I saw this movie OTA, so I didn't have to pay anything for it, yay!
Right from the start it has the feel of a school project, except it's higher budget than that. As I began to watch it, I kept thinking I should change the channel, but Izzie Steele's acting kept pulling me in. Weird things happen to her character Mattie, one after the other, but the story keeps moving forward in part because of Steele's active facial expressions.
If nothing else, this film might be good to own for a film student, or for an actor, so you can see what's they did right and what they did wrong. Izzie Steele and Natalie Distler were the standout actors in this film. Others are adequate, but there are times when you can tell they hired local talent. I don't want to diss local talent though! But it really stands out when you have someone who can read a line, and then someone else who can act a line.
The editing is spotty too, sometimes it's pretty good, sometimes you're sitting there thinking "Okay, you can end the shot now! Even the actor knows this is past the end of the shot!"
And the lighting, for the most part it's workmanlike, but other times it's a huge lost opportunity. There's a scene where Mattie has been kidnapped and is about to be tortured that's very dark emotionally, but it's brightly lit. It has zero atmosphere, and is only carried by Distler and Steele's acting.
This movie could be edited down to an hour or even half an hour and would be a perfect Twilight Zone storyline. I'm talking Rod Serling, not any of the new attempts. At the end the camera even lifts up into the star filled heavens, just like the original. Just needs a darkly witty prologue and epilogue.
However, everything about those old Twilight Zones was top notch - the acting, direction, cinematography, etc. The whole thing would have to be remade, but still, the storyline fits.
Right from the start it has the feel of a school project, except it's higher budget than that. As I began to watch it, I kept thinking I should change the channel, but Izzie Steele's acting kept pulling me in. Weird things happen to her character Mattie, one after the other, but the story keeps moving forward in part because of Steele's active facial expressions.
If nothing else, this film might be good to own for a film student, or for an actor, so you can see what's they did right and what they did wrong. Izzie Steele and Natalie Distler were the standout actors in this film. Others are adequate, but there are times when you can tell they hired local talent. I don't want to diss local talent though! But it really stands out when you have someone who can read a line, and then someone else who can act a line.
The editing is spotty too, sometimes it's pretty good, sometimes you're sitting there thinking "Okay, you can end the shot now! Even the actor knows this is past the end of the shot!"
And the lighting, for the most part it's workmanlike, but other times it's a huge lost opportunity. There's a scene where Mattie has been kidnapped and is about to be tortured that's very dark emotionally, but it's brightly lit. It has zero atmosphere, and is only carried by Distler and Steele's acting.
This movie could be edited down to an hour or even half an hour and would be a perfect Twilight Zone storyline. I'm talking Rod Serling, not any of the new attempts. At the end the camera even lifts up into the star filled heavens, just like the original. Just needs a darkly witty prologue and epilogue.
However, everything about those old Twilight Zones was top notch - the acting, direction, cinematography, etc. The whole thing would have to be remade, but still, the storyline fits.