Film Review: A HAUNTING AT SILVER FALLS (2013)

There is nothing simple about living in Silver Falls as Jordan (Alix Elizabeth Gitter) will soon find out when she is forced to move there to live with her aunt and uncle in the film A Haunting at Silver Falls (2013).  Jordan’s parents have both recently died and she has been placed in the home of her Aunt Anne and Uncle Kevin (Tara Westwood and Steve Bacic, respectfully).  What puts Jordan on edge even more is the fact that her aunt and mother were twins and so she is constantly reminded of the death of her mother.  Her only escape is with her classmate Larry (James Cavlo) who she immediately takes a liking to. 

When Larry takes Jordan to a party she mistakenly finds a ring in the woods and puts it on her finger not knowing that it won’t come off no matter how hard she tries to remove it.  It’s not long before she starts experiencing strange things and seeing images of twin dead sisters who begin haunting her and who are connected to the ring on her finger.  With the help of Larry, Jordan must find out what the ghosts of these two girls want and if she can solve the mystery before everyone around her thinks she’s become unsettled and crazy.

This is a film that could have gone south really quickly as do many haunted and ghost films but it is anchored by some pretty good performances by the cast all around and a story that doesn’t go where most people expect it to.  It’s actually a pretty good film that’s well done and not a time waster but may go under the radar because of the generic title and the fact that the ghost and paranormal genre is so cluttered with films (it took me a while to finally get around to it).

Film Review: LAST SHIFT (2014)

I really enjoyed director Anthony DiBlasi’s adaptation of Clive Barker’s Dread (2009) so I was intrigued for the film Last Shift (2014).  Written by DiBlasi and Scott Poiley the film follows the first day of rookie police officer Jessica Loren (Juliana Harkavy) during the last night of a police precinct set to shut its doors permanently.  By herself at the station, she gets a mysterious phone call from a girl claiming to need help but with no support staff she doesn’t know how she can help.  She also starts to see things and a homeless man seems to be able to get in and out of the station despite all the doors being locked.  Soon she begins to realize that everything is not what it seems to be. 

Harkavy is an extremely capable actress who holds her own throughout the film very well.  DiBlasi’s direction is also key to keeping audiences on edge throughout since the film is almost exclusively on Harkavy’s shoulders.  I’m the first to admit I’m not a fan of the “jump scare” and this film is filled with them.  It actually is a crutch for the film as by the halfway mark it seems like that is the only way the film knows how to unnerve the audience and it becomes repetitive really fast.  

The film wants to shock and awe but it lacks any real suspense.  Harkavy does a good job keeping the film moving forward but the biggest trick is not boring the audience as they slowly learn the truth about the police station as her character does.  The film isn’t the best of its kind but it does have great make-up FX and a brilliant score that is creepy and fits well with the film.

Film Review: GHOST TEAM ONE (2013)

The comedy Ghost Team One (2013) straddles the fence of being both a comedy and a found footage horror film as it takes two hapless twenty-somethings who would rather drink and party than to do school work and try and get ahead.  When one of them has a paranormal encounter during one of their parties they decide to put together their own paranormal investigation.  Sergio and Brad (Carlos Santos and   

J.R. Villarreal, respectfully) are best friends whose roommate Chuck (Tony Cavalero) doesn’t take too kindly to their sudden interest in the paranormal and insistence that the house is haunted.

 

It’s not long before Sergio and Brad’s investigative team gets larger with an additional cameraman and Brad’s girlfriend Becky (Meghan Falcone) and Fernanda (Fernanda Romero), a very attractive woman who is more interested in the paranormal than they are.  Soon all kinds of crazy things start to happen as Sergio begins to fall for Fernanda while Brad has his first sexual encounter with a ghost.  It’s not long before the group discovers that their house used to be a brothel and that several people died in unusual circumstances.

Written by Andrew Knauer and Arthur Pielli the film balances the comedy well with the suspense of a found footage horror film without delving into a complete spoof.  The entire cast manage to keep their characters genuine and realistic in the face of the paranormal and unlike in the Paranormal Activity films the haunting is not nearly as nefarious.  This film could have easily fallen into the spoof (i.e. A Haunted House) territory but it manages to keep the comedy character based rather than joke based.  

Overall, this isn’t a bad film but if you’re looking for something that is either a comedy first or a horror film first then this is definitely not for you.