Never try to be Hitchcockian. And this goes for you, M. Night., as well.
OK, even M. Night Shyamalan wouldn't have taken on this script. But, writer/director Eric England did. And he even hired a Bernard Herrmann- esque composer for this film. Shame. Despite that score also being a rip-off, it was the best part of this movie.
Independent horror films can be a gem. If you can find them. Though I love watching them, I only find one really great one for every twenty I watch. Most recently, I've been binge watching several Indie-Horror movies, including this one. Of the six, only Summer Camp rose above average and was almost perfect. It's not every day you discover a: The Invitation, The Final Girls, Summer Camp or the granddaddy of them all: Halloween. Boy, do I love those days.
This Wednesday wasn't one of them.
Aside from the major plot holes, were the additional WTF moments: Why would he do that? She wouldn't do that! He could do this. He didn't think of this?
Let me back up. The movie involves a troubled couple on the way to spend Christmas at the male-half's family house. They get stopped on Christmas Eve in the middle of nowhere by a sniper with the least effective and hilariously bad voice telling him what he'll do if the male-half doesn't obey his wishes.
Basically, the husband stays outside in the cold with the threat of being shot if he tries to reenter his vehicle while his very pregnant wife must stay inside the car or the hidden-in-the-woods sniper will kill one or both of them.
Okay, I get the concept and for a point, it's interesting. But, as it wears on, it gets predictable, problematic and annoying with the (again) man's terrible voice. It was so incredibly un-creepy and unintentionally hilarious, it was hard to feel threatened alongside our victim couple. Plus, the script even hints at the killer man's omnipotence with a subplot that, very sadly, begins and goes nowhere in seconds.
Maybe this was an experimental film and w/d Eric England wanted to get his feet wet first. Not sure. But, I know he did surround himself with talent. Unfortunately for him, his future film lineup doesn't look promising. Whelp, good luck to him because this surely isn't recommended nor am I dying to dive into another of his projects.
***
Final thoughts: To be fair, this movie wasn't 100% terrible. There were moments of flair. But, for the love of all that's horror, listen to your gut. When you hear the mysterious man in the woods, or "the killer," and he sounds silly and nonthreatening, hire someone with a deep and scary voice and ADR the sh|t out of those scenes. Please.
OK, even M. Night Shyamalan wouldn't have taken on this script. But, writer/director Eric England did. And he even hired a Bernard Herrmann- esque composer for this film. Shame. Despite that score also being a rip-off, it was the best part of this movie.
Independent horror films can be a gem. If you can find them. Though I love watching them, I only find one really great one for every twenty I watch. Most recently, I've been binge watching several Indie-Horror movies, including this one. Of the six, only Summer Camp rose above average and was almost perfect. It's not every day you discover a: The Invitation, The Final Girls, Summer Camp or the granddaddy of them all: Halloween. Boy, do I love those days.
This Wednesday wasn't one of them.
Aside from the major plot holes, were the additional WTF moments: Why would he do that? She wouldn't do that! He could do this. He didn't think of this?
Let me back up. The movie involves a troubled couple on the way to spend Christmas at the male-half's family house. They get stopped on Christmas Eve in the middle of nowhere by a sniper with the least effective and hilariously bad voice telling him what he'll do if the male-half doesn't obey his wishes.
Basically, the husband stays outside in the cold with the threat of being shot if he tries to reenter his vehicle while his very pregnant wife must stay inside the car or the hidden-in-the-woods sniper will kill one or both of them.
Okay, I get the concept and for a point, it's interesting. But, as it wears on, it gets predictable, problematic and annoying with the (again) man's terrible voice. It was so incredibly un-creepy and unintentionally hilarious, it was hard to feel threatened alongside our victim couple. Plus, the script even hints at the killer man's omnipotence with a subplot that, very sadly, begins and goes nowhere in seconds.
Maybe this was an experimental film and w/d Eric England wanted to get his feet wet first. Not sure. But, I know he did surround himself with talent. Unfortunately for him, his future film lineup doesn't look promising. Whelp, good luck to him because this surely isn't recommended nor am I dying to dive into another of his projects.
***
Final thoughts: To be fair, this movie wasn't 100% terrible. There were moments of flair. But, for the love of all that's horror, listen to your gut. When you hear the mysterious man in the woods, or "the killer," and he sounds silly and nonthreatening, hire someone with a deep and scary voice and ADR the sh|t out of those scenes. Please.