We Go On

...for another feature from auteurs Holland and Mitton, the guys who brought us YellowBrickRoad. They've upped their game for this paranormal quest tale, despite it still being another low budget affair. An effective Annette "Smallville" O'Toole lends name recognition, but protagonist Clark "YellowBrickRoad" Freeman carries his weight with assurance, along with the likes of John "Smallville" Glover, Giovanna "On the Road" Zacarías, and the rest of a solid ensemble. The writing is trim and tight, the story well thought out, the score appropriate. Indies of this sort usually fall apart at some point, but this one doesn't. Definitely one of the better sleepers I've found at the library in recent memory. No ground-breaker, but still solid genre entertainment.

A man who is scared of just about everything in the world, but most afraid of dying, searches for proof that life after death exists out there. Offering a $30,000.00 reward for any evidance, he begins interviewing people in search for the truth.

When all reliable avenuess fail him, he reaches out to a mysterious caller who claims he can show him ghosts. From there, things escalate out of control.

Have you ever browsed the b-horror film section of your local rental places in the late 90's and early 2000's? Every once and awhile you'll find a gem, hidden in the rough.

We Go on is one such gem.

The cinematography is passable. The actors were believable and the audio and musical scores were accetable. The story, while stunted in some parts is still enjoyable enough to warrant a full watch without being boring.

In Los Angeles, the video editor Miles Grisson (Clark Freeman) is a man with many phobias inclusive he does not drive. When Miles has several nightmares with his death, he decides to offer a $ 30,000 reward for anyone that proves the existence of a ghost, or demon, or angel and consequently the afterlife. His protective mother Charlotte Grisson (Annette O'Toole) reads the news and comes to his apartment. Miles receives more than one thousand correspondences and together with his mother, they analyze the responses and they end with three candidates. The first one is Dr. Ellison (John Glover) but Charlotte finds that he is a fraud. The second one is the medium Josephina (Giovanna Zacarías) that tells that Bill asked him to stop his search. However Charlotte again tells that Josephine is a fraud. The third one is an entrepreneur but Miles finds that he is a con-man. When Miles receives a mysterious phone call from a man called Nelson (Jay Dunn), he schedules an encounter with him in a park near the airport. Soon he learns that there are doors that should never be opened.

"We Go on" is an intriguing and original ghost story. The screenplay is well-written with many plot points and the cast is excellent, with great performances of the veteran Annete O'Toole and Clark Freeman. The supernatural story is interesting and the encounter of Nelson and Miles is the scariest moment of this good film. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): Not Available

While it was a slow film in terms of overall pacing, it held my attention throughout. This could partly be due to the fact the wonderful Annette O'Toole has a prominent role.

I felt it got off yo a shaky, almost tongue-in-cheek start. Clark Freeman is endearing at the outset as Miles. But, his portrayal begins to grate a bit after a while, even though I understood the undercurrents of the character.

There really isn't much more to say about the film, which is the good and bad of it. 'We Go On' is not very memorable and it can only loosely be called 'horror.' To me, it's like the Hallmark Hall of Fame version of a scary movie.

Seeing this with very low expectations, I was first waiting it to fall on its face but soon realised the writing, acting and direction was all sure-footed and I'd even say innovative. On the outset, Annette O'Toole and Clark Freeman make an unlikely mother-son couple but they sold their roles and even made me emotional at times.

The budget is indeed tiny, but it didn't take anything away from the solid creepiness. Build-up was executed well, and the story moved nicely from almost comedy to genuine scares. Even at the end this little horror surprise stood its ground and avoided the usual sour taste that most films in its genre leave behind.