Written and Directed by Thomas Churchill, The Emerging Past is the same thing you would expect from watching his other movies. After watching several of Churchill's movies I have come to realize that he only works with a handful of people. It seems as if Churchill only casts his friends in his movie, which can be the reason why his movies are not up to par with other indie horror flicks out there today, but that isn't the only reason here. Churchill's approach to directing horror movies is obviously the gore factor, he tends to overdo it when it comes to gore, less is more my friend. His writing style is bland and has no emotion in it what so ever, could be the actors fault also. If the budget of his films went towards quality actors and not so much on gore and less than standard effects, then maybe his films would serve to be better than they are.
I am not here to bash Thomas Churchill or his films. I actually have a high respect for the man. I am just trying to give my opinion, one that could help him progress his career. As a person Churchill is wonderful, I have met the man, but as a filmmaker he is lacking in a few areas, those being, screen writing, casting and directing.
These areas can be fixed however, 1: Stop putting your friends in your movies, you do not owe them anything. This is your career and your money, make it worth your while to cast quality actors and actresses. 2: You do not need to go over the top with gore and effects. What I and most people love about horror movies is the suspense and thrill of them, too much gore takes away from the scare factor and thrill of it all. 3: You do not need to put yourself in your own movies. Either direct or act. There are very few actors who can pull off both of these and make it work, Clint Eastwood, Ben Affleck and Kevin Smith are 3 that come to mind that know when and where to do this. 4: Smooth out your writing, stop trying to make everyone love each character. Connect the dots with side characters.
Churchill knows how to direct and write but it seems he cannot do both for the same project. Try directing someone else's screenplay or have someone else direct your screenplay. Give it a whirl. Again, there are very few people who can write and direct their own work.
This film, in my opinion, was not good. The over the top gore and dialog did it in for me. Nothing was believable and downright laughable at times. I was hoping for a better film than the previous Check Point that was recently released. I am giving it 3/10 because I like Thomas Churchill as a person, but the changes I mentioned need to be made or else he will soon be thrown into the genre of the likes of Uwe Boll.
