Having just been released from prison for setting her deranged boyfriend on fire, a young woman gets a night job at a petrol station, where her past catches up with her.
Promising opening shots that become too explanatory, too soon. The type of shots that fully increase the plot’s predictability. Keep watching, and you’ll see that they also become repetitive, so even if you spot a good one, chances are that you’ll watch it again (and again) minutes later, and it will lose its authenticity. Do not be alarmed, though, because as you keep watching, you’ll realise that the film is inundated with clichés that result from the aforementioned shots. Unfortunately, it all starts with the script, which borrowed parts from the loving horrors of the 80s and 90s and unnecessarily stitched them together. I have the utmost respect for indie films as they do their absolute best for the tiny money they have managed to procure. And here, the film’s budget is not the issue.
The issue is that writer/director Padraig Raynolds decided not to leave a trademark on his film. Other than the above-mentioned copies and pastes, the composer shouldn’t have tried to copy Psycho‘s (1960) staccato, and Raynolds shouldn’t have used music throughout the whole film. The power of diegetic sound is immense, especially in narration, and it should have been used a lot more. Unfortunately, Raynolds raised the implausibility levels sky-high.
Full disclosure: I found Vanessa Grasse, whom I first noticed in Leatherface (2017), very attractive, so I’m a bit biased. I believe she has a lot to learn about acting, and with the right guidance, she’ll do really great. I, for one, look forward to seeing her in more projects, and I hope her natural beauty doesn’t get in the way of her promising career.
To cut a long story short, the story is original, but its development screams all the cliches Scream (1996) is about. Only “virgin horror eyes” will fall for these jump-scares, and not even they won’t bother asking (more than they can count), “How the f@!$ did that happen?!” On the flipside, counting the innumerable gimmicks, I momentarily forgot all about real life’s miseries, so what the hell…
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Solidarity for all the innocent lives who suffer the atrocities of war!
Stay safe!
I must of missed this one first time round. If I eventually run out of horror films I will give it a go.
Do this: Try to spot which film is every scene from!