Odd coming of age film, its not a horror film, about how the women in a small town are prone to suddenly growing horns. This causes them to be hidden away or killed. Not a bad film, but it wasn't the horror film I expected. Even the "horror" twist isn't much of anything. More its a fable about being different. I'm of mixed feelings about the film, in that this is an okay film that really could find an audience if it was handled correctly, but marketing it as a horror film in the deadly direct to video cheap horror market is dooming it to being never seen, or worse causing people to say bad things about it because its not the horror film they expected. this isn't to say I'm raving about the film, only that if I were a girl of a certain age I might have found this film strangely comforting. Recommended for girls of that certain age.
2 Reviews
Fabulously unusual little movie
elbato-0311231 July 2021
Warning: Spoilers
This is such an odd film, I'm surprised and gratified that it survived and was completed and released. It's obviously a bit low budget, but given that, the acting by all concerned is pretty decent for the most part. Iris Graham is radiant and energetic in her lead role, and Susan Hogan's Marguerite is fantastic.
There could have been more character and story development, but hey, limited budgets mean limited results. But the basic story hangs together reasonably well compared to some Hollywood blockbusters where the multiplex audience has no problem overlooking the plot holes and macguffins.
Young Sylvia is growing up in some remote town in the heavily wooded Pacific Northwest. She's going through the usual teen girl growing pains. But there's more: strange bumps emerging on her head. Her father takes her to see the reclusive Marguerite, a woman who lives alone in the woods. She dramatically reveals what's coming when she lets down her hair. I gotta say that Susan Hogan is stunning and powerful - her clipped and terse line delivery, restrained acting, and amazing looks come through even in a role that many would likely turn down.
Sylvia must come to terms with her "anomaly" and learns there are others. They are badly treated by the townsfolk, and shamed into hiding their situation. At one point, Sylvia and Kim, a similarly affected friend, go fishing and leave their anomalies uncovered. They nap in the afternoon, only to be spotted by a local family. Outrage ensues.
The young women flee, and find Kim's callow boyfriend driving up in his truck. He "rescues" them from the police, but takes them to a hunting lodge where they are captured and much is revealed. The men of the town prepare to punish the young women, but Sylvia escapes. There's a final showdown between Marguerite and the mayor, and Sylvia makes the decision to leave the town with her boyfriend and bids Kim and Marguerite farewell.
The filmmakers tried to do a little too much in such a short time, but again, the film is entertaining, unique, and like the best science fiction (it's really not a "horror" movie per se), uses a sci fi situation to address cultural issues of the moment. The women suffering from the "anomaly" could be stand ins for any persecuted group. At first, I thought that modern culture would never do something so cruel and harsh, but our news headlines remind us daily just how bad it is, how brutal the treatment of those considered "anomalies" can be. If you're looking for something a little different, you might enjoy this movie.
There could have been more character and story development, but hey, limited budgets mean limited results. But the basic story hangs together reasonably well compared to some Hollywood blockbusters where the multiplex audience has no problem overlooking the plot holes and macguffins.
Young Sylvia is growing up in some remote town in the heavily wooded Pacific Northwest. She's going through the usual teen girl growing pains. But there's more: strange bumps emerging on her head. Her father takes her to see the reclusive Marguerite, a woman who lives alone in the woods. She dramatically reveals what's coming when she lets down her hair. I gotta say that Susan Hogan is stunning and powerful - her clipped and terse line delivery, restrained acting, and amazing looks come through even in a role that many would likely turn down.
Sylvia must come to terms with her "anomaly" and learns there are others. They are badly treated by the townsfolk, and shamed into hiding their situation. At one point, Sylvia and Kim, a similarly affected friend, go fishing and leave their anomalies uncovered. They nap in the afternoon, only to be spotted by a local family. Outrage ensues.
The young women flee, and find Kim's callow boyfriend driving up in his truck. He "rescues" them from the police, but takes them to a hunting lodge where they are captured and much is revealed. The men of the town prepare to punish the young women, but Sylvia escapes. There's a final showdown between Marguerite and the mayor, and Sylvia makes the decision to leave the town with her boyfriend and bids Kim and Marguerite farewell.
The filmmakers tried to do a little too much in such a short time, but again, the film is entertaining, unique, and like the best science fiction (it's really not a "horror" movie per se), uses a sci fi situation to address cultural issues of the moment. The women suffering from the "anomaly" could be stand ins for any persecuted group. At first, I thought that modern culture would never do something so cruel and harsh, but our news headlines remind us daily just how bad it is, how brutal the treatment of those considered "anomalies" can be. If you're looking for something a little different, you might enjoy this movie.
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