Deadly Renovations

For something distributed by Midnight Releasing, this wasn't half bad. A group of 30-something friends acquire an old hotel to renovate. This hotel has a history of murder and legend has it that a few million dollars are hiding somewhere in the premises. Parallel to their first night on the job, an old man is released from jail and is intent to find this loot on that same night, with the help of a taxi driver and a vagrant who inhabits the place.

This is low-budget, so expect a no-name cast with acting abilities ranging from non-existent to mediocre. Some of the ladies were pretty, though all the guys were paunch-bellied repulsive. Still, the director knows his pace and there are enough twists and turns to keep the attention going. I could count 4 different killers within the 90-minutes span, the most interesting one being regrettably underused. The movie rides a fine line between maniac, slasher & thriller but marches to its own drum. The whole storyline has of course been done before but the crews's heart was definitely in it and everyone performed at the best of their limited abilities.

For an extremely low budget movie, the indie suspense thriller RENOVATION rises above and pays off in some big ways. The first noticeable area you would expect to suffer on such a small budget are the visual effects. Flintframe Productions has delivered some great composite work that really helps take their game to the next level. With top notch performances by Tommy Lynch, Dean Mauro, Nathalie Ben-Kely and Tracilyn Jones, RENOVATION keeps the audience guessing and on the edge of their seats throughout. DJ Perry, Lana Wood, Johnny Dark and Terence Knox are all at the top of their game. From the very start this thriller set a great tone. Although it has some expected flaws technically, the over all vision of the film seems to come across very well. The story line flowed easily without being too contrite or predictable.

If this had been a student film I'd give it a D. For utter Dreck. Uggghhhh. Don't waste a minute of your time on this incoherent, atrociously acted, pitiful excuse for a picture. I hope this 'filmmaker' didn't throw away his 'renovating' tools 'cause he definitely needs to keep pounding nails and leave movies to people who understand cinema. One thing that comes from ATTEMPTING to suffer through this P.O.S. is it makes one appreciate how hard it is to make a movie that works, and how those who do (Gwinn is NOT one) have toiled meticulously with every word, and every frame. Please, either go to film school, or stick with habitat for humanity, or resume your work at Home Depot man!

A contradiction to my traditional style of writing are reviews, however since 'film' is significantly present in my life, and at the very least, mildly present in most peoples lives, I feel compelled and somewhat 'qualified' to write them. Although I do have a caveat, a quiet warning to the reader, I don't write from a 'sour grape' approach, nor do I find it a service to anyone to spew negative rhetoric without backing it with a possible 'better'. Film has such intricate elements; lighting, sound, camera, actors, script, set, story, just to name the obvious, so words like "this movie sucks, or bad directing", are exceptionally ignorant. An individual writing with this mindset is offering me nothing more than negative adjectives without backing... this would be similar to having a debate with a mannequin. What your giving me is an incredibly elementary opinion, and since opinion can be driven from many elements, even so much as one's current mood during their viewing, quite frankly, these types of 'reviews' ..(using that term very loosely here), are nothing more than wasted ink. Now on to Deadly Renovations review, and yes I do consider production budget when I'm reviewing a film. I consider it in the respect of, how well these film makers did with X amount, therefore, what could they do with ..say 2 or 10 times that amount. For example; people can easily be impressed when a robot turns into a car and the effects were dead on, but realistically these types of effects are extremely expensive, which means the amount of budget will carry into type of camera, size of crew, accesses to locations, costumes etc. Deadly Renovations starts off unassuming, almost sweet, a group of friends purchase an old hotel to renovate it. Here the lock on location was outstanding, the hotel looks as if it has it's own soul, downright bone chilling! The comradery between the couples is incredibly realistic giving it an almost familiar feel. One could easily relate to "I have friends like that" so the actors did a beautiful job on the sale of their friendship chemistry. It does then slide you into an unexpected side story and plot of thieves and hidden monies, that make for some confusion, but here is where the directing comes into play, and well done. Although the story does trail into another, the turn of plot, events and 'characters', (and these characters were quite delicious), don't remove you, they rather intrigue you...and make your mind wonder how this will tie together. Robert H. Gwinn did an wonderful job allowing just enough expansion for each story to keep you engaged, but not bore you. Intellectually speaking this is a far more interesting approach, especially within the horror genre than most offer, which is just different ways of killing, simply meant to shock the viewer. That being said though, shock the viewer certainly comes into play here, but for fear of a spoil I will only state that it does tie, but not in a lovely bow, more of a gruesome greed, and a psychotic state as the hair on the back of your neck stands tall and you surely land in the lap of whomever sits beside you. Make-up extraordinaire, bravo to your magic of realistic. Then we move to your believing your done with this roller-coaster film, stay tuned because it has a few more twist and turns, so at the very moment your think your cart has pulled into the gate, your sent flying off the edge of the tallest hill yet. Really awful in the best way of effects with perfect camera angle and use here, and I'm not at liberty to explain, but when you see it, you'll know exactly what I'm referring to. I can't wait to watch it again, because I know I've missed some tiny shows of tale due to my intimidation of content on first view. (Dr. Nitas) Lana Wood, exceptional depth....(Donald) Anthony Hornus mind blowing range... (Allen) DJ Perry shocking performance... (Lisa) Tracilyn Jones adorable, (Frank) Terence Knox a natural... Tommy Lynch, sold!...I want hang with you Barry... (Harris) Dean Teaster, solid... (Justin) Fred Griffith smooth and steady... a shout out to all, with my elaboration not possible due to this writer's fear of reveal. In closing, Charles Pisaeno wrote, and Robert H. Gwinn directed a fantastic piece to celebrate and share, but do take those bathroom breaks and find a lid for your popcorn, because this will be a terrifying ride!