Sand Castles

Set in rural Indiana, Sand Castles tells of the impoverished Daly family continually haunted by a tragedy that occurred more than a decade ago. It's a nightmare that never ends. After a family trip to the beach, little Lauren Daly mysteriously disappeared, snatched by a stranger.

The devastation felt by the remaining family members understandably causes their lives to spiral down, out of control, resulting with dad taking his life while mom (an outstanding Saxon Trainor) drowns in a world of cigarettes and booze, leaving their son Noah (Jordon Hodges) to basically fend for himself.

Then, a decade later, the unimaginable occurs. "There's no easy way to say this," a cop tells the family. "We found Lauren."

Somehow, the little girl, now a teenager, has escaped from the confines of wherever she was held captive, but the trauma of the past ten years or so has resulted in a complete shutdown: she doesn't speak. The only potential clue to what might have happened to her is a well-worn copy of the Charles Dickens classic Great Expectations. The significance of the novel and why the young girl appears to read and re-read the book is later revealed, but to the frustration of the social worker assigned to the case, Alison Paige (Daniella Grace), Lauren refuses to allow anyone to touch her dog-eared copy. In an attempt to break through the young girl's silence and hopefully open up a channel of communication with her, Alison buys her own copy of the book and even takes both Lauren and Noah to a local community theatre production of the novel.

Sand Castles - a title referring not only to that fateful day at the beach but also the fragility of an existence that can be swept away by a single wave in one, brief, unexpected moment – is an impressive debut from Jordon Hodges, who here does triple duty as actor, writer and co-producer. There's little wonder as to why the film has already collected a number of festival awards; Sand Castles has its flaws, but the overall impression you're left with as you leave the theatre is one of immense satisfaction, the result of witnessing an ambitious story well told and the introduction to a new talent; Jordon Hodges.

As writer, Hodges uses only slight reveals to illustrate important key moments. It's up to us, the audience, to recognize the clues. Imagine trying to fit pieces of a jig-saw into place but without the aid of the picture on the box. Flashbacks occur, but they're brief; they flash on the screen in the same way a thought may suddenly spring to mind, lasting just a few seconds, often shorter. With an economy of dialog, feelings are often illustrated by the briefest of glances or an accusatory look. When ex-cop and close family member, Tommy Daly (Randy Spence) buys Lauren her own, small fridge - the kind a student may have for convenience in the dorm - the young girl unexpectedly runs forward and hugs her uncle, burying her head in his chest. It's a touching and genuinely heartfelt family moment made all the more effective due to the simple absence of dialog. But occasionally there are the odd missteps.

The scene where Tommy's ex-partner, now detective (Scott Jemison) angrily berates Lauren out of frustration for her continual silence develops into something unnecessarily overwrought and not particularly well-played, plus the sudden romance between Noah and the attractive social worker occurs completely out of nowhere. The moment when Alison suddenly kisses Noah is meant to surprise, which it certainly does, but up until that moment there has been no indication whatsoever of the social worker's attraction to Lauren's big brother. The romance needs to happen in order for later events to occur, but somehow that initial moment feels both wrong and unnatural. There's also the appearance of an important, extra scene that runs in the middle of the closing credits. It's not an add-on; it's an integral part of the mystery and needs to be seen earlier rather than at the conclusion of the cast list.

However, backed by an outstanding, atmospheric score from musician Todd Maki and solid performances from Hodges, Trainor and Spence, plus an effective appearance from Clint Howard whose somewhat creepy presence only adds to the overall mystery of Lauren's kidnapper, director Clenet Verdi-Rose has delivered a feature that needs to venture further than the confines of the festival circuit. More importantly, it introduces us to Jordon Hodges. Remember the name.

• Valley Screen and Stage: David Appleford's Film and Theatre Reviews

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I very rarely write reviews, but this was such a waste of time I'm hoping to spare others from wasting theirs. The acting was so bad that it was distracting. Terrible from all involved. Awful script, horrible camera work. Comes across as a really bad Lifetime type movie.

In a sea of virtual oil spills for flicks, I have been watching a lot of foreign/indie films. Yes this is low budget, a bit old in movie world, but transcends its financial limitations through realistic ground in its telling. It's worth watching through to its bittersweet finale with more than one surprise revelation. I'm giving a high rating mainly because I don't believe this is a work of fiction, I believe it's someone's actual life story, and if it isn't, many elements of it ring with truth. If you need a blockbuster to be entertained Indie film viewing isn't for you.

For free with sub on the thing which is very nice! I watched this on 2023 a few years after it came out but that's no matter for art can live on forever! And that is what this thing is a well-thought nice canard that does its job and does it well! Very nice! I went through all the reviews on here and one in particular stands out because it brought up a scene which the viewer disliked. The one when the cop makes a house visit and breaks everyone something proper like. I was like this is my fav scene. They said it wasn't warranted and that there would be repurcussions. But I think it was warranted for it was explained very well and what reprucurssions if no one finds out. I thought it was warranted because the cop explained himself and we also understand his connection to the victims. But ultimately this thing worked and it worked well! I loved the writing best of all! I think the main actor did a heck of a job penning this thing he should be very proud of the breadth and trying to do something instead of just following some formula which this is most definitely not thank-god cause that's boring owing to that formula being so stale. But the best part was the ending and how he left the thing a beautiful silent mediation on the actions and what all it does. It was just a great great job all around! I've got another one of his flics on queue for free on youtube which is always very nice and I'm about ready to watch it, thanks for the effort and trying to do something with this medium, cool job!

I am a movie lover. I watch movies every day and night. My husband and I should be movie critics I know everybody's taste is different but we know a good movie when we see one and especially if the film maker is good etc. We started making jokes saying well this is not a cheap made movie they can afford a helicopter and the trees look real. No lie. We are horror movie addicts but decided tonight we would watch something else.

Let me just add that when these people rank this movies any of them from horror to comedy in the best movies, top movies etc it is a joke so must of the time watch for yourself.

This movie was the best. Good storyline so many emotions. This is the first movie I have came on and actually sat down to write this much or give a movie so much good credit. From start to finish amazing. Now one well mainly is at the top of my list as best film ever made in a very long time. You get such a real look at life, what tragedy does, what good life is and a bittersweet end. This is a must watch movie and if you are a movie lover like we are you won't regret it. I give this movie 10 out of 10 starts. Definitely a must see.