Grief-stricken Derek (a solid and moving performance by Edwin Navas) feels guilty following the untimely death of his girlfriend Courtney Everly (a haunting portrayal by Cara Mantella) in an automobile accident. Derek seeks refuge in the woods to no avail. Instead he's tormented by ghosts, visions, creepy hillbilly hunter Otto Fisk (essayed with hearty aplomb by Philip Covin), and the specter of Courtney, who encourages Derek to kill himself. Writer/director Dave R. Watkins crafts an intriguing and provocative cinematic meditation on guilt and forgiveness that benefits greatly from an eerie and uncertain ambiguous tone (for example, the phantoms might be real or just imaginary products of Derek's troubled mind), the isolated backwoods setting, and a compelling story that doesn't culminate in the obvious expected conclusion. The slick cinematography by Dan Slemons gives the picture an attractive polished look while Daniel Solammon's shivery and throbbing score adds substantially to the uncanny mood. Kudos are also in order for the uniformly sound acting from the capable cast, with especially praiseworthy work from Ben Bailey as Derek's sympathetic friend Karl and Tom Thon as Courtney's angry father Mr. Everly. Worth a look.
2 Reviews
What's up with the IMDb rating?
planktonrules31 January 2009
I checked this film's score of 2.4 and was surprised that the actual mean (if you do this mathematically) is about 5.5. I know that IMDb has a complicated and unpublished formula for how they come up with their means--but 2.4 seems ridiculous. While I did not love this film, it was far, far better than 2.4. This is certainly not the first time I noticed this odd scoring system.
As for the film itself, it's an independent short about death and guilt. Following a girlfriend's death, her boyfriend feels responsible and is pursued by ghosts who often try to make him feel worse. The apparition of the lady in fact encourages him to take his life. There's a lot more to it than that, but I don't want to ruin the plot.
Overall, it's certainly not a great film--some of the characters (in particularly the way overplayed hillbilly character) are not all that well written or performed. However, it's not a bad story and it is far from a 2.4 film. A decent time-passer.
As for the film itself, it's an independent short about death and guilt. Following a girlfriend's death, her boyfriend feels responsible and is pursued by ghosts who often try to make him feel worse. The apparition of the lady in fact encourages him to take his life. There's a lot more to it than that, but I don't want to ruin the plot.
Overall, it's certainly not a great film--some of the characters (in particularly the way overplayed hillbilly character) are not all that well written or performed. However, it's not a bad story and it is far from a 2.4 film. A decent time-passer.
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