Starring Megan Lynn, Kathy Sue Holtorf, Sabrina Carmichael
Directed by Shane Cole
Greetings to all once again. Today I dive back in to the world of horror with the independent movie Deadly Presence, brought to you by Masked Films and Brain Damage Films. Directed by Shane Cole and starring Megan Lynn and Kathy Sue Holtorf, Deadly Presence was shot on a micro-budget. This of course appeals to my curiosity as I like to see what people are capable of without a Hollywood budget. So let's get into it and see what comes of it.
We begin with three friends Andie, Candace and Julie. The three friends break into the home of the deceased John and Alice Stanton, which is rumored to be haunted. Unexpectedly, the lights in the room and the candles lit by the women go out. When the lights come back on, we find that Candace witnessed something that has completely shaken her.
Fast forward two months later, and after an absence Candace calls Andie over to stay with her for the night. the next day Andie wakes up on the couch to find a note to play a video left for her. After getting so far into it, Andie searches for Candace to discover she has slit her wrists in the bathtub.
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| "Wouldn't this be more fun with some boys?" "For the last time, NO!" |
The video comes back on by itself, and in the video Candace asks Andie to not call the police or an ambulance, but instead to stay another night in the apartment. Unsure of what to do, Andie reads Candace's journal and learns of what has happened to Candace in the two months since the night in the haunted house. Andie decides to investigate whether or not supernatural forces truly are behind Candace's death.
I enjoyed Deadly Presence, but it's probably not going to be for everyone. For one thing, it's a slow-burn kind of movie. And we all know how patience levels are deteriorating in society today when it comes to movies. There isn't a whole lot in the way of violence and gore either; it seems to prefer building up the story, and goes for tension building instead of throwing weak jump scares at you every five minutes in order to keep the attention of the dumbed down masses (a good move in my opinion). And given that there was a very small budget to work with in the first place, a good job was done working around it.
As far as the acting goes, it was pretty good all around. With the exception of Kathy Sue Holtorf (Candace) and Sabrina Carmichael (Julie), supporting roles didn't have a lot of screen time. Most of the movie follows Megan Lynn (Andie) as she tries to make sense of the insanity that's happened since the night in the haunted house. For one who has apparently little acting experience, Megan has outdone other more experienced actors that I have seen in my day. And given that she has the vast majority of the screen time, it's pretty impressive.
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| The DC reboot had brought some unusual changes in it's artwork. |
There are a couple of questionable aspects for me though. For one thing, I had a little trouble accepting that Andie actually did what Candace requested in the video and didn't bother calling police or an ambulance. I'll level with you; I am a believer in the supernatural to an extent. However, were a friend to commit suicide with me in their home I'm not going to just believe that the supernatural was involved. Especially when it's later revealed that Candace had medication that she seemed to not be taking. Of course, after time passes, I was able to let it slide. Especially since so much time had passed in the movie that it wouldn't have made a difference.
The other issue I had was with the ending. Obviously, I'm not going to give anything away, but I just felt the way it ended seemed a little abrupt. Plus, I also didn't feel it was a fitting sendoff of the main character Andie. But hey, that's me. I leave it to you to watch it for yourself and judge accordingly.
So, that's about it for me. I did like Deadly Presence, and I suggest you watch it for yourself. It's not perfect, but for it's previously mentioned budget restraints, I don't think it did too badly at all. It has a planned VOD release for December, so keep an eye out and watch it when it's available. Until next time, rest in peace.
Macabre Rating: 3.5 out of 5 tombstones
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