Contemporary Low Budget Horror
by Kristin Battestella
Cheap thrills and by necessity cut
corner fears don't have to be so bad, right? Here are two positive
low budget horrors from the post Y2K era – and a few pay for what
you get bad scares.
Absentia
– This 2011 Kickstarter funded thriller from writer/director/editor
Mike Flanagan (Oculus) starts with a missing husband, death
declarations, and a pregnant wife seven years after said
disappearance. Simple credits get right to the sadness – a cold
start with an unknown cast providing natural performances despite the
awkward situations and guilty paperwork. There are no stick built,
plastic surgery laden, naked hot bodies so often found in today's
scares here! No one wants to talk about past drug use or the
unexplained pregnancy, but honest dialogue and sisterly conversations
reveal a lot. Do we tell scary stories to explain what we cannot or
do we think positive to delude and comfort? Quick flash montages
speculate on the possibilities – amnesia, secret agents, alien
abduction, drug trips, just running away from it all. How does one
keep it together or move forward without knowing for sure? Creepy
dreams, eerie tunnels, and bizarre homeless men negate the
understated outdoor photography, realistic apartments, and simple
setting while would be sunshine, religious recovery, mediation hopes,
and police dynamics give way to the underlying sinister. The spooky
seems innocuous initially, even misleading, however the intercutting
between the lady leads builds as apparitions, objects moving back and
forth, burglaries, and bugs intensify the real world traumas, anger,
and off screen upsetting. The by necessity minimal visuals and unseen
terrors are well done in tandem with genuine reactions, suggestive
subtext, grief, sound effects, and lingering evidence. The simmer and
supernatural twists do falter somewhat in the final half hour – the
paranormal may feel unevenly tacked on after the mostly realistic
tone but viewers expecting more full on horror will also be
disappointed. Fortunately, the paired down personal amid the torment
remains strong, and this quiet thriller does what it sets out to do
with just the right amount of dread.
Housebound
– This 2014 New Zealand import isn't as financially strapped as our
other terrors, but this horror comedy does have plenty of old
fashioned basement trappings, ominous neighbors, potential paranormal
activity, unexplained voices, and one eerie abode with a bad history.
Accents and place names might be tough for some and viewers have seen
this type of isolated or laid up and monitored scary previously.
Fortunately, the titular punishment leads to some new crazy versus
supernatural spins along with lovely outdoor photography, old time
radios, dated computers, dial up modems, tape recorders, Polaroids,
and gasp corded phones. Shrewd exposition – calling into a
paranormal radio show to tell an encounter – compliments the quick
newspaper research, and a well designed lighting scheme with noir
smoke, darkness, solitary lamps, and an aged, golden patina adds
atmosphere. Is this merely clutter, leftover antiques, attic access,
creaking doors, or something sinister? Clueless parents may seem
annoying to start, but we come around to our bad girl with a 'tude
emo lead as the activity escalates. Though there are a few jump
scares, this is not akin to today's paranormal reality series or
shock and awe shenanigans. The comedy is not gross out, laugh out
loud either, but rather a generational quirky, kooky household
objects, and battling bemusements – old toys are both creepy yet
humorous. Disbelieving authorities, surprising movements, and other
unexpected interference keep the eponymous limits from becoming
stagnant as more pieces are added to the mystery. This puzzle is not
in your face horror, but the majorly upticked final half hour puts
everything perfectly on its ear and will have the audience holding
its breath. And let me reiterate, there is no, repeat, no
reason for a forthcoming stateside remake!
Two
to Avoid
The
Dead of Night – Slow,
time wasting opening credits don't bode well for this overlong 84
minutes, nor do the too old looking 2004 teens, very poor acting,
shit dialogue and too bright, low budget lighting. There's no attempt
to create any kind of atmosphere – I hate today's digital, over
saturated visual schemes, sure, but this home movie style and bad
music has to go! Excessive herky-jerky camerawork, unnecessary zooms,
up close strobe, and editing from Mom and Dad's studio in the
basement aren't arty designs, just messy. The would be nice suspense
of an asylum breakout looses steam when everything inexplicably
restarts with fake high school bully drama. From crazies and zombie
cemeteries to monsters and The
Faculty takeovers, the
random plots – yes plural, as in there are so many thrown at the
screen – are certainly rip offs, but of course room is made for
cheap nudity, supposed clique social statements, and pointless to and
fro scenes while the purpose of the piece remains absent. The night
time cemetery filming is okay, but the raw high school football game
footage is the best thing here compared to some seriously pathetic
monster make up, nonsensical running around, and ridiculous twists
leaving nothing tied together. Are the geeks getting zombie revenge?
It's convenient then that unexplained monsters arrive to kill the
gang instead. What does either have to do with the hospital escape?
Whatever the heck was happening, I stopped caring pretty fast. Yes,
viewers can't expect much value from this kind of dollar bin horror.
However, poor production value and pinching pennies film making
doesn't mean you crap all over your story – I mean, in the end,
it's the only thing you have.
The
Greenskeeper – Well, cliché music and trying to be cool
poolside golf resort credits introduce folks waving at the camera
eighties style and tell us we're in for some 2002 hokey! Bikinis and
brief, bad sex can't overcome the bitchy acting here, and all the
comedic delivery falls flat thanks to ignorant gay jokes, redundant F
bombs, and obnoxious drug use. The homophobic punchlines,
overcompensation on manhood stereotypes, idiotic adults, and assy
yuppies are not funny – nor is the embarrassingly cliché limp
wristed cop. The sunscreen on the nose at night lifeguard and the
jerky headband and ponytail pro...just no. But hey, despite playmate
connections, at least the majority of the people here aren't uber
thin hotties. The plot should have stayed with the traumatized lead
and his fears over the eponymous urban legend instead of wasting time
on forced camera strobes, inserted scary flashes, and too many do
nothing montages – mowing the golf course montage, naughty at the
pool montage, even a party line talking on the phone montage. Have a
drinking game for every time someone walks passed the club sign! The
deaths would be unique golf accessories and yard tool fun, but they
are most often filmed as comedic with our killer zooming away in a
golf cart. The murders are also too few and far between until the
latter half when the straight horror finally kicks in – but not
before the Scooby Doo ending. Horror and Comedy are already
difficult to mesh right, and with no budget to spare, the odds are
not in favor of the all over the place here. Instead of doing
something straightforward, too many tropes, social statements, and
self referential parody are being played at once – and the writing,
direction, and performers are not up to the task. Maybe this goofy
premise deserves a proper treatment. However, it looks like this
movie was made 25 years too late, and it doesn't have any of that
retro so bad its good.
1 comment:
Fun Blog you have here! I was lurking around and found your review on Groundskeeper. Sadly I actually enjoyed this low budget junk fest lol check out my review if you wish.
http://mda4life.blogspot.com/2014/10/its-par-for-corpse.html
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