Waste of time

Just perfect...

Dreadfully Boring

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

This is almost an excellent film, but you have to work to understand what is going on.A family is devastated by the apparent suicide of the son, with the mother Helen (Carolyn Hauck) in particular, making it a personal mission to get to the truth. The acting in this low-budget project is mostly top notch – in Hauck's case, possibly too good; her obsession pushes her into very obvious insanity that wouldn't go unnoticed by those she comes into contact with. It goes beyond 'tell her she's mad, dad' and would surely lead to steps being taken to secure proper care for her – but she's right, of course, to an extent, although the director fills the narrative with so many sped-up shots, blurred images, flashbacks and other effects that occasionally events become incomprehensible. Whilst this is a good way of conveying how Helen (who to me, has a smattering of Sigourney Weaver about her) now sees the world, it can leave the viewer confused. As a result, often the 'quieter' moments are most effective.Suthi Picotte as daughter Kate is also very good in a cast who actually appear to be more concerned with acting than posturing, which can be one of the pitfalls of many modern horror/dramas.There are many films I've thoroughly enjoyed, but it is doubtful I'll visit them again. This deserves more than one airing however, to enjoy again events packed into the fast moving runtime, and also to see many things undoubtedly missed out on.

This is a very well crafted little movie. It does offer quite a few clichés and might let itself down a bit after a very strong beginning, but I still feel like this deserves to be seen. Of course you could argue that the current rating suggests otherwise (the movie having only managed to get a bit more than half of what I gave it). But then again, shouldn't you judge for yourself? Especially if you do have a thing for small little horror movies, with a neat idea, that do have a well crafted (filmed) product to show to you. The acting is nice and even if you do not like where it is heading, I do hope you like the movie as it is. I know I did (but then again I do have a thing for independent, well crafted horror movies)!

Death is stalking a small town plagued with a rash of apparent suicides. But one grieving mother (Carolyn Hauck) believes that there are darker forces at work and plunges herself into a supernatural nightmare to uncover her dead son's association with an evil cult. Her behavior grows increasingly paranoid and bizarre as she races against time to battle the terrifying demon unleashed to destroy her entire family in this atmospheric descent into horror.According to he Internet Movie Database, "All the SFX were achieved in-camera (no CGI), melding techniques from early film magicians, like behind the lens filters, two-way mirrors and speed ramps." Also, "Real animal bones were used for set dressing." This was my primary reason to love the film. While the directing and acting are both great, I'm big on traditional / conventional effects, and what they were able to achieve here makes new methods look like garbage.Digital Retribution (whoever they are) are quoted on the cover as saying, "Truly bizarre and disturbing imagery... like Argento's best work." For me, any comparison to Argento carries with it a heavy burden of proof, as he is the ultimate master of cinematic style. Luckily for Digital Retribution, that wasn't at all what they were saying. The actual quotation from their review reads: "Like Argento's best work, not everything is solved by the end of the movie, and a lot of what you see simply goes completely unanswered..." Nice try, "Finale", but you took this completely out of context. The review also says the "bizarre and disturbing imagery" is "peppered", implying that it is by no means constant.The writer-director, John Michael Elfers, has gone on record as being an Argento fan, and has said that he prefers "Deep Red" over "Suspiria", so the film's comparison's to the Italian giallo director are not really surprising. ArrowInTheHead.com is more on target when they say, "Shot lovingly in the Italian Giallo vein..." I can see this, as the film has a definite style, almost stronger than the substance.The wardrobe person should be commended on the outfits of Kathryn "Kate" Hauck (Suthi Picotte), whoever this person was. She looked magnificent on camera and I think it made her character a lot more easy to identify with. I, for one, fell for her and sympathized right away.There's great use of direction, with camera positions bringing typical background objects (clocks, jars) to the foreground, and a conscious effort to highlight the symbolic, with a repetitive use of the clocks and mirrors -- very effective! James Speight and Shawn K. Clement's atmospheric music coupled with NEVER 3NOUGH's Mansonesque metal drove the film like a conductor in a barreling freight train. At first the film was a bit slow to get into, but it picks up quickly and does not let you settle in.The mythology is solid and crisp, and while there is no need for a sequel, one would not be unwelcome. The same ground could be explored by the same characters or all news ones with equal power. I believe Elfers is involved in other projects currently, but I do hope he has left the door open in his mind to walk back into this world.

In the beginning of the movie we see Sean and his girlfriend presumably trying to halt a satanic ritual. When the dynamite fails to ignite, Sean is greeted with death through being hung by barbed wire. The rest of the film is directed at his family’s torment afterwords.First off, there is the mother Helen, who suffers from sleepwalking. After discovering some Satanical scrapbooks in her dead son’s room, she starts experiencing waking nightmares which we assume are of the past and what her son was uncovering. Granted there is some chilling sequences and good lighting effects, but the CGI here can be somewhat cheap too.Secondly, we have the daughter Kate, who is encouraged to join theater at her high school. Kate wins the leading role and is paired up with the theater hunk and seems to be optimistic. Unfortunately her mother discovers the director of the play named “Miss Bliss” is the one responsible for conjuring up the demon known as “The Collector of souls.” You can guess where the film goes from here.Overall the movie deserves a 6/10. There are a few good twists and the plot isn’t as cliché as one would expect. The filmography is above par for a B-grade film. The acting wasn’t flawless, but the cast did a convincing job, the left is up to willing suspense of disbelief. I would recommend this for die-hard horror fans into movies about cults.Alan "Skip" Bannacheck -The Horror Encyclopedia