cody_perkins88

This is the closest thing I've seen to the early-to-mid 2000s style of home video filmmaking that I can recall for a very long time; I'm thinking along the lines of the films in the Fangoria Blood Drive collections and homemade short films like that.

This looks filmed on a home camera and offers that specific vibe, complete with trippy graphic effects at the end which feel like they're ripped straight out of the aforementioned era, notably from the films of Wicked Pixel Cinema.

All in all though, despite its nostalgic vibe it didn't entirely win me over because I felt like I've seen everything from this film in countless other films over the last 20+ years but I am curious to see more from the director. It was eerie (and short) enough to make it through to the end but the ending "twist" has been done to death in the early-to-mid 2000's that this film loses points from me for that long-overused "twist."

After patiently waiting days on end for Russ Diaper's (spelled Diapper in this film) latest masterpiece to reach my mailbox, it finally arrived.

Now, several people have had several problems with some of Diapper's past films and I personally never found very many faults in any of his movies and I'm here to let you know, even though I found very few faults with his last 3 films, that the first impression you may have gotten from his first films is drastically altered. Before I discuss the movie, I had to talk about the editing, music, cinematography, special effects, etc. Well, first off, the editing in this film is top-notch and it flows just nicely and never drags. Some of the awkward zooms during character conversations didn't quite work for me as they should but did not deter my opinion of the film since they were usually really brief. The music, composed by a new composer, was top-notch as well. While it did feel like a cheap synth score it definitely worked wonders with the film and sounds very good and consistent. The actual film's soundtrack kinda blew way by surprise. The 5.1 track is mixed perfectly, carefully blending the sound effects, music underscore, dialogue, etc. to sound very natural. Stereo separation is very good as well but it's not knock your socks off blockbuster-style since this is a horror film after all but it definitely will not disappoint. Also, during sequences with rain I guarantee that you'd have a very hard time trying to convince yourself that the rain was dubbed over in post-production. The cinematography was much better in this film than some of his previous films. The film is framed mostly static with a few handy cam-style shots and the framing is spot-on. I can't believe I haven't mentioned how much the colors pop and definitely stand-out. The black level is amazingly consistent and clean as well. This is a film that needs to be on Bluray. I know DVD has very many limitations but the colors still managed to pop and show depth even though this film appears to be shot in HD. In other words, I've never seen a DVD where the colors popped that distinctly. The special effects in this film will please everyone. It's not a gore fest but it does provide plenty of blood to please the masses. The acting seemed much better in this film than any of his previous films but in only a few instances I couldn't quite believe the performances and some character interactions seemed kind of awkward and forced but overall the acting was more above par than most films released this year.

Anyway, onto the film, it opens with a very nice prologue detailing the legend of The Whistler narrated by a very convincing and menacing voice combined with an amazing back story and still photography and brief CGI clips. Then the credits roll then the real fun begins. It opens with a man dressed in a clown mask attempting to rape this poor woman victim. He asks her to strip and awkwardly enough she does. Next thing ya know The Whistler comes to get him and a nice bit of blood is splashed all over this poor naked woman. Then it cuts to a shot of our two main characters, Justin (Daniel Bennett) and Tim (Joe Lombardi), having a conversation in a graveyard when they see this strange old man (Paul Kelleher) staring at them from behind a tree. Several scenes later, they find themselves at the old Whistler tree from legend. Legend has it that if you whistle in a certain way while being around the tree and you get a whistle back. After Justin scares Tim they part their ways and as Tim is going back to his room a shadow crosses behind him. Cut to a scared shot of Tim and cut to black. That's all I'm gonna say about the film at this time because I don't want to ruin anymore of the secrets of this film. I will say this though, there is a certain sequence involving a phone conversation and the news of the death of a loved one. The framing is perfect and the slow zoom up to the end of the conversation gave me chills and made me believe the pain.

Definitely a must-watch. 3/4 stars.