Director: Scott Jeffrey
Year: 2019
Country: United Kingdom
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Slasher
Plot:
Arriving at a special audition, a failing actress looking for her last chance at success arrives at a remote house in the countryside to undergo the final preparations for the role with several other candidates, but when she feels something is off with the situation, the dark truth is soon revealed.
Review:
This was a fairly decent if somewhat problematic indie slasher. Among the better features of this one is the extent to which it creates an air of unease and confusion over what’s actually going on. The cliched starting point of the group of wannabe actresses called out to a remote house to prepare for the final audition series while waiting around with other candidates for the role in what turns out to be an in-person setup to make sure the finale role is cast right only for the truth to be revealed shortly afterward manages to set this one up pretty well. The maniacal director and loyal staff are trying to ensure that his uncomfortable and unconventional techniques for ensuring the proper actress takes the role serve this one nicely enough to start up the wholly bizarre treatment and outbursts that have a more logical reason for existing due to the whole setup, creating a fantastic atmosphere overall.
When this one becomes a full-on torture-slasher style effort with the whole purpose of everything being revealed, this one picks up rather nicely in terms of gore and madness leading into the finale. As we’ve already gotten close enough beforehand with how he treats them during the audition process and how it leads to the uncertain nature of the process, that allows the scenes in the wood where he threatens them or the attempts at the revelatory dinner scene creates such an unnatural attitude about it where it’s hard to determine whether he’s deranged or effectively quirky. When it turns out to be for the former and the series of encounters that go about involving how he turns into a psychopath torturing and killing everyone for the sake of creating a dark and graphic snuff film through some fine scenes involving the outlandish scenario and wholly effective chases that give everything the kind of fun involving plenty of craziness an plenty of gore. These all manage to give this a lot to like.
There are some issues here to could bring this one down. The main factor to this one is the generally flimsy and familiar setup that becomes quite predictable way too early that hardly anything here is a surprise. It’s patently clear from the outset that the director is an unhinged lunatic forcing them into a generally underwhelming first half involving the inability to recognize how his eccentric behavior eventually turns against them, tormenting them, and going through the whole notion of the audition. That may be fine, but the fact that there’s no real suspense about whether that’s his plan means it comes off dull to the point of not having the kind of red herrings to interrupt everything or change up what’s happening, and with the low-budget limitations on offer are what hold this one up.
Overview: ***.5/5
An enjoyable if somewhat problematic feature, there’s enough to like here that it comes together in a familiar way while still being let down by some minor drawbacks. Those with an interest in this particular style or are curious about it will have the most to like here, while most others out there might want to heed caution.
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