Director: Peter Sefchik
Year: 2021
Country: USA
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Supernatural
Plot:
Stuck in a troubling situation, man and his friends decide to confront his former boss of a chemical company about their pollution problems affecting his daughter, but when the situation escalates and they take him hostage, it brings about more than just corporate secrets as their hellish situation continues.
Review:
Overall, there’s quite a lot to like with this one. Among the films’ more impressive features is the strong central setup involving the search for the truth involving the conspiracy that’s being laid out. Without much knowledge but just enough to go on the idea of his child’s ill-health and the strange chemical company cover-up that seems to be the source of the sickness and infection that’s plaguing his family, the start to this one comes off quite nicely when brought up alongside the ongoing martial strife and the quest to uncover the truth that eventually leads to their confrontation that brings about the kidnapping that brings about the glorious second half to this one.
As the group tries to make sense of the situation that continually grows out of hand with every second they’re at the motel, this one grows increasingly fun with a lot to like. With the trippy visuals not only brought about by the influenced suggestion of their kidnapped host trying to play mind-games to get the upper hand as well as accidental ingestion of recreational drug instead of medicinal, the Satanic images that come about, are kept nicely in line with the growing realization of what’s going on with the chaos of the situation. Featuring creature attacks, a series of double-crosses, and a fantastic reveal of the truth behind their captive, there’s so much to like about this part of the film.
That all works nicely on top of the fact that there’s an impressive amount of effects work for such a low-budget film of this type. With a series of creatures on the loose here, including deformed and garish goats, a massive articulated spider-like being, and numerous other beings that show up throughout the night in an effort to further the mind-games being played, that it’s usually hard to tell the CGI creations from the practical effects displayed here. As well, the graphic gore here, with head-smashes, arms cut open with glass shards, a decapitation, and much more, there are quite a lot to like with this one that manages to hold it up over its few minor flaws.
This one doesn’t have much in the way of flaws but there are some issues. The biggest factor with this one is the possibility of being let down by the cryptic nature of the conversations carried out during the kidnapping and holding him hostage. While the whole idea of the experience is to be shrouded in mystery considering the ending reveal that comes about, since the surprise is so heavily hinted the obvious nature of the twist makes the cryptic mind-games and conversations feel like padding at times. The other flaw here is the aforementioned obvious twist in the finale where it’s used so frequently that there’s no real surprise when it’s revealed, but it’s not that detrimental overall.
Overview: ****/5
With a great storyline, tons of great action and some impressive aspects to be had here, this one had a lot to really enjoy that manages to hold this one up over its few minor flaws that aren't too detrimental. This is really recommended for those who appreciate the kind of style and approach attempted here or are fans of the creative crew, while those who aren't into these features should heed caution.
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