So Close but Not Quite There

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MOVIE REVIEW
Revealer
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Genre: Horror
Year Released: 2022
Runtime: 1h 26m
Director(s): Luke Boyce
Writer(s): Luke Boyce (story by) Michael Moreci, Tim Seeley
Cast: Caito Aase, Shaina Schrooten, Bishop Stevens, Phil Bogdan, Buzz Leer, Sammy DelPurgatorio
Where To Watch: Streaming on Shudder Thursday, June 23

A puzzle with all the pieces, but a few weren’t cut correctly. I think the film had all the potential and more to be a tremendous retro horror flick, but it just seemed like it was missing something. I’m not sure what, but the flow felt off from the beginning. This is a Shudder original, so it may well be what people warned me about when they kept telling me they didn’t like what Shudder had to offer. Up to this point, I would say that I enjoyed probably 90% of their releases. Sadly this didn’t continue the trend.

That being said, it wasn’t a bad experience; it just wasn’t everything I was hoping for. I enjoyed the idea of the club setting, especially the “being trapped” aspect. I thought it was done well and a unique perspective of that genre. Something that you can’t do easily in most horror movie environments.

I was also very impressed with Shaina Schrooten's role as Sally Mewbourne (and truly adore that last name for some reason!) The chemistry on screen with Cairo Aase (Angie Pitarelli) was uneasy and incredibly natural feeling at the same time. I believe that’s 100% what the director was going for, though it isn’t a knock on the film.

If you like 80s horror, this is trying incredibly hard to give you that dark, gritty, nostalgia-fueled ride you remember from back in the day. One of the best compliments I can pay the film is that it made me feel uneasy many times throughout, and I think that is an honor that isn’t easily achieved.

I’ve mentioned before about rating films based on what they are. Had this been a big-budget film with a wide studio release, I probably would’ve been let down. However, that’s not what this was, it was a film made to feed those who can’t get enough of the horror genre, and I think they delivered exactly what they went out to do!

Possibly one of the most remarkable aspects is that Vault Comics will be releasing a tie-in comic book, which will also tell four stories not featured in the film (though they are connected to it). I’m interested in this, and I think it could add some much-needed character development to the film, although I don’t know if the stories will feature the same characters. The comic book will hit stores on August 31.

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