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GlennTriggs
Reviews
Apocalyptic (2014)
Apocalyptic REVIEWS from Monster Fest 2013
APOCALYPTIC.
Local film maker Glenn Trigg taps into the aesthetics of the found footage genre for his fourth feature film Apocalyptic, which takes its cues from The Blair Witch Project and its like. Apocalyptic deals with a television news crew that venture into an enclave to film a cult and get caught up in a bizarre and terrifying suicide pact. While it is nowhere near as graphic and violent and shocking as Safe Haven, the Gareth Evans directed episode from the recent VHS 2, this is still an unsettling mood piece. Learning about the presence of a mysterious doomsday cult, the intrepid film crew head off to a remote forest to try and find out more about the organisation and its charismatic head Michael Godson (David Macrae). At first the small group seems like a devout bunch who practice their religion with an eye to the simple things in life without the modern trappings and technology of contemporary society. But soon it appears that there is a more sinister side to the cult. Every night Godson sleeps with a different woman, and even the youngest girls are not safe. As events begin to spiral into madness, the film moves towards a horrifying climax. The mood grows more unsettling as it becomes clear that even the youngest children in the cult are in jeopardy. Trigg uses the tropes of this subgenre effectively, from the jerky hand held camera to the shots of the microphone boom in the frame, and he even has the camera passed around amongst the cast so that events unfold from a number of different perspectives. The largely unknown cast deliver quite naturalistic performances, while a suavely sinister Macrae oozes evil. Apocalyptic is Trigg's fourth film, but it is easily his most accomplished in terms of style and ambition.
Cinemaphobia (2009)
Salty Video Review - 2009
....CINEMAPHOBIA in its title really does stitch it all up into something of an event rather than a cheap horror film. Other referenced films even admitted by director/writer Glenn Triggs - 'The Breakfast Club' 'Halloween' (surprise surprise) and 'Suburbia' - these films - taken - become a mathematical equation of addition with the equals sign pointing straight to this film. The characters are really what makes this film. It is an ensemble piece, at first difficult to realize who the main characters are. Once the ball gets rolling though it doesn't stop. The antagonist in the film is a killer who reflects originality and mystery - the key word being 'reflects'. The film is full of friendships, close-ups, gore and a twist ending that echoes gasps from the audience members who didn't see it coming. Not something I myself, 42, would go out of my way to see. But admittedly, thoroughly enjoyed the ride.