Rating: /5
Cult Movie Challenge 2018 | 17/52 | Shot on Video
We open on a snowy, suburban home. A teen boy named Mark walks out with his dog and jumps on his riding mower. With a snowplow appended to the front, he goes on a joy ride as he shovels snow off the road. He runs into a for sale sign, which knocks him off the mower. Cut to another teen boy named John sneaking into a room and looking through all the drawers. In the bottom drawer, underneath layers of clothing, sits a copy of Gallery. He starts ripping off the pages like a maniac before finding the 1-900 section. Finally, we meet a third boy, named Todd, who throws off his headphones because, I guess, country is playing. Their mom is working a double shift, so the kids are left to their own devices.
Mark comes in, complaining about the mower to Todd, saying he had to ask the monk across the street to help him get the mower unstuck. Mark goes looking for John while Todd huffs and puffs like a cortisol-ridden teen. Mark finds John trying to look casual—the phone rings and Mark answers. A whispering voice says, “You know who this is” before hanging up. John asks if it’s “that man.” As night falls, John and Todd play cards, complaining about how “slow” Mark is.
Mark drifts off to sleep, where he has a vision of himself in the basement, and a chainsaw chasing their cat and chopping it up. He awakes with a scream, now in his bed. Mark looks down and sees blood on his hands, and he knows his cat is dead. But when Todd checks his hands, he sees nothing. John goes downstairs to look for the cat and finds the bloodied chainsaw and pieces of the cat. He runs to grab Todd, forcing Mark to stay behind as he shows Todd the mess. But when they get downstairs, there is no chainsaw or cat bits.
What are these visions? What do they mean? If they are predictions, can the boys prevent them from happening?
This movie is as low-budget as they come — two brothers and their friend making a movie at their house on a videotape recorder. And for that, it’s pretty ambitious. Only two people are ever on screen at a time, as one of them is typically holding the camera. Still, it features some dynamic cinematography, including shots taken with a homemade dolly of some sort. The sound design is blown out, but it creates some solid atmosphere. No one can act, but they’ve littered the house with homages to their influences, from H.G. Lewis to Return of the Living Dead. The gore is cheap but quite creative, still crafting some effective gross-out moments.
And you know what? It works. Yes, the script leaves a lot to be desired, but the central conceit is a fun arena for the filmmakers to explore. Their passion is infectious and made me root for this movie.