Doom House

It astonishes me how well this short film (much-anticipated in the Appleton film circuit) was able to deliver the fresh goods. "Doom House" is able to simultaneously shock the viewer with breathtaking cinematography, while at the same time forcing them into the world of Reginald (Kyanka). It is usually the case that a film's director will be caught up in creative eccentricities, and so, overplay one aspect of production, and fail to take care with another: the 'style vs. substance' effect, if you will. But this film certainly doesn't fall prey to that, as every single shot sings out the same, poignant message: and neither does its well-roundedness make it mediocre.

The only drawback is that Mr. Kyanka anticipates the sequel by putting on a performance that is reminiscent of Guy Pearce.

This is an Indy horror flick. But don't let that scare you away! This movie definitely goes against the grain with something I like to call "Scaracters." This is an edge of your seat, jaw dropper with a twist of such caliber that hasn't been seen since 'The Sixth Sense.'There isn't gore or nudity in this film, and that's what makes it refreshingly different from your standard horror movie. It also doesn't use any of those cheap scare tactics you see in every run of the mill Ring ripoff nowadays.

When you watch this movie, you are legitimately scared. First, you are scared for the characters. Rich Kyanka is moving in this film. He can make you cry with a subtle face movement. Kevin Bowen excels in this film at well, but he is almost overshadowed by the gritty realism Kyanka brings to the table. Secondly, you are scared for yourself. The first time you see this movie, you may have to stop it to catch your breath. It's that good.

The plot twists and turns will no doubt leave you guessing the way they left me and my friends guessing, and I have faith in the fact that it will take several viewings to catch everything that brings together the "doom house" universe in ways you won't see coming.

Doom House is one of those films that you watch and stare at in awe. It's frank look at the human condition through the eyes of what appears to be just an ordinary average guy, who as the film progresses turns out to be the equivalent of a kind of sublime mid-western Zen Master who's travels serve to teach him not only about the House and it's importance to him, but to all of humanity.

The film is Richard Kyanka's debut on DVD, though he has produced some quality digital media, most notably the interactive experience titled "Dance Dance Karnov" chronicling one Italian sous chef's quest for self discovery while shopping for hats.

Like "Karnov", Doom House is a philosophical masterpiece, challenging one's perception of truth at the most fundamental level. Does Kant actually bring together the whole of western philosophical thought? Doom House won't tell you, but it will tell you why it doesn't matter and make you wonder if Kant actually meant all those things he wrote about morality.

Definitely a film to watch for any fan of thought provoking cinema.

The first five minutes of this film were like being the cue ball on a pool table that never worked and had been sitting in someone's basement for the last 15 years. Utterly amazing. Just watching the title text drool down the screen was an experience I'll never forget.

Following the opening sequence is film-making that would make the best David Lynch look like James Brown. It's a very lucid experience; for a second you forget you're watching Richard "Lowtax" Kyanka making magic in front of the camera, and it almost feels like you're floating down the Nile on a raft made of the best directors of the last 20 years lashed together and stuffed full of mud (so their orifices don't fill up with water).

This is a brilliant piece of work that will not be forgotten.

Doom House is a chilling polemic on the governing mindset of post-9/11 America. In their film debut, Kyanka and Bowen masterfully weave coherent socio-political commentary with well-crafted horror in much the same way that Jacobs and Young mixed controversial political issues with comedy in their tragically short-lived and misunderstood television program Dinosaurs.

From the very outset it becomes obvious to the viewer that this is not going to be a standard blood & guts slasher-style horror film, no, this film bucks the stereotypes so inherent in the present-day horror genre.

These men respect their audience. These men display a willingness to provide their audience with more than merely scenes of crowd-pleasing, money-making gore. Like Vincent Price and Roger Corman before them, Kyanka and Bowen are unafraid to create a thinking-man's horror film, a film that is not only unabashedly low-budget, but a film that revels in its lack of capital and in fact is able to rise above its monetary restraints.

In spite of what many would have you believe, it is clear that there is no truly evil character in this film, there is no malice, there is only desperation. Within the constraints of a low budget and perhaps as a result of those limitations, Kyanka and Bowen craft characters with depth, with believable motivations, depicting both sides of the conflict as victims of circumstance all the while avoiding the uncomfortable territory of moral equivalence. Not since John Hughes' 1986 classic Ferris Bueller's Day Off have I found myself rooting for the villain as much as I did for Linux's opponent in Doom House.

In an era where the average moviegoer craves answers, Doom House dares to ask questions. In the war between East and West, between religion and secular society, between tradition and progress, is there such a thing as right and wrong? How should a person deal with loss, by suffering the painful familiar or by beginning life anew? Do the victims of history have a right to seek compensation from the innocents of another generation? What does it truly mean to be doomed? Unable to reach a wide audience due to the limitations of its budget, unseen and in fact unheard of by the majority of potential viewers, Doom House is nonetheless a classic piece of intelligent, finely-crafted cinema.

Doom House is not to be missed!