Red Eye (2017) Review

I'm always cautious when going into low budget horror films, especially seeing some of the extremely positive comments over social media, but even more so for this particular film as I backed it on Indiegogo. Yes, my name is in the end credits.

In the past I have been accused of writing extremely nice, not completely honest, overly positive reviews when it comes to films that are made by my friends on social media. It's actually only me that's made that accusation during watching this film. Going back over some of my older reviews from a few years ago and after re-watching said films I am guilty of it. However, it is only a couple of films that I received as DVD screeners back when I was reviewing a lot of films. There was a film a while back that I backed (made by a friend on social media) and I didn't even write a review as I wasn't impressed at all. 

But the older I get (I'm now 40) and with the thousands upon thousands of films (not just horror) I've watched over the years, it isn't very often I find a new film that, even though I may enjoy it, that I find myself being impressed with from a critical point of view. It's with this critical view that reviews should be written, not letting fandom, personal feelings, politics, or friendships affect how one writes an honest review. Over the past year my reviews have been written with this in mind. This review will be brutality honest (without being a dick), to the point and short. So, once again, I digress! Back to Red Eye...

Here's Tristan Clay's (Director and Co-writer) plot outline:
"Red Eye is a legend Gage Barker use to be told as a kid. When he found out there was some truth behind this legend he gathered a group of friends to hike in the backwoods of Black Creek, WV to help him use this as the basis for his first film project. To what extent will they go to make this project a reality? Will their passion bleed through? Or cross the line?"

As a first feature and knowing that writers Tristan Clay and Destinie Orndoff (also played Rykyr in the movie) are big horror fans I expected something, at the very least, interesting. 

Story: Friends hiking in the woods making a documentary. Nothing original there by any stretch of the imagination. It's been done before and done well. Red Eye added nothing new or note worthy to this type of story. It was also predicable to the point of wanting it to hurry up.

Script: The script was way over thought and written. The film was overloaded with too much character development. It was uninteresting, and wasn't needed for this type of film. It became overdrawn. The over use of movie references became tedious and didn't come off as being cool nor made any real homage to horror films in general as one would expect. Again, been done before. Scream delivered that in perfect fashion and was applicable at that point in the genre's history.

Direction: It was far from anything special. I noticed that a lot of angles could've been used to make certain scenes more interesting. I didn't notice anything to suggest that Clay has a "keen eye" and that's still considering this is his first full length feature.

Cast: The acting wasn't the worst I've seen, but was still sub par. My main gripe was the fact that Clay failed to utilise the most experienced people of the project, Jessica Cameron and Heather Dorff, to his or the film's advantage. I felt Hayden Wilberger as Jake was a bad casting choice for that particular role. Being completely honest, he came across as effeminate. However, if Orndoff gets more experience I think she could turn out to be a decent genre actress. Got to start somewhere, right?

Soundtrack & Score: While I am partial to heavy metal and have always said "heavy metal and horror go hand in hand" the music wasn't used appropriately. It often seemed out of place or miss-timed. The score was very generic and added no tension to any of the film where eerie scores are often utilised.

Special FX: Yes, it was a tight budget, but the blood and gore FX were decent for a low budget flick.

Kill Scenes / Action: Nothing here was even that gruesome for the seasoned horror fan, or that hasn't been done to greater effect even with less of a budget. In fact, some the "pushing" or "hitting" lets call it, looked downright amateurish. The necrophilia scene wasn't needed and once again added nothing of value, not even shock value. It was dull and laboured. And one scene in particular made no sense being in there and only looked like the director wanted to add some unnecessary violence towards a female cast member. Both scenes didn't fit the narrative. 

Heather Dorff. Crying. Pretty much sums it up.

I understand it's low budget. I think the final figure on Indiegogo was just over $12000. I have no idea how much or if they put their own money into the project as well. Either way, it made no difference to the outcome. The movie was extremely poor considering every aspect and I didn't enjoy anything about it. And I've seen modern horror movies made by first time directors / writers for way less than 12 grand or around that figure, and without other people's money that at the very least were interesting or added something a little different to the genre. Off the top of my head... Jessica Cameron's Truth or Dare. Liam Regan's My Bloody Banjo. Matt Farnsworth's The Orphan Killer. The Soska Sister's Dead Hooker in a Trunk. Ben & Chris Blaine's Nina Forever. These all had something memorable about them and are different from the normal shite that passes for horror nowadays, whether mainstream or indie and regardless of budget. Is this the sad state that modern horror is becoming nowadays? It's only a handful of films, if that, a year that stand out now.

I did say to my Mrs half way through the film that it looked and felt like it was made by school kids as part of a film class (which I wasn't far off the mark with). I'm sorry to say, I think these kids need to go back to drawing board and take into consideration all the constructive criticism from what they would call "negative" reviews before asking for people's money again. 

Red Eye gets Half a Star out of 5

The Tour (Short Film, 2014) Review

This short horror film has been doing the rounds at this year's festivals. Written, directed, edited and produced by both Alex Mathieson and Damon Rickard, The Tour stars Scream Queens Jessica Cameron and Heather Dorff as a couple of tourists who are checking out the sites around England.

The setting for the film is Darkmoor Manor, a creepy house with a history steeped in haunted legend. The house is closed to the public, but Morgan (Cameron) and Cassie (Dorff) get friendly with the tour guide, Tom (Tom Gordon), who gets them into the house later that night.

This is where the fun and games begin, but just when you think it's going to get predictable, a nice twist hits. The twist doesn't strike till after the girls realise that Tom and the house aren't what they thought they would be.

We're treated to a ear shattering scream from Jessica Cameron and some simple yet effective FX and story telling. This is the first outing into film making for Mathieson and Rickard and they should be proud of what they have made here. The creepy feel and atmosphere make for a very enjoyable watch.

The Tour gets 3 Stars

You can follow The Tour on Twitter @TheTourMovie

You can also "like" the Facebook page here

Truth or Dare (2013) Review

Monday 25th August marked my first visit to Film4 FrightFest. I went to see one film and one film only. That being indie flick Truth or Dare.

Over the past few years female directors have started to stamp their authority on the genre and the biggest names that should spring to mind is the Twisted Twins Jen and Sylvia Soska.

Jessica Cameron makes her directional debut with Truth or Dare, so could she be the next big female name in horror and not just as an actress?

As far as feature length directional debuts go, there's only few I've been impressed with. Off the top of my head, going back only a hand full of years, there's been Soska Sister's Dead Hooker in a Trunk, Matt Farnsworth's The Orphan Killer, Brandon Cronenberg's Antiviral and Xan Cassavetes' Kiss of the Damned.

So, was I impressed with Truth or Dare? Well, going back to the first time I watched the trailer when it first hit the net, and I'll be honest here, it didn't look great. So I was apprehensive going into the film, but looking forward to seeing it at the same time. Put it this way...  

It was worth the hour and a half train journey down to London and being the most expensive cinema trip I've ever been on!

The story is simple yet affective. A group of friends host a YouTube channel called Truth or Daredevils. Jennifer (Jessica Cameron), Michelle (Heather Dorff), brother and sister Ray (Shelby Stehlin) and Courtney Austin (Devanny Pinn) , John (Jesse Wilson) and Tony (Brandon Van Vliet). They make videos of themselves performing truth or dares and often seem to take it too far and maybe even causing death. Of course, the fans love it. While the gang is being interviewed on a chat show, fanboy Derik (Ryan Kiser) gets a little crazy over the guys and soon becomes overbearing and unwelcome.

The group are back together again to film a new episode of Truth or Daredevils and this time they're having a pyjama party too, but as the game starts it's soon interrupted by psycho fan Derek. This is where the fun begins, but only for the viewer. The next course of events sees Derek making the Truth or Daredevil gang do, what can only be described as, some the most fucked up things ever!

Heather Dorff covered in blood. Yummy!

Truth or Dare is pure indie horror goodness and my expectations were exceeded. Yes, there is a lot of blood, gore and a lot of fucked up shit going on, but at the same time it delivers some great humour too. It has some laugh out loud moment and a dark twisted and sick humour too, which is right up my alley. With a lot of movies like this, humour stands as a light relief from the disturbing stuff. While some of the laughs are like this, the majority of it adds to the twisted state of the film and actually makes you cringe in disgust even more. This is down to the very clever script written by Cameron (yes, she co-wrote, starred and directed) and Jonathan Scott Higgins. Bare in mind that this is the first screenplay that both of them have written too.

Of course that script has to be delivered efficiently to be effective too. The cast did their job well and had to do so otherwise we, as an audience, just wouldn't have enjoyed as much as we did. I often talk about character development in my reviews and how important it is. At the beginning of the film it seems light on that development, but as the film and game progresses we get that evolution, which adds to the whole disgust in certain scenes. 

Sick bags given out by Jessica before the screening

One thing I'm sick off in modern horror flicks is when they're filled with annoying characters that I end up hating. OK, so we have to have the bad guy that we're against or want someone to die, but they don't have to be completely stupid to the point that they deserve to die. Thankfully there is non of that type of character in this film. Instead we get Tony (Van Vliet), who's on the moanie side, but at the same time he's funny with it. I have to give Devanny Pinn a mention and the fact that this was her best performance to date that I've seen. Jessica Cameron herself, in the Q&A after the screening, admitted she found it hard to act and direct and felt she didn't give the best she could due to concentrating on directing, but she was still solid. The rest of the cast gave a tight performance, but the one person who stole the show was Ryan Kiser as the deranged Derik. He was fantastic in the role and gave a very memoral performance. It was reminiscent of Jack Nicholson in The Shining in that he went from a relaxed seemingly gentle fellow to a complete raging manic lunatic from scene to scene.

The movie mostly spends it time in a basement and by the end of the film it's covered in blood. The FX are all practical which the movie benefits from. Heather Dorff gets that mangled and covered in blood that she's barely recognisable if it wasn't for here boobs! The most gross and disturbing scene though, involves Devanny Pinn and a wine bottle, but that's all I'm saying. I have to admit, I did feel uncomfortable during certain scenes. The score, which was excellent, also helped in building tension throughout.

Overall, the film has it's twists and turns, dark humour and gore and was bloody good. Truth or Dare is something that Jessica Cameron and all involved should be very proud off. It got a great reception from all the fans at FrightFest.

The lovely Jessica Cameron, Ryan Kiser & I

I did get some video of the Q&A, but as my phone is coming up to being two years old and needs upgrading, it decided to stop working right near the end of the Q&A and wiped the recording. Some of the things mentioned were that during other screenings people were sick and had to rush to the toilet and that the a couple of the cast and crew actually threw up during filming. Ryan Kiser mentioned that he had no idea what he was going to do with his character until the day off shooting. Jessica also revealed that there is going to be a sequel.

DISGUSTING, DISTURBING, SICK, TWISTED, FUCKED UP & FUN. A FANTASTIC DEBUT FROM MISS CAMERON & A GREAT ADDITION TO INDIE HORROR

Truth or Dare gets 4 Stars

There's no word yet on a release date as it's doing its festival rounds and looking for distribution. In the meantime check out the trailer below and go "like" the Facebook page...

The Tour (Short Film, 2014) Press Release & Poster Art

NEW HORROR FILM ‘THE TOUR’ POSTER ART AND DETAILS

Jessica Cameron & Heather Dorff Star in UK Haunted House Flick

From the Press Release:

A new haunted house short film, called The Tour just finished filming. Alex Mathieson and Damon Rickard are directing from a script that they co-wrote together. Jessica Cameron (Mr. Hush, Camel Spiders) and Heather Dorff (What They Say, Dry Spell) star in the film along with Tom Gordon who is primarily known for stage productions in Europe including Julius Caesar and Dealer’s Choice. This movie marks the third collaboration of Cameron and Dorff, the first being Intrusive Behaviour, and the second being Cameron’s award winning directorial debut, Truth or Dare.

The plot of The Tour is as follows: Two American tourists (Cameron & Dorff) visit the grounds of the haunted Darkmoor Manor but are unable to gain admittance. Later that day they are met by a handsome and charming local (Gordon) who tells them how he can get inside the infamous house. Upon entering the manor, they are met with untold horrors.

Filming took place in London, UK during the beginning of March of 2014 and they shot the short film at the infamous Wymering Manor which is considered to be one of the most haunted locations in all of England. The film was shot on the Arri Alexa camera.

When asked about the project, Cameron had this to say:

“Directors Damon and Alex brought such a wonderfully scary vision to life and assembled one hell of a crew! I have never been so genuinely creeped out on a film set! Horror fans will love this one!”

Dorff added:

“It was an honour to not only visit London for the first time, but work with the talented, amazing, and professional cast and crew of The Tour. I will cherish this experience forever.”

Rickard had this to say:

“Filming The Tour was an experience that will last a lifetime. The cast and crew we had couldn't have given us more and it was more like a family having a blast than a film set. I can't wait for people to see it!”

Expect the short film to be available for viewing later this year. Until then, please check out the teaser image below along with links to The Tour’s social media profiles for active updates!

You can follow The Tour on Twitter @TheTourMovie

You can also "like" the Facebook page here