The Place For The Latest Movie Reviews
Cast: Ben Andrews, Marcel Davis, Rodrigo De Medeiros, Kelly King
Halloween never ends for paranoid John Willem. His uncontrollable nightmare is just beginning. He's battling the voices of good versus evil in his head. John can't distinguish between reality, memories or dreams. His mental voices like to manifest themselves as characters in his waking life. He's sick, broke and can't pay his rent. Due in part to early family conditioning, he never stood a chance in society. It's now become a good alibi for him to play the tortured artist card. Step inside the mind of a psycho! This is the place where no one is safe. This is the zone where we are all fair game.
Let me say right from the start here that "Son of Terror" isn't going to be for everyone, the story is slow moving and perhaps a bit too stylish and artistic for those that like their horror more mainstream. With all that being said I thought the film was a remarkable one, I really took to the unique story and it's characters. Ben Andrews does a terrific job playing John, you really feel all his emotions and pain and on the flip side Alan Sutherland is amazing as John's monstrous alter-ego. Like I said the story is slow moving but it's deliberate and the production values here are fantastic taking into consideration the budget. The sound effects are used perfectly and the score is both memorable and haunting, both really add help in creating the right amount of terror, tension and suspense. You quickly become engaged in the story and John's character is one you quickly feel for in one way or the other as you experience his descent into madness. Some are going to argue the film is too slow but for the kind of horror film it is I thought the pacing was perfect because it slowly draws you into this man's mind and it the film moves along it becomes much more creepier. The visuals used in the film are something you won't find in a Hollywood film which is a good thing. There are a number of key characters in the film and not one is wasted, each has his or her purpose and they all bring something to the table. Remain patient early on and by doing so you are going to be rewarded with a creepy tale that's both chilling and captivating.
This is Antony De Gennaro's first time directing and you can already see he has a great eye for film-making and story-telling, I think we will be seeing a lot more from him in the near future, at least I hope. Like any Independent film "Son of Terror" isn't without it's flaws but there's too much good here to even mention those, if you're a fan of Independent cinema then you owe it to yourself to check this one out and support this great new talent. Everyone involved did a terrific job bringing this film to life and it's one cinematic experience you won't soon forget.
Released by Midnight Releasing
**** Out Of *****