Ti West is a name known to many indie horror films as he brought the film The Roost and Trigger Man to screen as well as the belated Cabin Fever 2: Spring Fever. Championed by producer and director Larry Fessenden West is fast becoming a name in the horror community of which The House of the Devil is his best film.
Although I was no fan of The Roost there is no denying that the film was not your typical horror film and the same can be said of West’s latest. HOTD details a college student Samantha Hughes (Jocelin Donahue) in the ‘80s who reluctantly takes a babysitting job because she desperately needs the money to get her own house instead of living in campus housing. Despite the fact that tonight is the night of a full lunar eclipse, Samantha takes the job because she’s desperate for the money. She soon realizes her folly as her employers have a nefarious plan to sacrifice her for some Satanic ritual.
The film unfolds at a leisure pace with very little horrific happening until the climax but that’s the thing that sets this film apart from other horror films of late. West (who also wrote the screenplay) spends his time crafting believable characters who find themselves in a desperate situation. You can tell that Fessenden has had an effect on him as Fessenden is well known for his slow burning horror films. By following in Fessenden’s example, West crafts his best film while still telling a story about Satanic ritualization in a realistic manor instead of relying on the conventions of the B-movies that came before it. If West continues on this road he’ll become one of the premiere horror directors of his generation.
CITY GARDEN - "The Old Woman & The Park"
On the set of the short film "A Gift"
Showing posts with label Larry Fessenden. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Larry Fessenden. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Larry Fessenden's Exceptional THE LAST WINTER!
Writer/director Larry Fessenden surprised audiences with his two previous films HABIT (1997) and WENDIGO (2001), yet he has truly outdone himself with his recent film THE LAST WINTER, which like this year’s earlier film THE HAPPENING, was a cautionary tale about global warming and nature striking back against the inhumane ways in which humans have treated the Earth.
In this film the KIC Corporation is trying to build an ice route in the northern reaches of the world only the ice is not freezing hard enough due to impending climate changes or that is what environmentalist James Hoffman (James LeGros) believes. In returns Ed Pollack (Ron Perlman) whose job it is, is to get the ice route built at whatever the cost or it will be all the people’s jobs that work for the corporation. When the body of one of the members of the team in found out in the open coldness of death in the nude, Hoffman begins to believe that the environmental changes in the Earth have opened up a hole from which dangerous and possibly hallucinogenic dangers have made themselves known. When more of the team disappear in the same manner the team finds themselves isolated and trapped as the dangers escalate and Hoffman believes that something more supernatural may be a work.
Like WENDIGO, you’re never quite sure whether there really is a supernatural threat or that the characters have just simply gone insane due to the circumstances that have driven them into their situation. It’s masterfully suspenseful with an even more capable cast then he had in WENDIGO (which is no small feat considering how great that film turned out).
THE LAST WINTER is a much more subtle film then THE HAPPENING which is one of the beauties of the film. It’s a slow burning horror film as only a few directors are capable of. The film’s themes hit home more so then THE HAPPENING making it one of the truly interesting films to come along in quite some time.
In this film the KIC Corporation is trying to build an ice route in the northern reaches of the world only the ice is not freezing hard enough due to impending climate changes or that is what environmentalist James Hoffman (James LeGros) believes. In returns Ed Pollack (Ron Perlman) whose job it is, is to get the ice route built at whatever the cost or it will be all the people’s jobs that work for the corporation. When the body of one of the members of the team in found out in the open coldness of death in the nude, Hoffman begins to believe that the environmental changes in the Earth have opened up a hole from which dangerous and possibly hallucinogenic dangers have made themselves known. When more of the team disappear in the same manner the team finds themselves isolated and trapped as the dangers escalate and Hoffman believes that something more supernatural may be a work.
Like WENDIGO, you’re never quite sure whether there really is a supernatural threat or that the characters have just simply gone insane due to the circumstances that have driven them into their situation. It’s masterfully suspenseful with an even more capable cast then he had in WENDIGO (which is no small feat considering how great that film turned out).
THE LAST WINTER is a much more subtle film then THE HAPPENING which is one of the beauties of the film. It’s a slow burning horror film as only a few directors are capable of. The film’s themes hit home more so then THE HAPPENING making it one of the truly interesting films to come along in quite some time.
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