Thursday, March 24, 2016
Michael Allen
**there are major spoilers here.
Director: Jeffery Scott Lando.
Writers: Kevin Mosley.
Cast: Ellen MacNevin, Sage Brocklebank, Kylee Bush and Chilton Crane.
Suspension was part of the 8 Films to Die For film series. Launched in October of last year, Suspension is a slasher film, which takes a note from John Carpenter's Halloween (1978). This killer is very reminiscent of another - Michael Myers. Indie in nature, the cast is limited to a few high schoolers and production has been limited mostly to a single home. The film's ending is meant to wow! viewers, but it is weakly set up, by Kevin Mosley's script. Suspension is a fairly average slasher film and homage to Halloween.
The film sticks with Emily (Ellen MacNevin) for most of the proceedings. She is an ostracized student, who is happier at home than at a party. Meanwhile, Emily's father, a bloodthirsty killer, has escaped prison. Or, has he? The blood flows as a party rages, nearby. Emily is forced to confront her past as the bodies stack up. In the final scenes, the carpet is pulled from under your feet. But, your reaction might be similar to this viewer's response - a raised eyebrow or a yawn.
Suspension is very indie in nature. Produced by Suspended Reality Productions, the film was likely filmed for less than 50K. Therefore, shooting is mostly regulated to interiors. Though, director Jeffery Scott Lando does take the camera outside, for some night shots. Characters are mostly flat. Only Emily has a backstory. Her past is revealed very late with a few quick flashbacks. There are no complex characters here. Also, symbolism is relegated to a few blood reds, forefront on grey backgrounds. There is no meta, nor secondary level, in the writing. Suspension is a very small film as it struggles to be something bigger.
The script lifts one of its characters from another film - Halloween. Michael Myers returns to the screen. This time, his jumpsuit is orange in colour and not blue. Myers as Emily's dad, stabs through many of the characters, while moving about the screen in a robotic manner. A strong homage and almost a knock-off, Myers utilizes a white mask to hide his identity, even though the other characters know who he is. It is very apparent that writer Mosely is a fan of this earlier film.
The ending offers the very common big reveal. This type of ending is often seen in the horror genre. Here, surprises are required in the final few frames. But, this time, the ol' switcheroo is poorly set up and it comes out of nowhere. Early in the film, a victim mentions "he's out there (Emily's father)." However, the ending shows Emily as the killer. As well, some of the earlier victims come back to life, but why? Why have some of the victims resurrected and some of the others have remained dead? The script does not have an answer and viewers are not encouraged to look too deeply at the ending. The script offers quite a few errors and inconsistencies.
This viewer would like to give Suspension a thumbs up, but it remains pointing sideways. Taking a page from Halloween, the film does not offer anything new to this old material, outside of Emily's inconsistent delusions. Suspension struggles with its small budget. And, the errors in the script take something away from a viewing. According to one victim, Emily's father is still killing characters, but the writer forgot this. In the end, Suspension leaves the screen with ho-hum shrug, when the hair should be standing up on this viewer's neck.
*originally titled Dead of Night.
Overall: 6 out of 10 (compared to other films of this budget).
A Suspension trailer was released in May of 2015 and it can be found below:
A Suspension Trailer on 28DLA
A much better indie, slasher:
Animus at Amazon
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Posted in: 2016,cast,characters,crew,horror,horror movie review,independent,indie,movie,movie review,review,story
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