Mind-Set is a poignant and funny indie directed by Mikey Murray, and starring Eilis Cahill and Steve Oram. To mark the film’s release we had the pleasure in speaking to the latter, as Oram talks to us about his process in tackling a role that comes with such a great deal of authenticity, a character who is, for use of a better word, normal.
Oram also talks about shooting in Murray’s house, he shows us a tin of baked beans (makes sense in the moment) and speaks about working his co-star Cahill. He also talks about capturing the tricky tonality of a film that is equal parts funny and strangely moving at the same time.
Watch the full interview with Steve Oram here:
Synopsis
Lucy, a disillusioned office clerk who lives in a dysfunctional relationship with her slovenly partner Paul, is surprised to find herself on the cusp...
Oram also talks about shooting in Murray’s house, he shows us a tin of baked beans (makes sense in the moment) and speaks about working his co-star Cahill. He also talks about capturing the tricky tonality of a film that is equal parts funny and strangely moving at the same time.
Watch the full interview with Steve Oram here:
Synopsis
Lucy, a disillusioned office clerk who lives in a dysfunctional relationship with her slovenly partner Paul, is surprised to find herself on the cusp...
- 10/6/2023
- by Stefan Pape
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Eilis Cahill and Steve Oram in Mind-Set Photo: courtesy of Bulldog Film Releasing
When one becomes reasonably well known as a film critic, one finds oneself deluged daily with more films than there are waking hours. It’s impossible to watch them all and, sadly, it’s all too easy for good ones to sneak by under the radar. I might never have seen Mikey Murray’s Mind-Set except that last year I interviewed Steve Oram about another film, Cerebrum, and he mentioned that he had recently enjoyed working on an independent drama with a brilliant young director who he thought had a lot of potential. After our conversation he sent the film my way, and I instantly fell in love with it.
Astute, mature films which are also funny and yet retain the power to break one’s heart like this are few and far between. I talked it...
When one becomes reasonably well known as a film critic, one finds oneself deluged daily with more films than there are waking hours. It’s impossible to watch them all and, sadly, it’s all too easy for good ones to sneak by under the radar. I might never have seen Mikey Murray’s Mind-Set except that last year I interviewed Steve Oram about another film, Cerebrum, and he mentioned that he had recently enjoyed working on an independent drama with a brilliant young director who he thought had a lot of potential. After our conversation he sent the film my way, and I instantly fell in love with it.
Astute, mature films which are also funny and yet retain the power to break one’s heart like this are few and far between. I talked it...
- 10/5/2023
- by Jennie Kermode
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Mikey Murray’s crowdfunded debut has a bit of Ben Wheatley about it, with Steve Oram as a struggling screenwriter and Eilis Cahill as his lonely wife
Film-maker and lecturer Mikey Murray has made a funny, stroppy, gloomy, punky movie for his crowdfunded lo-fi indie debut: a film in granular black-and-white with a little bit of Ben Wheatley in the mix, creatively using whatever locations come to hand and transforming almost hyperlocal personal material in the script. It’s a downbeat film, flawed and rough-around-the-edges, but weirdly likable in its morose stoicism and unexpected romanticism.
Steve Oram and Eilis Cahill play Paul and Lucy; Paul is a screenwriter, never leaving the house, brooding over a connoisseur-collection of vinyl and working on his sci-fi film script about a space cadet struggling with his sexuality – “Brokeback Mountain meets Silent Running” as he insouciantly puts it. And while working from home, Paul exchanges...
Film-maker and lecturer Mikey Murray has made a funny, stroppy, gloomy, punky movie for his crowdfunded lo-fi indie debut: a film in granular black-and-white with a little bit of Ben Wheatley in the mix, creatively using whatever locations come to hand and transforming almost hyperlocal personal material in the script. It’s a downbeat film, flawed and rough-around-the-edges, but weirdly likable in its morose stoicism and unexpected romanticism.
Steve Oram and Eilis Cahill play Paul and Lucy; Paul is a screenwriter, never leaving the house, brooding over a connoisseur-collection of vinyl and working on his sci-fi film script about a space cadet struggling with his sexuality – “Brokeback Mountain meets Silent Running” as he insouciantly puts it. And while working from home, Paul exchanges...
- 10/3/2023
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
Phil Messerer’s latest film Oops! You’re A Vampire is a horror / black comedy and is now on VOD (streaming for free on Tubi and Freevee) from Lion Heart Distribution .
Oops! You’re A Vampire was written and directed by Phil Messerer and stars Eilis Cahill, Devon Dionne and Chase Gilbertson.
Synopsis:
Twin sisters Lara and Helen Baxter couldn’t be more different. Lara is a black-haired goth who has a shrine to Anne Rice in her candle-lit room and enjoys solitary walks in the cemetery while blonde Helen is in the church choir and is one of the most popular girls at school. They live with their religious mother and older brother Raymond, who is studying to be a doctor. One day, Helen suddenly dies after losing a lot of blood due to a nosebleed. After examining her blood, Raymond concludes that she was suffering from a rare blood disorder,...
Oops! You’re A Vampire was written and directed by Phil Messerer and stars Eilis Cahill, Devon Dionne and Chase Gilbertson.
Synopsis:
Twin sisters Lara and Helen Baxter couldn’t be more different. Lara is a black-haired goth who has a shrine to Anne Rice in her candle-lit room and enjoys solitary walks in the cemetery while blonde Helen is in the church choir and is one of the most popular girls at school. They live with their religious mother and older brother Raymond, who is studying to be a doctor. One day, Helen suddenly dies after losing a lot of blood due to a nosebleed. After examining her blood, Raymond concludes that she was suffering from a rare blood disorder,...
- 7/6/2023
- by Peter 'Witchfinder' Hopkins
- Horror Asylum
Also picks up festival favourite ‘A Life On The Farm’.
Bulldog Film Distribution has acquired four films for UK-Ireland release, including darkly comic thriller A Kind Of Kidnapping.
Writer-director Dan Clark’s feature debut won the main Golden Bee plus best actress and best screenplay awards at Manchester Film Festival in March; Bulldog will release it theatrically in July, including a Q&a tour. Patrick Baladi stars as a sleazy politician who turns his kidnapping by a young couple to his advantage.
Oscar Harding’s A Life On The Farm, which has played over 30 film festivals including Edinburgh and the US’ Fantastic Fest,...
Bulldog Film Distribution has acquired four films for UK-Ireland release, including darkly comic thriller A Kind Of Kidnapping.
Writer-director Dan Clark’s feature debut won the main Golden Bee plus best actress and best screenplay awards at Manchester Film Festival in March; Bulldog will release it theatrically in July, including a Q&a tour. Patrick Baladi stars as a sleazy politician who turns his kidnapping by a young couple to his advantage.
Oscar Harding’s A Life On The Farm, which has played over 30 film festivals including Edinburgh and the US’ Fantastic Fest,...
- 5/18/2023
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
In an elegantly filmed sequence about halfway through Mikey Murray’s accomplished début feature, Lucy (Eilis Cahill) stands at a tall office window watching cars circle a roundabout backwards and disappear. She’s a small, dark figure going nowhere in a world of neat suburban houses and ordered lives. How did she come to be so lonely, to feel so out of place? Murray offers viewers a superficially conventional storyline with a straightforward explanation and solution, but there is a great deal more going on beneath the surface; his characters are not that simple.
Lucy is married to Paul (Steve Oram). We see them together in the opening scene, when they’re lying in bed together putting one another off sex with mundane and vaguely irritable conversation. She doesn’t find him very attractive and he knows it, doesn’t blame her for it. His sadness comes from elsewhere. Later,...
Lucy is married to Paul (Steve Oram). We see them together in the opening scene, when they’re lying in bed together putting one another off sex with mundane and vaguely irritable conversation. She doesn’t find him very attractive and he knows it, doesn’t blame her for it. His sadness comes from elsewhere. Later,...
- 8/9/2022
- by Jennie Kermode
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
The 2nd Annual Mammoth Lakes Film Festival is happening right now in beautiful Mammoth Lakes California, and their programming, yet again, is nothing short of spectacular (thanks to Festival Director Shira Dubrovner and Director of Programming Paul Sbrizzi).
One of the more powerful films that I have seen thus far is the feature film by director/writer Robert G. Putka, Mad. In this tragicomedy, daughters Connie (Jennifer Lafleur) and Casey (Eilis Cahill) are trying to navigate their own lives and relationships while also dealing with their mother, Mel’s (Maryann Plunkett) nervous breakdown after her recent divorce, on top of her bi-polar disorder. Mel finds herself abandoned in a psych ward after her daughters decide they would rather not deal with her, and is now faced with navigating through her mental health. Meanwhile, perfect daughter Connie and ‘fuck up’ Casey can’t seem to find a common thread other than...
One of the more powerful films that I have seen thus far is the feature film by director/writer Robert G. Putka, Mad. In this tragicomedy, daughters Connie (Jennifer Lafleur) and Casey (Eilis Cahill) are trying to navigate their own lives and relationships while also dealing with their mother, Mel’s (Maryann Plunkett) nervous breakdown after her recent divorce, on top of her bi-polar disorder. Mel finds herself abandoned in a psych ward after her daughters decide they would rather not deal with her, and is now faced with navigating through her mental health. Meanwhile, perfect daughter Connie and ‘fuck up’ Casey can’t seem to find a common thread other than...
- 5/29/2016
- by Melissa Howland
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
We as a culture have only recently started a collective conversation about the realities of mental illness and the ways they effect us. Premiering at Slamdance, Mad is a character piece with an uncommonly perceptive view towards the way mental illness can cause collateral damage. But that’s not to say that it handles things gingerly or with gentle political correctness. Within the opening minutes, it’s clear that these characters don’t fit into our newfound progressive sensitivity toward the subject. Mad is a slow motion car wreck, exploding the effects of the illness across a mother and her two dysfunctional children.
The narrative isn’t involved, but it’s essential to the understanding of the characters. The story begins when Connie (Jennifer Lafleur), a married working professional receives a call from the hospital about her bipolar, newly divorced mother, Mel (Maryann Plunkett), who had a nervous breakdown. Connie...
The narrative isn’t involved, but it’s essential to the understanding of the characters. The story begins when Connie (Jennifer Lafleur), a married working professional receives a call from the hospital about her bipolar, newly divorced mother, Mel (Maryann Plunkett), who had a nervous breakdown. Connie...
- 1/22/2016
- by Michael Snydel
- The Film Stage
Read More: Best Films and Performances from Tiff 2015 Ballots Among the films selected to play in the Narrative Feature program at this year's Slamdance Film Festival is "Mad," filmmaker Robert G. Putka's story of a matriarch pushed past the edge of a nervous breakdown. The drama stars Jennifer Lafleur, Maryann Plunkett and Eilis Cahill and will be making its world premiere at Slamdance this month. More than just another nervous breakdown film, "Mad" also involves the matriarch's two daughters, who refuse to give a damn about her condition. They're resentment towards their mother eventually hits a breaking point as the three must confront one another if everyone wants to make it out with a piece of their sanity left in tact. The 2016 Slamdance Film Festival takes place January 22-28 in Park City, Utah. Check out the exclusive trailer above, as well as the debut official poster below. Read More:...
- 1/14/2016
- by Jake Spencer
- Indiewire
Festival top brass announced on Monday the 12 Narrative and eight Documentary Feature Film Competition films in 22nd edition, set to run in Park City from January 22-28, 2016.
The 20-strong line-up includes 12 world premieres, three North American premieres and one Us premiere.
All competition films are feature directorial debuts with budgets of less than $1m and without Us distribution.
Jury awards are presented to feature films in both categories and all films are eligible for audience awards as well as the Spirit Of Slamdance Award, judged by the filmmakers themselves.
“The standard of Diy filmmaking around the world is the highest we’ve seen, and the diversity of storytelling is the most we’ve experienced,” sad Slamdance co-founder and president Peter Baxter.
“With a record breaking number of submissions to select from, the narrative and documentary feature line-up has never been so competitive or as exciting to programme.”
All synopses provided by the festival.
Narrative Features...
The 20-strong line-up includes 12 world premieres, three North American premieres and one Us premiere.
All competition films are feature directorial debuts with budgets of less than $1m and without Us distribution.
Jury awards are presented to feature films in both categories and all films are eligible for audience awards as well as the Spirit Of Slamdance Award, judged by the filmmakers themselves.
“The standard of Diy filmmaking around the world is the highest we’ve seen, and the diversity of storytelling is the most we’ve experienced,” sad Slamdance co-founder and president Peter Baxter.
“With a record breaking number of submissions to select from, the narrative and documentary feature line-up has never been so competitive or as exciting to programme.”
All synopses provided by the festival.
Narrative Features...
- 11/30/2015
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Festival top brass announced on Monday the 12 Narrative and eight Documentary Feature Film Competition films in 22nd edition, set to run in Park City from January 22-28, 2016.
The 20-strong line-up includes 12 world premieres, three North American premieres and one Us premiere.
All competition films are feature directorial debuts with budgets of less than $1m and without Us distribution.
Jury awards are presented to feature films in both categories and all films are eligible for audience awards as well as the Spirit Of Slamdance Award, judged by the filmmakers themselves.
“The standard of Diy filmmaking around the world is the highest we’ve seen, and the diversity of storytelling is the most we’ve experienced,” sad Slamdance co-founder and president Peter Baxter.
“With a record breaking number of submissions to select from, the narrative and documentary feature line-up has never been so competitive or as exciting to programme.”
Al synopses provided by the festival.
Narrative Features...
The 20-strong line-up includes 12 world premieres, three North American premieres and one Us premiere.
All competition films are feature directorial debuts with budgets of less than $1m and without Us distribution.
Jury awards are presented to feature films in both categories and all films are eligible for audience awards as well as the Spirit Of Slamdance Award, judged by the filmmakers themselves.
“The standard of Diy filmmaking around the world is the highest we’ve seen, and the diversity of storytelling is the most we’ve experienced,” sad Slamdance co-founder and president Peter Baxter.
“With a record breaking number of submissions to select from, the narrative and documentary feature line-up has never been so competitive or as exciting to programme.”
Al synopses provided by the festival.
Narrative Features...
- 11/30/2015
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Robert G. Putka‘s Mouthful and Jared Varava‘s Tumbleweed! are two short films that have been selected to screen at the 2012 SXSW Film Festival, which will run in Austin, TX on March 9-17.
Mouthful is Putka’s second short film, a verbally raunchy comedy starring Eilis Cahill and Conor Casey as a young couple whose relationship becomes strained thanks to an overly frank discussion about their sexual histories. The film was recently reviewed on Bad Lit: The Journal of Underground Film saying “one shouldn’t assume too much how the premise of a young man and woman discussing [male] anatomy will play out.”
Putka has also mounted an IndieGoGo campaign to help fund his filmmaking team’s trip to SXSW and for marketing material, such as posters, T-shirts, press kits and such. If you want to help out, please visit the Mouthful IndieGoGo page.
Tumbleweed! is the latest collaboration between...
Mouthful is Putka’s second short film, a verbally raunchy comedy starring Eilis Cahill and Conor Casey as a young couple whose relationship becomes strained thanks to an overly frank discussion about their sexual histories. The film was recently reviewed on Bad Lit: The Journal of Underground Film saying “one shouldn’t assume too much how the premise of a young man and woman discussing [male] anatomy will play out.”
Putka has also mounted an IndieGoGo campaign to help fund his filmmaking team’s trip to SXSW and for marketing material, such as posters, T-shirts, press kits and such. If you want to help out, please visit the Mouthful IndieGoGo page.
Tumbleweed! is the latest collaboration between...
- 2/10/2012
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
Yes, by the title you can pretty much assume which part of the male anatomy Robert G. Putka‘s short comedy Mouthful will be primarily concerned with. However, one shouldn’t assume too much how the premise of a young man and woman discussing that anatomy will play out.
Putka essentially restages the same set-up as his previous short film, Hooka Face and the Virgin Boy. In Mouthful, another sexually anxious young man, Bobby (Conor Casey), gets pummelled with his own insecurities by a more experienced woman, Bliss (Eilis Cahill).
Despite Bobby and Bliss appearing to be about the same age — late teens to early ’20s — Bliss, we come to learn is way more emotionally mature than her anxiety-ridden boyfriend. Their maturity levels are so off that, in some ways, it appears that the two have, in fact, swapped gender roles.
In comedies, a man and a woman hanging out...
Putka essentially restages the same set-up as his previous short film, Hooka Face and the Virgin Boy. In Mouthful, another sexually anxious young man, Bobby (Conor Casey), gets pummelled with his own insecurities by a more experienced woman, Bliss (Eilis Cahill).
Despite Bobby and Bliss appearing to be about the same age — late teens to early ’20s — Bliss, we come to learn is way more emotionally mature than her anxiety-ridden boyfriend. Their maturity levels are so off that, in some ways, it appears that the two have, in fact, swapped gender roles.
In comedies, a man and a woman hanging out...
- 1/20/2012
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
Embedded above is a teaser clip from the upcoming short comedy Mouthful, directed by Robert G. Putka. It’s funny and well-acted, so check it out.
Although Putka has blogged fairly regularly about the making of the film, he’s been particularly mum on the details. The clip above gives a little more detail, but not much.
The director previously made the uncomfortable sexual awakening comedy Hooka Face and the Virgin Boy; and Mouthful seems to at least be following along those same lines.
But, what makes Bad Lit: The Journal of Underground Film particularly excited about seeing the full and complete Mouthful is that the female lead in the clip is actress Eilis Cahill, whose performance we really enjoyed in Andrew Semans’ awkward teen romance All Day Long. It looks like she’s putting in another thoughtful acting job here.
The male lead is Conor Casey, whom we’re unfamiliar with,...
Although Putka has blogged fairly regularly about the making of the film, he’s been particularly mum on the details. The clip above gives a little more detail, but not much.
The director previously made the uncomfortable sexual awakening comedy Hooka Face and the Virgin Boy; and Mouthful seems to at least be following along those same lines.
But, what makes Bad Lit: The Journal of Underground Film particularly excited about seeing the full and complete Mouthful is that the female lead in the clip is actress Eilis Cahill, whose performance we really enjoyed in Andrew Semans’ awkward teen romance All Day Long. It looks like she’s putting in another thoughtful acting job here.
The male lead is Conor Casey, whom we’re unfamiliar with,...
- 9/9/2011
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
Aaah, young love. Painful, torturous, confusing young love! The complete, awful awkwardness of it all is captured perfectly in Andrew Semans‘ beautiful, endearing short film All Day Long.
In a very subtle, measuredly-paced way, Semans charts the entire course of a first relationship during a single morning and afternoon: From uncontrollable raging hormones to the creeping realization that the two main characters have nothing in common beyond that.
The attraction between Alison (Eilis Cahill) and Daniel (Henry Glovinsky) is clear. Beyond the obvious physical attraction, she is drawn into his rebellious streak. He gives her the freedom to be a “bad girl.” But not too bad as she pulls away from his more aggressive sexual advances.
With minimal dialogue, the film truly exists in the silent moments: The brief pause before Daniel responds “I love you, too.” The long stretches where they have nothing to say to say to each other.
In a very subtle, measuredly-paced way, Semans charts the entire course of a first relationship during a single morning and afternoon: From uncontrollable raging hormones to the creeping realization that the two main characters have nothing in common beyond that.
The attraction between Alison (Eilis Cahill) and Daniel (Henry Glovinsky) is clear. Beyond the obvious physical attraction, she is drawn into his rebellious streak. He gives her the freedom to be a “bad girl.” But not too bad as she pulls away from his more aggressive sexual advances.
With minimal dialogue, the film truly exists in the silent moments: The brief pause before Daniel responds “I love you, too.” The long stretches where they have nothing to say to say to each other.
- 5/18/2011
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
The Stake Land ‘Belle’ Movie Trailer has premiered. Jim Mickle‘s Stake Land (2010) stars Danielle Harris, Nick Damici, Connor Paolo, Kelly McGillis, and Michael Cerveris. Stake Land’s plot synopsis: “America is a lost nation. When an epidemic of vampirism strikes, humans find themselves on the run from vicious, feral beasts. Cities are tombs and survivors cling together in rural pockets, fearful of nightfall. When his family is slaughtered, young Martin (Gossip Girl’s Connor Paolo) is taken under the wing of a grizzled, wayward hunter (In the Cut’s Nick Damici) whose new prey are the undead. Simply known as Mister, the vampire stalker takes Martin on a journey through the locked-down towns of America’s heartland, searching for a better place while taking down any bloodsuckers that cross their path. Along the way they recruit fellow travellers, including a nun (Kelly McGillis) who is caught in a crisis...
- 4/17/2011
- by filmbook
- Film-Book
The Stake Land Movie Trailer and Movie Poster have premiered. Jim Mickle‘s Stake Land (2010) stars Nick Damici, Danielle Harris, Connor Paolo, Kelly McGillis, and Michael Cerveris. Stake Land’s plot synopsis: “America is a lost nation. When an epidemic of vampirism strikes, humans find themselves on the run from vicious, feral beasts. Cities are tombs and survivors cling together in rural pockets, fearful of nightfall. When his family is slaughtered, young Martin (Gossip Girl’s Connor Paolo) is taken under the wing of a grizzled, wayward hunter (In the Cut’s Nick Damici) whose new prey are the undead. Simply known as Mister, the vampire stalker takes Martin on a journey through the locked-down towns of America’s heartland, searching for a better place while taking down any bloodsuckers that cross their path. Along the way they recruit fellow travellers, including a nun (Kelly McGillis) who is caught in...
- 4/16/2011
- by filmbook
- Film-Book
Indie filmmaker Phil Messerer (pictured) recently chatted with Fango about his directorial debut, the vampire opus Thicker Than Water: The Vampire Diaries Part 1. A far cry from the teen-skewing, similarly titled TV series hitting the airwaves this fall, it’s the harrowing tale of the lengths a family will go to stay together. Offering none of the romanticism that has plagued this subgenre in recent years (in the likes of Twilight et al.), the film presents vampirism as something of a disease for which blood is the only effective medicine, and has won awards at numerous festivals.
“I grew up in a New York ghetto, and the local theater only showed horror and martial arts flicks,” Messerer tells us, reflecting on his influences. “My mom and I always went to the horror shows. So from the earliest age, I was on a steady diet of B-movies. My mother died about 10 years ago,...
“I grew up in a New York ghetto, and the local theater only showed horror and martial arts flicks,” Messerer tells us, reflecting on his influences. “My mom and I always went to the horror shows. So from the earliest age, I was on a steady diet of B-movies. My mother died about 10 years ago,...
- 7/14/2009
- by no-reply@fangoria.com (Logan DeSisto)
- Fangoria
Director: Phil Messerer.
Writer: Phil Messerer.
Phil Messerer's "Thicker Than Water" involves the death of character Helen Baxter (Devon Bailey) who comes back to life as a vampire due to a degenerative disease housed in her DNA. Shot for a budget this film is the first film in a series of three that focuses on dark noir with the Baxter family acting as the films central characters. Light on action and exterior shots the films writing and original music make up for any disadvantages associated with independent filmmaking.
The film begins with Lara Baxter (Eilis Cahill) casting a satanic curse on her sister Helen, but when her sister quickly dies of a very bloody nosebleed the family turns to mourning, temporarily. With lightning and enhanced make-up Helen reunites with her family, from the dead, only this time with an insatiable hunger for human blood. The vampire legends of old...
Writer: Phil Messerer.
Phil Messerer's "Thicker Than Water" involves the death of character Helen Baxter (Devon Bailey) who comes back to life as a vampire due to a degenerative disease housed in her DNA. Shot for a budget this film is the first film in a series of three that focuses on dark noir with the Baxter family acting as the films central characters. Light on action and exterior shots the films writing and original music make up for any disadvantages associated with independent filmmaking.
The film begins with Lara Baxter (Eilis Cahill) casting a satanic curse on her sister Helen, but when her sister quickly dies of a very bloody nosebleed the family turns to mourning, temporarily. With lightning and enhanced make-up Helen reunites with her family, from the dead, only this time with an insatiable hunger for human blood. The vampire legends of old...
- 7/2/2009
- by Michael Ross Allen
- 28 Days Later Analysis
I was thinking they were already kinda Addams-esque, the Baxter family of this low-budget horror comedy, when we first meet them. There’s bored, gothy, 16-year-old Lara (Eilis Cahill), who loathes her twin sister, Marilyn-wholesome Helen (Devon Bailey); their sweetly demented older brother, Raymond (Michael Strelow); and Lord-morbid Mom (JoJo Hristova). But then vampirisim strikes the clan, and things really get creepy. Gruesomely agreeable twists on standard vampire motifs abound in this elegantly ambitious film -- the first part of a promised trilogy from writer-director Phil Messerer -- not just in how it plays with bloodsucker lore but in how it plays with how we expect such movies to turn. Yes, it’s hilariously grisly, and yes, it’s sarcastically funny, but it’s remarkably adept, too, at bringing a depth of emotion to what would certainly be the very real trauma of watching a loved one descend into a sickness both mental and physical.
- 6/10/2009
- by MaryAnn Johanson
- www.flickfilosopher.com
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