It seems like there is horror to be found everywhere nowadays. No, I am not making a comment on the 6:00 news (though there is plenty of horror there as well), I mean the horror genre. Even 15 years ago, most horror fans got their horror at the local theater. If you were lucky enough to live close to a city, there was usually one that showed underground horror. Most often, you picked up a DVD at Blockbuster and hoped it didn't suck. There wasn't any real forum to discuss and share movies and there certainly weren't streaming sites. So much is different now, with the explosion of sites like that offer streaming movies, some even catering specifically to the horror fan. Conventions give indie filmmakers the chance to push their latest film.
Where once you had trouble finding something new and exciting, now it can be hard to wade through the mass of directors promoting their film on your social media feed and trying to decide what is worth your time. FAR too often, most of these indie films are just generic rehashes of things you have seen a hundred times over and offer nothing original, but there are movies that show some real talent and the work of actors and directors who show real promise. This is one of those movies. I am not going to tell you it's perfect, or even great, but it's good and that's more than can be said for most of what I see in the reviews column of your favorite horror magazine anymore.
Director Scott Schirmer's work is picking up a lot of buzz in the horror communities that I hang around and there is good reason for it if this movie is any indication. It's mostly another variation on the Sawney Bean story, which has been done to death in horror and one of the biggest negatives (to me) about this movie. A group of backwoods cannibals murder campers who have encroached on their territory. Only this one is different. We have three women and their man. In our opening murder scene, the man is injured, leaving a gap in the family. The matron of the family must find them another protector, so they kidnap a camper and begin the process of breaking him down and inducting him into their family.
It is this angle on the storyline that makes this unique. Yes, we get a few murders and some campers die along the way. We have plenty of cannibalism, as well. These scenes are not the main focus of the film, though. This is far from being THE HILLS HAVE EYES or WRONG TURN. Instead, the movie plays along an almost psychological edge. The bulk of the movie is about the three women slowly breaking the man down, ridding him of his taboos, breaking him of his dominance and ultimately trying to eliminate his past and his self, as he becomes one of their clan.
I am not going to get on my soapbox and preach about supporting indie horror. I recognize that there are plenty of people who just don't like it and don't get it. If you are going to judge the movie on its' budget limitations, or some occasionally stilted acting, then there's probably another CONJURING clone that you can find to watch. I'm not going to tell you this is a masterpiece, but this is a director who clearly has a good eye for shots and angles and interesting film making technique. These are actors and crew clearly devoted to making a good movie with something different to say. While absolutely not a movie for the squeamish or the prudish, if you dig indie horror, give this a chance.
Where once you had trouble finding something new and exciting, now it can be hard to wade through the mass of directors promoting their film on your social media feed and trying to decide what is worth your time. FAR too often, most of these indie films are just generic rehashes of things you have seen a hundred times over and offer nothing original, but there are movies that show some real talent and the work of actors and directors who show real promise. This is one of those movies. I am not going to tell you it's perfect, or even great, but it's good and that's more than can be said for most of what I see in the reviews column of your favorite horror magazine anymore.
Director Scott Schirmer's work is picking up a lot of buzz in the horror communities that I hang around and there is good reason for it if this movie is any indication. It's mostly another variation on the Sawney Bean story, which has been done to death in horror and one of the biggest negatives (to me) about this movie. A group of backwoods cannibals murder campers who have encroached on their territory. Only this one is different. We have three women and their man. In our opening murder scene, the man is injured, leaving a gap in the family. The matron of the family must find them another protector, so they kidnap a camper and begin the process of breaking him down and inducting him into their family.
It is this angle on the storyline that makes this unique. Yes, we get a few murders and some campers die along the way. We have plenty of cannibalism, as well. These scenes are not the main focus of the film, though. This is far from being THE HILLS HAVE EYES or WRONG TURN. Instead, the movie plays along an almost psychological edge. The bulk of the movie is about the three women slowly breaking the man down, ridding him of his taboos, breaking him of his dominance and ultimately trying to eliminate his past and his self, as he becomes one of their clan.
I am not going to get on my soapbox and preach about supporting indie horror. I recognize that there are plenty of people who just don't like it and don't get it. If you are going to judge the movie on its' budget limitations, or some occasionally stilted acting, then there's probably another CONJURING clone that you can find to watch. I'm not going to tell you this is a masterpiece, but this is a director who clearly has a good eye for shots and angles and interesting film making technique. These are actors and crew clearly devoted to making a good movie with something different to say. While absolutely not a movie for the squeamish or the prudish, if you dig indie horror, give this a chance.