My Pure Joy

James Cullen Bressack's "My Pure Joy" a psychological horror film that shows the steady breakdown of one teenager's sanity. His unguided and frustrated life collapses into a downward spiral of dark psychosis which manifest in fits of homicidal reaction to the world around him. The film is about a boy named Adam who appears to be a normal slacking teenager, but underneath...his mind has been so rotted by trauma from his past and the gory films he watches, that he has blurred the lines between reality and pretend! This prompts Adam to start killing people in similar ways to films he watches, making sure to put his own little spin on it. It stars Alexei Ryan, Lisa Frantz, Cory Jacob, Laura Meadows, Jon Bloch, JD Fairman, Chris Chandler, Mark Glasser, Kevin Flood, Phillip Andrew Christopher, Emily Bordignon, Bailey Gaddis and Kimberly Night. This film is a low budget blend between the artist interpretation of extreme psychosis and the raw grittiness of torture-slasher stylization which comes off as a very intense blend of grindcore and a coming-of-age thriller. There are moments that have an almost real presence of dark melodrama and expressionistic noir. It is dark and graphic which feel a lot like watching the gory aftermath of a horrible tragedy unfold before your eyes. It feels like true horror as it addresses the loss of innocence and disillusionment of youth on the outside looking into a world they don't understand and doesn't understand them. Exposing the distance that is often present between the broken mind and the society that raises them or actually the lack of actually being raised. Combined with an obsessive grip to horror films which connect him to the psychological ties between a dying father and a past of tragic abandonment this story sheds a shadowy light on some very real issues in todays family dynamic. "My Pure Joy" is a raw and gritty nightmare that pulls at your psyche the way fears torment the mental. It has an almost home movie feel that plays with the snuff exploitation atmosphere in a very in-your-face bluntness. Dark, edgy and intense. Yet there is a very passionate artistic approach to the tragic tale that shows a sense of compassion for the short coming in a young persons life that could lead them down a sinister path such as the one Bressack exposes in this film. It is graphic and raw so it may not appeal to everyone. I like abrasive and gritty indie and low budget films mostly because they do take on the more unadulterated expression of horror without the fantastical disconnect that a lot of films with a wider audience reach tend to show. "My Pure Joy" is disturbing and twisted psychotic ballet filled with visual displays of terror. A cool urban nightmare that is classic Bressack.

I have very High standards of what I expect out of horror movies. Anyone can make them gross and bloody. And I've seen that 5 million times. When I think about the best ones It gives me chills just thinking about them. Some (very few) have scared me for months, even keeping me up at night. This movie did a pretty Damn good job scarring me, but doing it right. I enjoyed the gross deaths and how the moan character killed based on his obsession over killers and what can happen. I think that this is good killer movie too. People who like watching killers get their pray and you seeing the build up is good too. I would like to see a part two? Or maybe even a prequel! For sure I recommend it.

I love horror. This movie was just terrible.

Just long periods of pot smoking, talking and drinking... interspersed with gore for just gore.

Not interesting. I lasted about 30 minutes and then scrolled through the end.

One of the toughest things about writing a review is to decide where to begin. At least for me it is. Let me explain. I've had the honor to watch James Cullen Bressack's first feature film and I have tons of thoughts running wild right now. I just finished watching it and it's around 4 AM in the morning. Maybe not the perfect time to write, or even think properly for that matter, but you can't fake enthusiasm...and right now I'm full of it. There's no better time to review: MY PURE JOY.

I don't usually write summary's for the slasher films I review. Why not? Because the story lines rarely matter much. That being said, My Pure Joy is far from a standard Slasher film. Sure you've got your masked killer and graphic violence, but the neat storytelling and the rather deep view into the insane mind of a 19-year old killer makes me want to tell all about it.

We meet Adam, a 19 year old male living with this mother. Nothing strange so far. But it doesn't take long before the truth is revealed. The unfortunate death of his father and, so it seems, an overdose of gory horror films has made him the ruthless killer he is today. A cheap shot to blame the influence of media on the psyche of a person, or just a tongue-in-cheek excuse and meant-to-be hypocrite note on his love for the genre? I'd say the second.

James is the director, writer, editor...dude seriously? Yes. And there's more. He was a camera operator, he is the co-owner of a new label called Psykik Junky Pictures... and he's only 19 years old. Massive respect for this guy. That's a lot of work for one person. But he's obviously up for it. I always think it's 50% talent, and for the other half you'll need a unhealthy love for the genre. And both come to show in this film, it can't be missed.

He's referring to the most obscure and brilliant films the genre has to offer. Not only my Japanese hero 'Takashi Miike' is mentioned but also the extreme French wave with titles such as Inside and Martyrs are spoken off with a lot of respect. It doesn't stop there. I was starstruck when he mentioned stuff like Dard Divorce and even an older Ittenbach film named ''Premutos''. Then there's a bunch of classic (cult) films lying around on the floor and film posters throughout the house. The amount of knowledge, fun and respect for these films and the genre in general just warms my heart.

How's the acting? Adam is a smartly written character, a truly interesting young mind...but it's not easy to play such a part. It was up to Alexei Ryan to make it work, and he did it... he f-ing did it. It's one of the most impressive parts I've seen in a long time. Certainly one of my favorite serial killers from now on. Honestly, I was disturbed by his facial expressions and he often makes the rest of the cast look bad. Don't get me wrong, it's all just fine. Especially his two buddies play it very naturally which is just perfect.

Their conversations take up a lot of time. And by a lot, I mean a lot. But it's never a problem. To be honest, I loved the writing. As I mentioned before the movie-talk keeps it amazingly cool and down to earth. Also, the emotional 'explosions' (lack of a better word) take you in deeper and deeper. For instance the scene at the party. It has this great vibe and the acting is convincing. I loved how James shot the scene in one long take. Very, very impressive. He brought up Irréversible later on in the film, so if I had to make a guess... I'd say it inspired him at least a little bit to do it this way. Very brave, and it payed off big time.

I can't think of any other film with this many references while still remaining a piece of its own. In this case it's the psychological part that makes it somehow different from the rest. Sure, the graphic scenes are eye-catching and sometimes disturbingly brutal, but they aren't the core of this film. One of them is actually capable of catching even the biggest horror hounds off guard. That's taking it to the edge my friend... At the end they talk about Srpski Film (A Serbian Film) and it would've fit that film perfectly.

This might just be my longest review so far. There's no stopping me right now, there's so much more to talk about. The mask? Amazing! Great design, simple but extremely effective. The music? Smooth, and it fits the style perfectly. There's no way I can find anything to poop on as a true (indie)horrorfan. I just hope this film gets a beautiful global release right after it hits the festivals and who knows what else. It's a must see, and I'll be recommending it non- stop from now on. It's probably one of the coolest horror films of the last couple of years, I kid you not.

I'm a big murder/crazy killer movie fan. When I heard about this movie and how the main character Adam seemed like a normal teenager, but actually hes a crazy killer from watching so many crazy and scary movies I though it might just be OK or typical..But then I started watching it and I loved the craziness of not just Adam, but the transformation of a killer. This had me at goosebumps and made me a nervous wreck during parts of it and that was exactly what I was looking for. This movie is not for the weak of heart! This movie separated itself from the first 15 minutes of madness! I totally dig the ending And was surprised it all sent down the way it did! Worth watching just for the ending! It will make you scared and think!