and then more tangible ways. Like Talking Tina, this is a book that will not go away.

Briony Kidd’s “Watch Me” (2016) deals with ego. An aging actress (Astrid Wells Cooper) likes attention. Craves it. She says, “When people stop looking at me, I fail.” But failing seems to be the least of her problems. It seems she needs to have somebody looking at her at all times, such as her failing relationship with her boyfriend (Tosh Greenslade) or a compromised assistant (Jazz Yap). What happens when there are no eyes to admire her, to acknowledge her existence. That is the premise of this story. It’s short and works well. Cooper does a good job at both loving the limelight and fearing the alone.

From the Aboriginal side, there is Jub Clerc’s tale of “Storytime” (2005). A tween girl, Cecelia (Verna Lawson) is out hunting overnight with her grandparents, some other men, and a group of kids around her age. Over the campfire, they hear the tale of a local creature, the Gooynbooyn, who kidnaps kids. Being that this is a campfire tale within a film about stories is an interesting idea in itself. When Celia and a “dare you” boy named Jhi (Jhi Clarke) set out to find the creature, that’s when the terror level rises a few notches. Beautifully shot among the gnarly mangrove trees helps to put the viewer in a state of unease. Cryptid stories tend to be fun, as is this one.

The big guns come out for “The Ride” (2011), directed by Marion Pilowsky. Filmed in England, it co-stars the well-known Aussie screen actor, Anthony LaPaglia, known for the many American shows he’s been in, such as “Without a Trace” and “Murder One.” He plays a Brit driver who picks up a university student (Ed Speelers; no small pataters either, having been a regular on “Downton Abbey”) at a deserted crossroad in the middle of farm country. The driver quickly proves himself to be a right wing, sports crazy racist who asks uncomfortable questions, such as whether the student has slept with “black girls.” Total Trumpite type. The action really begins when he hits an Asian man walking on the side of the road. Report it to the police? While the student freaks out, the driver calmly explains that it’s easier just to bury the dude. Kind of a reverse The Hitcher (1986). After, when he hooks up with his girlfriend (Emer Kenny, known to me as Bunty from the “Father Brown” series) back in the city, is where the knot is tied in the story. You’ll probably see it coming about 30 seconds before, but still worth the wait.

Another story in a story is Katrina Irawati Graham’s “White Song” (2006), dealing with Indonesian infamous ghost, Kuntil Anak. In Indonesian with noticeably clear subtitles, this time it is the spirit that is telling the tale, of a young woman, Raesita. She is a painter who is distraught at the death of her husband. She wishes her misery to end and that is where the Kuntil Anak comes in, telling Raesita’s story as well as her own terrible life in a patriarchal violent past. She is the only voice heard as she narrates in poetic fashion, while the dreamy images float by the screen in lovely sequences that seem lighter than air, despite the heavy topic. The whole story is elegiac and trance-like.

Told in black and white is Lucy Gouldthorpe’s “Grillz” (2015). Short and sweet, this is the story of Milla (Melanie Irons), who I must say, I almost wish actually existed. She scours the Internet dating scene and picks the scuzziest of men. And then, well, you’ll have to see. When she chooses a dentist (Tosh Greenslade, once again), it is for other reasons. What is a girl to do when she doesn’t like a mess? This is a black comedic tale with a nod to the side of the nose as it explores not only the Internet dating world and its precariousness – for both sexes – it also shines a light on the kind of toxic masculinity that would have no problem emailing dick pics. Very effective and fun to watch.

I was going to call this a black comedy, but perhaps a better description of Madeleine Purdy’s “Little Share House of Horrors” (2016) might be a “green comedy.” A young woman, Maeve (Georgia Wilde) gets ahold of a plant from a dicey shop owner (Colan Leach) and brings it home to the house she shares with three others, two of whom are hopeless potheads (Travis Jeffrey and Thuso Lekwape). She believes in all things natural as far as food goes, as they are into the natural stuff you smoke. The two doods mock her and suffer the unintended consequences that’s a toss between what the story is named for, and, say, Trolls 2 (1990), but with more credibility and less camp. Original part of the “Girt By Fear” Web series, it’s a fun tale of eco-power. And you can’t get cancer from this like windmills (snicker).

The final story is by Janine Hewitt, titled “The Intruder” (2005), which is a fun ghost story, in the classic gothic style, though taking place in the late 1960s or early 1970s (clothing and a rotary dial are the indicators). Zoe (Asher Kendie) is in fear of a stalker in her home, when she is visited by her friend, Angela (Bree Desborough). With the electricity out and lightening flashing as the sole light, it is a spooky situation that is also from the heart, as Angela asks Zoe for forgiveness. The story is well told, shot, and acted, and the ending has a curious back story. I actually wished this one was longer.

A lot of these stories are centered around loss: of a child, a parent, of a loved one, and especially of oneself, in various forms. Usually in a multi-storied anthology, there are a couple of clinkers, but not here. Each one is both individualized (even with the recurring theme I mentioned), in tone and style, and covers a wide gambit of emotions. A really fine collection, and I can honestly say I am excitedly hoping for a Volume 2.

Three Reviews: Ghost in the Shell

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

The first two Ghost in the Shell films were anime, and the third a mixture of real actors, including Scarlett Johansson, and major CGI. I will take a look at these in order of their release. Note that I will not be including the revamped Ghost in the Shell 2.0 (2008), which is a retooling of the first film, the “Ghost in the Shell: SAC_2045” (2020) animated series, and other sequels. The films reviewed below can be found on TubiTV, Netflix, or YouTube, which is where I viewed them. The trailers will be at the bottom.

Ghost in the Shell (aka Kôkaku Kidôtai)
Directed by Mamoru Oshii
Kodansha; Bandai Visual Company; Manga Entertainment; Production 1.G.
83 minutes, 1995

This film is a classic piece of anime, based on the manga by Shirow Masamune. In the simplest description I can express, the “ghost” is the original memories of an individual – the core person (one may say the “soul”) – and the “shell” is the body, be it human or cyborg. In this world of the distant future, 2029, technology has advanced enough that most people are more a collection of a human body and implanted electronic circuits. This is sort of a present-day anti-vaxxer conspiracists nightmare. As some people today are part cyborg (pacemakers, artificial limbs attached to the brain that can “read” thoughts to move, etc.), the advent of this being an actuality is not all that far fetched.

In rare cases in this film, the entire body is, for lack of a better term, a replicant, with human memories, such as in Blade Runner (1992), RoboCop (1987), and Total Recall (1990). The key character here, Major Motoko Kusanagi is just such a cyborg, working in a special ops division called Section 9, dealing with counter terrorism and cyber crime.

She and her team are on the hunt for a cyber hacker named the Puppet Master (no Blade, Leech Girl or Driller in sight), who hacks into people’s brains and gives them false memories to bid his doing, which is to commit crimes for him.

The Major is partnered with Băto, a big lunk of a guy who is part human and part cyborg (she asked him how much). They make a good team, as they use their strengths to get the job done. For example, she can throw herself off a building Underworld (2003) style and make herself invisible in a Predator (1987) mode.

What makes this such a strong contender is its philosophical edge, discussing what makes a person themselves, what is considered living in general (i.e., is a cyborg a life?), and then there is also some global neo-capitalist politics involved. While there is no sex (do they even have sex organs?), but there is some nudity (The Major’s and another female cyborg, not Băto) and quite a bit of shoot-‘em-up violence and chases.

The animation is stunning, giving the impression of a cross between classic anime and Ralph Bakshi’s photo-automation (e.g., 1983’s Fire and Ice). One of my favorite things about the particular animation in this film is the backgrounds of the city, which are stunningly detailed and beautiful, in their compact and crowded visuals full of signs (mostly in Japanese), buildings, trash, puddles and pedestrians.

While this is definitely a sci-fi laden action flick with remarkable illustrations, it also goes pretty deep into philosophy, which actually improves the story rather than getting in its way. This is the second time I have seen this film, and I get more impressed with it each time.

 

Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence (aka Inosensu: Innocence)
Directed by Mamoru Oshii
Kodansha; Bandai Visual Company; Manga Entertainment; Production 1.G.
100 minutes, 2004

This animated sequel, released nine years after the first, picks up three years later than the previous, in 2032 (still practically around the corner from now). Rather than the Major being the main characgter, this one focuses on Batou (yes, the spelling of the name has changed slightly), and his partner, Toguse, who also appeared in the first film as a Section 9 agent.

The animation here is different. As in the first film, the backgrounds are gorgeous and sumptuous, but many of the characters have a grayish look, and are flatter. Perhaps the budget was higher in this release, but the imagery of most of the characters is less engaging. The main improvement, however, is that motion is much more fluid, which is a boon. What is also interesting to me is that the computer readouts on the first film looked almost 8-bit, but here, they are much more sophisticated and imaginative.

There are a lot of POV (point of view) shots through the eye of a cyborg, mostly Batou, with the technical information, much like the title character in The Terminator (1984). Luckily, for some reason, I am happy to report that the language of this is in English.

This sequel focuses on “gynoids,” sex-robot geishas who are reprogrammed to kill – shades of Westworld (1973) – and then self-destruct. It is up to our intrepid Section 9 agents, Batou and Toguse, to figure out why, and to stop further slaughter…of the humans.

There is still a high level of philosophy. As one chain smoking scientist, “Miss Harawai” (not Dr.) ponders, “I wonder why humans are so obsessed with designing robots that resemble them.” I believe the answer to that is easy: because we are ingrained with Genesis 1:27: “God created man in His own image.” Batou brings up Descartes when discussing the different between animate and inanimate/surrogate humans (dolls). There is a lot of discussions about what is life, between humans, cyborgs, and “dolls” (robots). Included are mentions of the Bible, Milton, and Confucius, among others. I’m not sure how it translates from the original Japanese, but the dialogue is sometimes philosophically cryptic, and doesn’t talk down to the audience.

Sometimes, the story seems secondary to the mental musings between the characters. There is definitely more violent (mostly shootings) action than in the first film, but there are certainly extended dialogues about the meanings of lives.

Most people we meet have electronically enhanced noggins (referred to as e-brains). While this gives the advantage of high thought processes and a way to connecting to each other in a kind of Vulcan mind meld fashion, it also makes it where a person can be hacked with false memories, or sort of a virtual reality causing them to unknowingly harm themselves. The question it raises that I really liked is not as much what is human, but the degrees of how much. Marshall McLuhan (d. 1980) would probably be fascinated by this stuff.

Batou and Toguse set off to the far north to a lawless area of corporations and information hackers in search of the people involved with the robot gynoid geisha genocide. The artwork is especially spectacular there. Of course, there is the expected cameo which I won’t divulge, but it will probably not come as any surprise, nor will it be ruined either by knowing or not.

There is definitely some of The Matrix (1999) thought in here, in reality vs. technology, especially towards the end. While this film is “denser” than the first when it comes to deep thought, the action holds up and it is worth the view. Most people know the first film, but this sequel is a bit rarer.

 

Ghost in the Shell
Directed by Rupert Sanders
Paramount Pictures; Dreamworks Pictures; Reliance Entertainment; Shanghai Film Group; Huahua Media; Down By the Sea; Amblin
107 minutes, 2017

For the purposes of the mostly live action (with tons of CGI) version, the definition of “Ghost” is a bit different in that literally “a human brain is transplanted into a fully synthetic body,” rather than its “essence” or “soul,” as the beginning scroll explains. We see that in the Major’s creation in the opening sequence (as it was in the anime). Rather than looking like a normal human, as the cartoon showed, the synthetic body in the film looks smoother without nipples, like a Barbie doll. This keeps the actors from having to do nudity. That being said, there is an added interesting layer to The Major’s sexuality here, absent from the first two animes.

Speaking of which, the 800 lb. gorilla in the room is that the Asian main character of the Major is being played by a nice Jewish meydl from Manhattan, Scarlett Johansson. This has raised a ruckus and cries of appropriation. I understand that, but the original director, Mamoru Oshii, was okay with it, so I’ll just keep on going, especially since she is a new, created being, not her original Japanese self. A noteworthy point is that thanks to her work as the Black Widow in another cartoon world, the Marvel Universe, Johansson is used to both acting in from of a green screen, and is trained to do physical stunts.

The character’s name of Motoko Kusanagi has also been changed to US audience-friendly Mira Killian (though Motoko comes up in an interesting way). For this film, she is the initial full human brain/synthetic body “miracle,” so called by her creator, Dr. Ouelet (Juliette Binoche). Batou (same name) is now played by hulking Danish actor Pilou Asbæk. Johansson is quite short, which makes Asbæk look that much bigger. At least Togusa, who is barely in the film, is still Asian (Chin Han, from Singapore, Malaysia, who CNNGO – a division of CNN – named as one of Asia’s 25 greatest actors of all time).

It is kind of fun to notice both the similarities and the differences from the anime. This one sort of combines the first two films, with killer geishas (called geishabots, which is better than gynoids) with exploding faces as in the second film. There is also a mimicking of Mira’s creation in her body rising in liquid to its on reflection on the surface (looked so cool in the first film and is done quite decently here). They also revive the original’s Underworld-ish jump off the building and shooting into the window, and some The Matrix-style running along the walls during gunplay. By this time, Mira is also known as The Major and working for secretive Section 9. There is also a shadow of the Borg, as people on “the grid” can hear what others are saying when they are plugged into the outlets on the backs of their necks (like the dead Bishop on the landing).

While the anime duo are steeped deep in philosophy, there is less of it here, which is more about memories making us who we are rather than personhood per se. All seems as illusionary as the giant advertisement holograms present throughout the city streets, something that I can see becoming a reality. There is also some interesting symbolism, such as life coming out of liquid, and death going into water, bookending the film.

The enemy for this film is also a hacker, but rather than Puppet Master, it is Kuze (Michael Pitt). He is the one trying to destroy the company that built The Major, Hanka Robotics. I am about a third of the way in, and I can see the possibly motivation for it and the following common trope twist ending (which, of course, I will not reveal).

One of the cool aspects of the film is that one character, Mr. Aramaki (Takeshi “Beat” Kitano) speaks Japanese (with English captions) to everyone around him, who is speaking English, and is clearly understood by all. This is a nice nod to the original story. Speaking of which…

Binge watching all three films is interesting because the first two releases are still in my short-term memory, so I notice the differences and the similarities a bit easier. For instance, if it had been a while, I may not have noticed their using the garbage truck drivers – albeit for a different purpose – and the interrogation of one of them having false memories. And there is the spider tank, whose origin is different but is essentially the same.

At the halfway point especially, the film takes a totally different direction than the anime story, even while keeping it within the framework, which is an interesting choice, even though it borrows the zeitgeist of RoboCop, which influences the second half a lot, with Hanka Exec Cutter (Peter Ferdinando) filling in the Jones (Ronny Cox) role. Speaking of inspirations, many of the fight scenes, especially in corridors, is reminiscent of Johansson’s earlier film, Lucy (2014).

While they only kept partially faithful to the story, the character of Mira/The Major is mostly true to the original, but she is way more emotional here than in the anime, which is kind of manipulative on the audience. Having her more stoic in the anime with some sad wondering is expressed with her diving and the conversation with Batou on the boat in the harbor, shown in both the original and this one, but the emotion is definitely ramped up here as she tries to search for her original ghost/memories.

The film received some slack, especially from fans of the manga and anime version, but it is good action fun, though I miss the heady philosophy.

 

 

Review: X

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

X
Directed by Scott J. Ramsey
Cinedigm; The Foundation
127 minutes, 2021
www.everybodylovesx.com/
www.cinedigm.com/
www.imdb.com/title/tt8151450/?ref_=nm_knf_i1

Once a month, a charitable organization called The Foundation invites a group of people for some care-free debauchery. The “King” of the Party is 26-year-old Christian (Hope Raymond), known as X, and who also handed out the invitations to the guests. One unexpected one, though, is ex-school mate Stella (Eliza Bolvin), dubbed E7 for the party. Everyone wears masks (no, not the pandemic type) and goes by a letter and number, as on a chess board.

As X is the King, her associate, Danny (Brian Smick), is known as The Queen. He and Christian run the monthly sex parties under the title of a Masked Charity Ball that entrances the rich to come and spend their inheritance on a good “cause.” While they are indulging in their passions, The Foundation makes money and Christian gets off on her own by doing a Chuck Berry and viewing videos she has hidden in the bathroom. She is not interested in the coupling route, but rather indulging in onanism (sometimes with batteries).

Hope Raymond

One of the strong points of the story, which is broken up into five chapters, is that the two people who run the ball, The King and the Queen, are not presented as necessarily evil and authoritarian, but rather as people trying to work their way through life. We see Christian in some very weak moments (between balls), drinking too much, and trying to get over insecurities she earned in a Catholic high school from being in unrequited love (lust?) with Stella.

In an interview with Starburst, director Ramsey said, “I would define it as a queer film, because more importantly than the characters being queer, it has a queer sensibility to it, and because the filmmakers are queer. But ultimately, it wasn’t about their sexualities, so it wasn’t necessarily for us to make that the focus.” 

Eliza Bolvin

While visually and thematically closer to Eyes Wide Shut (1999) than X: The Man with the X-Ray Eyes (1963), there’s also an element of Poe’s “Masque of the Red Death” and Agatha Christie mysteries mixed in. This is especially true when the bathroom camera turns up a violent crime by another acquaintance, who one may refer to as the Iago of the piece. At this time, well past the halfway point, things really start to pick up. It also puts Christian in a bind, because to expose it, she would need to reveal the illegal filming.

This is the first feature length film for the director, who has said he wanted it to be “an intersection of erotic thriller and queer camp.” Did he succeed? Funny thing is, is that as much as this is a story about sexual debauchery, there is actually not much actual sex shown, most of it implied. There is also surprisingly miniscule amounts of nudity. As for the camp level, there is definitely some there; perhaps not reaching the Showgirls (1995) level, but the pan-sexuality is definitely worth noting.

One of the odd things about the film is the sound of the talking. It gives the impression that all the dialogue was recorded and added after, because of how flat the sound is; sort of like a dubbed Scandinavian film from the 1970s. The lips match the words, but it just appears strange in tone, like everyone is the exact same distance from the image.

Much of the background music is classical, such as Beethoven’s 9 Symphony Second Movement, and a light tinkling, almost music box sounding version of Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake, which is repeated during intense moments, and there are a lot of them. The film is well shot, showing both the pathos of some characters and the bravado of others; or in the case of Christian, both. Luckily, Raymond has the acting chops to come off as both in charge and someone with a touch of PTSD from being bullied in years before.

Did Ramsey achieve his goal to “comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable”? Well, the writers were going for a “Shakespearean tragedy” level of story, but to me it felt more like a telenovela, especially once certain secrets are brought to light. Everything is over emotional, and there is definitely an aesthetically soap opera level to it all, especially thanks to its over 2-hour length, which seemed a bit excessive. Sure, mostly it kept the story going, but this is an indie film, not a mega-superhero-budgeted-three-stories-at-once kind of film, so with all the emotional back and forth going on, it did start to wear after a while.

Valerie Façhman

One of the things supporting the film is that the acting skills are quite good. Raymond carries it, going in and out of glamorous to plain, in charge and feeling out of sorts, and never leaving one to doubt the emotional roller coaster. I would also like to note Valerie Façhman, who plays X’s dementia-ladened mom Lynda, and steals many of her scenes.

The film took five years of “blood, sweat, and rose petals,” says the young director, and it shows in the work. The visuals are quite stunning and there are many different styles thrown in, including split screens, and it all enhances the story rather than draining from it. At this length, that’s a positive thing.

The title is hard to search for on the Internet, so I have included its IMDB page at the top. It is available to buy or rent on major digital platforms, such as iTunes, Amazon, Google Play and VUDU.

 

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.

 

Reviews: The Visitant; Revisitant

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

I found out about the sequel, so I figured I would check out the original first.

 

The Visitant
Directed by Jon Binkowski
Kings of Horror; FWC Pictures
87 minutes, 2014
https://kingsofhorror.com/the-visitant/

After a short and well done prologue, we are introduced to struggling and aging actress Samantha (Michelle Simms). Her current gig is as a professional psychic in an amusement park. I used to date the assistant of a professional psychic and have seen how intense the job can be, and how over the top the clientele are sometimes. Samantha is a charlatan, and she knows it.

But, as these things must in this kind of film, a mysterious client, Lee (Sallie Glaner), shows up with a real psychic problem: a visitant by malevolent spirit in her home. Like a game of tag team, the wraith connects to a person and makes their lives a living hell, with electronics flashing, lights going on and off, glass breaking, and oddly enough, towels being folded, among other manifestations.

Michelle Simms; Sallie Glaner

This was a surprisingly fun ride, with some genuine jump scares and effects that are not over the top, but definitely effective. There is some CGI involved but it looked minimal to me, with most of the effects being practical.

The one big flaw in the story, in my opinion, is that Samantha stays in the house, often on the phone with her friend Maya (Tracy Wiu), who is both a real psychic expert and in the Greek Chorus role so Samantha can express what she is thinking out loud, and give some exposition about Samantha and her late husband. One minute all these supernatural things are happening, the next she’s excusing it and refusing to go. If I may digress, I once stayed overnight at a friend’s family home, in the basement suite. As I was falling asleep, I felt someone sit on the bed. I turned on the light and no one was there. I slept in the car. Samantha has a radio static call her name and is only momentarily bothered by it. Sure, the thing will follow her, but she does not know that. She should have left until she did.

Other than that, I found the film much better than I expected. It was definitely creepy, even though it uses some tropes that are not uncommon. I was impressed, and it kept my attention. Usually, I write my reviews as I watch the film, but for this I am composing it after.

I was also impressed by the acting. Simms keeps up the character without being either too over the top, or so dead-pan that she doesn’t recognize the situation. Simms is onscreen nearly the entire film and often by herself (not counting the spook), and she carries it fiercely right until the end. Again, while she is calmer than I would be in that situation and much earlier, she gives the character some pathos and determination. As the initial visitant attachee, Glaner does a great job. What I have seen of her before (demo reels on IMDB), she tends to play stoic doctor or executive types, but here she does frazzled really well, especially when she’s talking to Samantha at the amusement park.

There were a few cliché elements I was expecting which did not occur, which is also a credit to the writing. It is nicely shot and edited, using the timing well. The twist about how the progression of the spirit worked well within the story’s framework. Overall, it was a surprisingly fun and one of the better nasty ghost films I have seen in a while.

Watch the whole film free HERE 

 

ReVisitant
Directed by Jon Binkowski
Kings of Horror; Renaissance Entertainment; Terror Films
100 minutes, 2019
www.revisitant.com
www.terrorfilms.net

Since I do not have a nosebleed, I am going to progress onto the recently released sequel of The Visitant, witfully titled ReVisitant.

With what seems like a larger budget, the prologue is essentially a recap by showing five minutes of the ending of the first film, along with some other informative reminding bits going forward.

We are introduced to a new family a couple of doors down from the original house, which is now owned by the bank, scheduled to be razed. Personally, I think it is a great house, but capitalism tends to win out.

Maya Smith, Amy Smith, Lisa Enos Smith, Jade Rattigan

The occupants are a mother, Leslie (Lisa Enos Smith), her young daughter Sarah (Jade Rattigan), a teenage daughter, Amanda (Amy Smith), and Amanda’s friend, Kat (Maya Smith). Sarah tends to sneak into the spooked house and “rescues” some of the creepy artifacts, but what gets passed along to the family is far worse, and if you have seen the first film, you know what I mean. Actually, I’ll bet you can pretty well figure that out anyway.

The entity manages to jump to many people in this issue, much like in the 1998 film, Fallen. There is also a couple of nods to Poltergeist (1982), such as an incident involving a chair; Sarah really seems to be getting into the whole ghost thing, but you know it’s going to get darker as the film progresses. As the being takes hold, it is interesting to see its progression, from being like a trailer attached to a car to becoming the whole RV.

As more and more characters get added to the story, including some from the first film, an abusive stalker ex-boyfriend Norm Becker (J.T. Becker) who you know is as good as toast, and cat lady neighbor Miss Patty Pender (Patty Bender, in another character/cast name bender), there is more of a variety than in the first release.

With all the horror this family goes though, the film also has a – dare I say it – devilish sense of humor, at times, along with some decent jump scares. For example, a relatively comic relief character, Griffon (Marc Musso). is wearing a Scare Zone tee-shirt, from a 2009 film by ReVisitant’s director.

Sallie Glander, Amy Smith

As with the first, the standard for the acting here is incredibly high, with Sallie Glaner and relative newcomer Rattigan holding her own.

There were three questions in the story I had when the film proper ended, two of which were resolved “Dark Shadows” style during the final credits (make sure you sit through the credits at least until the cast is listed). The third and unresolved one is that Maya had been tagged by the meanie for a year, but it wasn’t until after it passed to the next person that she brought out Griffon to get rid of the manifestation, whom she apparently knew even before the first film?

In this film as with the last, there are some genuine jump scares and effects that, while are also not over the top, are more intense, with minimal CGI.

As is common in the follow-up, we are given the back story of the spirit and a hint of more to come. I certainly would not object to that. Both these films are good candidates to be added to the spookathon canon.