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Reviews
The Parish (2019)
Nuns and Blood and Ghosts - The Parish
Last night, I had the pleasure of attending the sold-out world premiere of Mighty Tripod's newest feature film, "The Parish," written by Todd Downing, and directed by David S Hogan-his premiere as a director. It was part of the opening night screenings, hosted by Abie Eke, at the 2019 Seattle Film Summit, now in its sixth year.
The film tells the tale of a widow, Liz-played by Angela DiMarco-haunted by the recent death of her deployed husband in Afghanistan, and of their daughter, Audrey-played by Sanae Loutsis-dealing with her mother's unraveling grief, as well as demons of her own.
DiMarco delivered a powerful portrayal of Liz, expressing the raw emotions of her spiral into drugs and alcohol as coping mechanisms for her grief and loneliness. Anyone who has lost a loved one will see the truth in her performance.
Loutsis deftly dove from moody, grieving teen into something otherworldly as Audrey struggles to make sense of her emotions, and her world.
The prolific Bill Oberst Jr played a compelling Father Felix, who guides Liz and helps her discover the truth.
The script was riveting and the pacing tight, leaving me eagerly awaiting the next scene and plot twist. Nuns and blood and ghosts-what more could a horror fan want? As with most films in this genre, a few carefully placed jump scares kept the adrenaline flowing. The cinematography and scenery were lovely (but it's hard to go wrong with the natural beauty around Seattle). The special effects were superb without being over-the-top. Recommend.
Jack Goes Home (2016)
Don't Miss Jack Goes Home
Thomas Dekker's new delightfully creepy psychological thriller, Jack Goes Home, is an intriguing dive into a young man's overwhelming grief. It was a favorite at the 2016 SXSW and was released October 14, 2016, to theaters, and on Video On Demand and iTunes. Don't miss this one.
Dekker has learned his craft well and mastered the art of storytelling. Watching this film is like crossing a stream and trying to keep your feet dry by stepping on the rocks. When you get to the rapids, it's impossible to keep from getting swallowed whole and being completely immersed in the horror in Jack's mind. You lose track of which way is up, and what is real and what is not.
As the film begins, Jack Thurlowe (Rory Culkin) is at work. He seems normal, if a bit eccentric and acerbic, and we find he and his fiancée are expecting a child. After his parents are involved in a horrific car accident, Jack is forced to return to his childhood home. Being there stirs up memories, real or imaged, in Jack's mind.
Jack's mother, Teresa—played impeccably by Lin Shaye, queen of the horror genre— vacillates between nurturing and terrorizing. I found myself wondering how much of his mother was real and how much a projection of Jack. And what really happened up in that creepy attic.
The one thing that seems real throughout the story is Jack's best friend, Shanda (Daveigh Chase), a large rock for Jack to cling to when the turbulence in his mind threatens to overcome him.
Dekker shows a keen ability to get his actors to create believable characters in an horrifying story. Culkin was mesmerizing as Jack, sometimes vulnerable, sometimes stoic, sometimes chaotic. His life-long career as an actor—he's been acting since he was three—shows in the maturity he brought to this role. When the director needed her to oscillate between a loving, caring mother and a vicious, vindictive villain, Shaye was able to do this with ease. Chase captured well the concern of a friend trying to hold Jack in the real world throughout his rejections and violent attacks. Louis Hunter gave a sinister quality to the horny boy next door, Duncan, making me question his motivations.
Jack's demons were reminiscent of the ones in The Babadook (Jennifer Kent, 2014), Tale of Two Sisters (Kim Jee-woon, 2004), and Mysterious Skin (Gregg Araki, 2004). The element of a traumatized mind trying to make sense of nightmarish events is there in all of these.
The lovely and peaceful setting in Kingston, New York, provided a stark contrast to the turmoil in Jack's mind. The outdoor cinematography, by Austin F. Schmidt, was very impactful—making Jack look small and insignificant as he enters the enormous family home, and later, at the funeral. The score, by Ceiri Torjessun, added ample creepiness and tension—even the soft, lyrical numbers had edgy undertones. It's available on iTunes.
Dekker invested a lot of himself in this story. He, too, was a victim of child abuse, and has had to deal with the grief of losing his own father as a young man. Life experiences like these help a writer find real emotions to portray. I recognized my own reactions to people around me trying to make sure I was all right after the death of my husband—their awkwardness, my reassurances, were all there in Jack's interactions with the people he encounters.
I'm very impressed with Thomas Dekker. Like Culkin, he's been acting since he was a young child. He's worked with the likes of John Carpenter (Village of the Damned, 1995), Gregg Araki (Kaboom, 2010) and Robert Hall (Fear Clinic, 2015), all of whose influences are seen in Jack Goes Home. Dekker wrote and directed his first film, Whore (2008), at the tender age of nineteen and has also released two music albums.
Jack Goes Home was produced by Yale Productions and SSS Entertainment in association with Isle Empire Pictures, and distributed in the US by Momentum Pictures.
Dekker and Culkin worked together again this year on Welcome to Willits (Trevor and Tim Ryan), which will be out in 2017. It's nice to see these young men continuing to create creepy horror films.
Impastor (2015)
Don't Miss This Great New Comedy!
I loved the premiere of Impastor, an edgy, fast-paced comedy about a low-life con man who steals the identity of a gay pastor. Thirty seconds into it, I was already laughing. It packed a huge amount of story into 23 minutes, with several sub-plots pushing the story along. Not only is it a great comedy, but there's action, drama and suspense. It's nice the show is set up with a season-long story arc and not just self-contained, discreet episodes—it left me wanting to see what would happen next.
Michael Rosenbaum is a good choice for the lead character, Buddy Dobbs. He captures the essence of the role as a reluctant impostor trying to make the best of his situation by pretending to be something he clearly knows nothing about. Rosenbaum's timing couldn't be more spot on, especially his comedic delivery.
The whole cast is able to convincingly develop their characters' personalities in the brief time they have on screen. Overall, this is well-cast, with Aimee Garcia playing the no-nonsense girlfriend, LeeAnne, that Buddy has to leave behind; Sara Rue as eager-to-please assistant, Dora; Mircea Monroe as sexy treasurer, Alexa, who has the hots for the new pastor; Mike Kosinski as the obviously gay secretary, Russell, who is very excited by Buddy's arrival; and David Rasche as the suspicious church president, Alden.
I'm really looking forward to the next episodes to see how the story unfolds. I would highly recommend this to adults, but probably only to mature teens, especially due to the use of strong language and some mature sexual themes.
Back in the Day (2014)
Feel-good comedy by Michael Rosenbaum
I just finished watching "Back in the Day" for the third time. I love this movie! It's an indie movie written and directed by Michael Rosenbaum, who also starred in it and was the executive producer. This is a sweet story about Jim, who is trying unsuccessfully to be an actor in Hollywood, and his attempt to recapture some of his youth and maybe find the meaning of happiness by returning to his small town in Indiana for a class reunion. While the ensuing madness is littered with potty humor, I still connected with the story, perhaps because it could have been the small town I grew up in.
After arriving in Newburgh, Jim immediately falls back in with his group of high school buddies and they revert to their old selves, getting drunk, getting revenge for old grievances, and maybe falling back in love. The group, including Jim's former lover, Lori, soon revolves around Jim who held it together back in the day. But life has moved on and we soon find everyone's life turned upside down by Jim's return.
Rosenbaum did a fine job on his first foray into writing and directing a full-length movie. The story is solid. The scenery around his home town is beautiful and used to good effect. The music from the late '80's is fitting.
Perhaps because Rosenbaum was writing about his actual friends, the characters feel authentic and we are able to relate to them as real people. His town rallied around him and almost all of the movie was filmed there on location. The modest homes were real, as was the bar where they hang out, and the high school where the reunion dance is held. I remember the same kind of people and places from my own teen-age years. I was comfortable with this movie and enjoyed it tremendously. If you wait through the credits, there is a memorial to the actual Skunk (Jon Snyder), who passed away late last year, as well as a recent photo of Rosenbaum and his high school buddies.
If you are looking for a feel-good comedy, I would definitely recommend buying "Back in the Day".