Reviews From the Horror Chamber: "Killjoy3", "Resonnances", "Follow Me Down"

Killjoy 3
Year: 2011
Director: John Lechago
Stars: Trent Haaga, Victoria De Mare, Al Burke
Studio: Full Moon Features
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Running Time: 76 Mins













Going into “Killjoy 3“, I didn’t know what to expect with this film. I haven’t seen any of the sequel, so I’m relatively new to the series.

The film is about a group of college students, who find a mysterious mirror on the doorsteps of the house that they’re house-sitting. They decide to open up the package, even though it’s not addressed to the them. Once it’s opened, Killjoy wants to lure the students and have them play in his own realm with his group of friends. Now the students must find out who is Killjoy’s intended victim, before he and his sidekicks have their way with them.

When thinking about “Killjoy 3”, I can’t stop and think about what a wasted opportunity to make a good film. Writer/director John Lechago does a good job with the direction of the film, but the writing was less to be desired. Lechago does a good job with the visual aspects. I liked the way that he and his special effects team made the effects good. It didn’t feel cheesy or bad to the point that it distract you from what was going on. It helped cover some of the flaws in this film. What saved this film from being unbearable, the way that Lechago is able to get good acting from his cast. I liked , how he’s handles that aspect. One of the things that he does, he gets the performances that he needs to make it work. It kept my interest, even though I had problems with the screenplay.

Lechago’s screenplay was bad, as there’s no other way to put it. For the first fifty five minutes, this film felt like a comedy than a horror film. There wasn’t any attempt to generate some scares or intense moments, which really hurts this film. I was waiting for more action, but instead he just focuses on how many one liners Killjoy can get off. It’s one of the reasons that this film fails. The other reason, Lechago holds the majority of the horror action, until the last fifteen minutes. Even then, that isn’t even handled right. There was no suspense or intensity in the action, which made me feel bored. Thankfully this was a seventy-seven minute film or else it could’ve gotten even more worse.

“Killjoy 3” is a film that had promise with the direction, but the screenplay makes this film fall flat on its face.

Review Rating: Two stars.


Resonnances
Year: 2011
Director: Philippe Robert
Stars: Yann Sundberg, Vincent Lecompte, Romain Ogerau
Studio: Synapse Films
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Running Time: 84 Mins













“Resonnances” is a micro-budget sci-fi film that comes to us from France. The film is about a group of friends, who go away to the French mountains for a fun weekend. On their way there, they come across a psychopath who has escaped from prison. After picking him up, they run into trouble and their car goes over a steep cliff. Now lost in the woods, an ancient creature is listening and waiting for them. Now it’s ready to devour the group and anything in it‘s path, as they look for a way out of the woods before its too late.

I was surprised that I enjoy “Resonnances“ very much considering that this was a micro budget foreign creature feature film. Writer/director Philippe Robert does a very good job making this film work very well with the limited resources that has. One of the reasons that I enjoyed this film, he’s able to keep your interest without resorting to various action sequences. Don’t get me wrong, there are some in the second half of the film. Robert is able to hold your interest, by generating tension among the main characters. It gets you invested in the story, so that your into the flow of the film. I liked, how he does a good job getting the performances to work in the context of the film. It’s something that really needed, if a micro budget film is going to succeed and hold your attention.

Robert’s screenplay also does a good job making this film work well. He does a very good job keeping the film’s dark tone . This is the other reason that I liked this film. Robert is able to keep the tone of the film dark, because the characters aren’t goofy or getting off one liners just to keep the film entertaining. He makes his character very level headed and it works. Never did the story feel cheesy or feel so uninteresting that you wanted to grab the DVD and throw it out into the woods. Robert’s also able to focus on the situation and not come off with creating annoying things just to make this film fun. He does that, by making the characters focus on the situation at head. It develops tension, which you gets you into the flow of the film.

“Resonnances” is an entertaining micro budgeted sci-fi film that keeps you on the edge of your seat.

Review Rating: Three and a half stars

Follow Me Down
Year: 2010
Director: Lee Whittle
Stars: Eddie Mahalick, Megan Powell
Studio:8th Ward Entertainment,
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Running Time: 30 Mins













The film follows Johnny, who has a guilty conscience and finds that everyone around him has suddenly dropped dead. He is consumed with silence, as he figures out what’s going on. But Johnny begins to hear voices and sees someone who doesn’t look familiar to him. As things become apparently different, he finds out that he’s not alone.

I was kind of surprised that I enjoyed “Follow Me Down“, considering that there is very little dialogue spoken in this film. Writer/director Lee Whittle does a very good job making this film entertaining. He able to make it entertaining, by the way the film was shot and making the tone of the film dark and psychological. By using that style, you able to forget that there is virtually no dialogue in this film. It makes the film feel like an episode of “The Twilight Zone”. Another thing that I liked about the direction, the way that Whittle handles the lead performance. He handles that in a way that you couldn’t tell, if the main character is insane and delusional or that he is truly the only survivor of a society that just dropped dead. It makes everything work, very well

The idea of the story was well-executed. I liked how, Whittle created the basis of story. There is little dialogue spoken but the thought of not having much dialogue helps the film to be effective. It’s able generate some tense moments that make this entertaining. This is one of the few rare cases that a film can have little dialogue and is able to keep my attention throughout.

“Follow Me Down” an entertaining psychological horror film that will keep your interest through out.

Review Rating: Three and a half stars