5 Shells

This review contains *SPOILERS*

A interesting take on being in the desert without any clue as to what your going to do. This film had breakdown after breakdown of scenes, and one of the worst jump cuts I've ever scene in cinema, which happens at about 14 minutes into this pointless film of a pair of sisters scouting the outback and making bad decisions. The first awesome clip comes at about the 45 minute mark. We see a really cool shot of a man blurred in the background as Maggy turns her head. Myers must of been feeling it that day because this is right on the money. And sadly, this awesome shot is negated by a close up of what we just saw when we see it was a man holding a weapon. So there goes the absence of any kind of horror. This film could've been cool. Though Frank seems to ruin it with his "I'm so manly attitude," and the characters all seem like they have done too many drugs to understand there surroundings. At times, they think they are in the "Wizard of Oz." The sound editing was a cry for help. It sounds like planes are flying overhead, or a military air strip is nearby. What was wrong with the older sister anyways, because the film's visual narrative never says. Nor, do we ever know what happened exactly to Stans family, other than the clues he tells us while driving, after he is abducted away from Frank. I liked the piano music and that seemed to the other thing that worked well as Maggies jealousy issues start to take hold of her. This happens when she sees Jasolyn kissing Stan. And, then more tired jump cuts that we never understand the reason for. I have an idea, let's all sit around and see who gets wasted first, just so the end of the film can be left an enigma. Some neat twists and turns at the end, but far too late. P.S. Myers shouldn't of off'd Frank so early on in this film because what it does for the viewer is shifts our focus all on Maggy, and maybe that is what he wanted.

Set in a post apocalyptic world,the parents of sisters Matti and Joslyn are murdered by an intruder in their home.Younger sister Matti finds 5 shotgun shells next to the body of her father.Picking up a shotgun from their loft,Matti and her sister set out to search for their Grandma's house.Along the way,Matti will find herself in situations where she will need to use the 5 shells in the title. Matti is hopeful that in finding Grandma's house,the world there will be a better place.Indeed she has dreams of walking the "Yellow Brick Road",hoping to find Grandma there.Many references are made to The Wizard Of Oz throughout this movie.

This is obviously a low budget flick.But it is also obvious that a real effort has been made to pull off a reasonable story with the money they had.

Good use is made of locations to give the viewer a real sense of a world fallen into decay,but the use of some of the music seemed a bit over the top for some of the situations.

The acting isn't great although a real stand out in this movie was Chad Brummett as shady character Frank.Everyone else is OK to mediocre but at least they made an effort.

I have stated in a review of a different movie that if you want to put yourself in front of a camera and entertain,at least make an effort,and here they did just that.And after all,these being actors I haven't seen or heard of before,you've gotta start somewhere right?

On the whole,this is a bleak and sometimes depressing movie to watch.But then maybe that's the point.Movies of this genre aren't really supposed to portray joy and happiness and all things bright and breezy.In that sense,this film hits the mark.

To sum up,there are better movies out there of this genre,but bear in mind the low budget constraints. This isn't the best of it's type,but it's very far from being the worst.Just don't expect anything particularly exciting. All in all.........good effort.

Written and directed by Paul Myers with 2 teenage sisters of Matti (Kelsey Hutton) and Joslyn (Eve Kozikowski) in the middle of an apocalyptic disaster who after evading themselves to be killed like their parents by hiding underneath the floorboards. Matti then decides it's best to leave the family home in search of their grandma's house. She does this grabbing a shotgun and 5 shells- hence the title left beside her dad's lifeless body. The other sister, Joslyn does not want to join her at first but because she]s too afraid being by herself may have forced her to join her sister as well. And of, course, they are going to meet other people along the way, including a shmuck named Frank (Chad Brummett) and his follower, Stanton(Lincoln Mark). With splashes of "The Wizard of Oz" Joslyn is so attached to is somewhat may be a metaphor of their journey. Regardless, I stopped caring anymore as soon as a boy came in between them.

This is slow and gets slower. While it is well acted and shot it still has a B quality due to lack of explanations and coherency. At one point you can clearly see cattle moving in the landscape during a time lapse photography shot, yet people are eating their dogs and are lucky to bag a rabbit. The film is replete with pictures of other dead animals and they make it quite clear that little to no humans have survived either. Yet not a word of explanation. Since there are so few characters in the film and at all times one or another of them is experiencing some unnamed trauma, the character development is virtually nonexistent. This culminates with the only near sane person losing her own sanity. A pointless, meandering, thrill free, disconnected mess in general.

"5 Shells" packs violence and emotion together with enough thrills, suspense, and drama to keep you watching. The story begins with tragedy and gets more twisted as it plays out, and the movie isn't shy about gore and the sexual angst that comes with being a teenager. This is a finely-produced indie film.