What Happened at 625 River Road

Some of this movie was genuinely painful to watch. The story was fairly decent but the filmmaking was just very below average. Some of the shots were good but it was ruined as always but shots of the camera man just walking up to the actors faces in dramatic scenes that just really took me out of it.

I knew immediately without checking that the director was a man. No woman ever while drinking with a friend has had a pillow fight in shorts and talked about how amazing Halle Berry was for topless scenes. Like what?

Also they clearly made.use of that Dolly camera. It was just very obvious watching that this was a brand new director. The sound was off in scenes and the lighting was bad in others and the editing left me confused as hell at times. Can also see the camera man in several shots. The edit should of taken longer. Feel like it was rushed.

Ms Johnson was actually interesting. She scared the hell out of me but the other two main actors just honestly seemed like they were doing a favour for a mate.

Again good story just bad execution.

Packed with nuance and carefully planned delivery, What Happened at 625 River Road delivers layers upon layers of creepy speculation led by a cast that keeps you guessing all throughout. The friendship we see is heartwarming and honest-girls living their best lives and unafraid to take risks. The brilliantly voiced Ms. Johnson who greets them at the airbnb gives the viewer a gut punch of WTF sinister vibes with her dark demeanor turned silky, refined sweetness. She became my favorite character as we slowly come to see she's got her own backstory. The detective isn't totally fooled by the gorgeous woman he meets at the house, but he's taken enough to believe her concern, and it all feels completely on point until things take a turn. The shots all throughout twist and pan as beautifully as a music video, giving a thrilling and super fresh edge to the storytelling. In all, a completely fresh surprise in modern horror/suspense, expertly delivered by the actors. It's not just the obvious tropes "ie what's in the locked basement" but the reality of risky circumstances in party culture... "are people really who they say they are?" "Are these men here just for the sex?" All in all, I felt like this film delivered a carefully wrought story with very fine acting especially via the parts of Ms. Johnson (Silvana Jakich) and Detective Nickels (Matrell Smith). Excited to see what Devon Jovi Johnson comes up with next.

The way it was edited, does make it a little bit confusing to follow. I get it's a mystery unsolved, but rather than flashes to things that happened, and a little bit more explaining at the end would have gone a long way. Like with the detective giving what he thought happened, and what they found at the house.

I loved the first night in the house, and shots from the outside with strange movements and shadowy figures. It looked really great and really added to tension of the film. It was a really interesting way of doing it, and I think it worked well.

The production value seemed pretty good and so did the acting.

Well where do I start I could have seen it all the way through if the acting was any good, but it wasn't, so many plot holes you could fit a Boeing 747 in them, I was hoping they would all be murdered. Best acting goes to the cat. I need more words for this review but I really can't think of anything to say, as the boredom and bad acting have numbed my brain but I will endeavour to find one positive thing about the film, oh yes, it's 1 hour 10 minutes long, but I still couldn't bring myself to watch it to the end, my hubby had already picked up his mobile, a sure sign that he couldn't be bothered with it either.

What could have potentially been a good film was sadly completely ruined by the abysmal acting. I don't know if it was dubbed, or if this was actors actually voicing the dialogue, either way every line from every actor was delivered with a total lack of emotion or tonal change.

The story itself was interesting and had huge potential to something worthy of a 7 or 8 star review. It would be interesting to see a big name look to remake this with a bigger budget and better cast, as i think in the right hands this could've been something special.

As it is, i'm giving it 4 stars purely based on that potential and the overall story.

Is it worth a watch? I would say so, but please, do not expect anything of any real standard.