Residue

Amazing, as engaging and fresh as Pontypool. I watched countless indie horror / thriller / sci-fi movies, but never seen something like this one. The concept of haunted book is nothing new (Evil Dead and such), but here it's done in a different way.

The cast is great, although Clayton looks too young to be a father for a 18 year old girl. Williams B.Davis is spot on, too bad he doesn't have much on-screen time.

I didn't know what I was getting into here when I sat down to watch the 2017 movie "Residue" from writer and director Rusty Nixon. All I knew about the movie was that it had an interesting enough cover that had caught my attention.

Let me say that this movie is odd. Good odd or bad odd? Well, that is definitely up to the individual viewer. There is something of a "Naked Lunch" feel to the movie, so that should give you an indication of what you are getting yourself into when you watch this movie.

While the movie was watchable, I found it to be a bit too weird. I like strange movies, sure, but when it comes to the point where it starts to make little sense, then I am off the bandwagon.

"Residue" definitely benefits from having a group of nice actors and actresses on the cast list, which includes the likes of James Clayton, Matt Frewer and Costas Mandylor. I must admit that I was rather thrilled when Matt Frewer showed up on the screen, because he is just wonderful and he played nicely in this movie as well.

I am rating "Residue" five out ten stars. While the movie started out nicely, the bizarre storyline just lost me along the way, and I sort of just gave up towards the end with about 20 minutes left of the movie.

My wife and I watch a ton of horror films and this one stood out as cool and unique.

It's less "horror" than just plain weird Lovecraftian craziness. Maybe not for everyone, but we appreciated that they were doing something different. It combines a compelling deadbeat Dad making good with his-daughter relationship with lots of bizarre happenings.

Plus, it's got Matt Frewer (from Max Headroom). Can't beat that. If you liked Max Headroom, you'll probably like this - it's got a similar unique flair.

So, fair warning, the first 20-25 minutes of this film are pretty brutal to watch. The acting, the editing, the directing; all brutal, BUT! at about the 25 minutes mark, the plot gets REALLY intriguing and the story starts to make up for much of the low production values, which themselves also improve significantly from the terrible opening. The ending is a bit soft and a little forceful, but wraps up the story especially well. Definitely give this a shot if you're a fan of bizarre cosmic horror, but please be willing to wait past the weak opening.

This film had a bunch of elements of 80's Carpenter and Cronenburg, and it included Max Headroom and The Smoking Man from X-Files. The lore is pretty solid, the practical FX are a very welcome throwback and look great. I loved watching this film, was one of the more original I've seen in the genre as of late.