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Second, there was one scene that stuck out in the film like a sore thumb because it was so dissimilar from the other footage in the film. This scene was at Scott and Taylor’s house. Brody has recently snatched his daughter from their house, as he is sure that she will be the next one to vanish. When Scott realizes that Brody’s taken Natalie, he flips out and decides to rush over to Brody’s house to get the girl back. The shot that captures this scene seemed to have come from a completely different camera than the DVX100A that shot the rest of the film. Not just a different camera, but the lack of color saturation and detail makes it appear as though this is from a consumer camcorder. If this is the case, then more post production color correction needs to be done to try to even out the look of the two cameras. (It is unlikely that the filmmaker could reshoot the scene, as he is now on the other side of the continent from where he shot this film.)
Use of Audio
The audio for this film was excellently recorded by sound designer Dave Seidman, with professionally clear dialogue and almost no noticeable background noise that wasn’t part of the film’s sound design. The sound effects were quite good, with the minor exception of fight scene between Scott and Austin that could have stood some additional effects to sound more solid and gritty. The music was quite good, with a stirring theme that resurfaces throughout the film.
The only issue that I really noticed in this film is in a scene between Taylor and Brody at the breakfast table where her audio is a little too soft and needs to be boosted for the remainder of the scene. Other than that, everything else is top notch.
Use of Budget
When shooting this film, Mike Flanagan and co-producer Jeff Seidman had to rent their equipment every Friday, shoot all weekend, and then return it Monday morning. They and the rest of the crew did this for four months (which really makes the scarcity of noticeable continuity problems amazing!). That’s an impressive way to squeeze the most bang out of your budget by only paying for equipment when your crew can and will use it. Plus, the quality of the film is amazing, which speaks volumes for the right choices on where money was spent.
Lasting Appeal
This is a film that, as soon as you finish it and have an hour to think about what you saw, you immediately want to watch again. While it doesn’t hold up quite as well as you think it will when you watch it the second time, it still holds up nicely. It’s definitely a film that you’ll immediately want to show others after you watch it and see what their thoughts on it are.
Overall Comment
This is a film that could be in the theaters right now. While there are a few minor issues, everything about this film screams of excellence. If you’re a filmmaker, you need to get the DVD of this film, as it will inspire you with its professional look, style, and feel. More specifically, if you are a filmmaker in the LA area, you should really consider contacting the director and seeing if he will take you on as an apprentice. If you are a distributor, you really need to contact the director to get a screener, as this is a film that demands to be seen by a national audience. And if you are the director, my hat’s off to you!
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Content |
9.3 |
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Visual
Look |
9.8 |
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Use
of Audio |
9.9 |
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Use
of Budget |
10.0 |
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Lasting
Appeal |
9.5 |
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Overall
Score |
9.7
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The
director of two feature length films and half a dozen short films,
Jeremy Hanke
founded Microfilmmaker Magazine to help all no-budget filmmakers make
better films. His first book on low-budget special effects techniques, GreenScreen Made Easy, (which he co-wrote with Michele Yamazaki) was released by MWP to very favorable reviews. He's curently working on the sci-fi film franchise, World of Depleted through Depleted: Day 419 and the feature film, Depleted. |
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