Black Mold

Whilst at a lovely little genre-festival in my home country, a mate and I had to choose between two appealing titles that were scheduled at the same time but in different screening rooms. Of course, we chose for the least mainstream one (*), playing in the much smaller screening room with uncomfortable stools! But hey, the plot of the film - "Black Mold" - sounded promising, and my pal told me writer/director John Pata previously worked as an editor on "The Stylist", which is a movie I quite liked.

Our gamble wasn't a success. We sort of went through the same process at the lead protagonists in the film. Like them, we went in exploring the unknown because it's our hobby, but when we walked out, we weren't exactly satisfied. Oh well, at least we still walked out alive and (relatively) sane. That's more than can be said for Brooke and Tanner.

For their passion of urban exploring, they travel across the USA and sneak into abandoned buildings full of mold, ramshackle floors, and other unforeseeable dangers. Brooke is a champion in scouting terrific locations, and she takes Tanner to a massive and remote former research facility. Once inside, they are confronted with a dangerously violent squatter who prevents them from leaving. While trapped in the facility overnight, the molded walls and floors cause Brooke and Tanner to go insane (at least, that's what I suspect was happening) like the squatter already has. Tanner sees his worst fears manifesting in front of him, and poor Brooke relives her childhood traumas over and over again.

There simply isn't enough content and horror material in "Black Mold". The film easily could have worked effectively as a short feature, but as a 1 ½ hour movie it's tedious, repetitive, and slow. John Pata attempts to compensate for the lack of action by endless talking. Especially Tanner babbles non-stop. At first you simply wish for him to keep his mouth shut, but as the running time strolls forward at a snail's pace, you actually wish for him to die painfully. Eventually Pata is forced to revert back to genuine and classic horror symbols (like scarecrows and werewolves) to generate some real tension and action, but none of it is credible. Agnes Albright is an adequate actress and the filming locations are atmospheric (we shouldn't expect anything less from urban explorers), but that's hardly enough to recommend "Black Mold" to anyone.

(*) the film that played in the other theater was "It Lives Inside", which I'm sure I'll watch at some point soon.

Black Mold is a simple, yet effective, psychological horror.

It's not flashy.

Or laden with state of the art special effects.

But it's a solid little story; and has some pretty decent production quality!

In it, two up-and-coming photographers, head to a dilapidated location, with a storied history.

Only to find that it's inhabited by a homeless squatter...who warns them about what the darkness brings...if they find themselves stuck there, overnight.

Because- as you might have guessed from the film's title- the place is (apparently) filled with a type of black mold that causes their most deep seeded fears to become reality, in the form of hallucinations.

With that being said...it's a bit of a slow burner.

That is, for the most part, dramatically driven.

But it does manage to exude a, slight, air of tension.

And manages to keep you engaged enough, as you wait to see how it's all going to play out in the end.

As a result of it's relatively slow pace...you find yourself beginning to expect there to be an explosive twist at the end.

Though- while this, arguably, does play out- it ends on a weird note, that you can't help but feel is anti-climactic.

Even weirder, though, is the fact that- if it weren't for the title- you wouldn't have known the whole thing was driven by black mold at all.

You are completely left to deduce that based on the film's title alone.

Which isn't necessarily a fault.

But it doesn't really suggest mature writing skills, either.

That being said...it's entertaining enough.

But it could have been substantially better, if they just sussed out the narrative a little more thoroughly.

Particularly in regards to the ending.

But it is what it is.

3.5 out of 10.

The movie was on it's way to being a really good film minus some rough dialog, but i feel like they didn't know how to end the film and it just comes off as lazy writing, they did a great job with the atmosphere and cinematography but ending it like they did just felt like they didn't know how to land it.

There were some pretty good practical effects used so props to them for not going the CGI route but at the end of the day i feel like the ending hurt this film really bad. You can't build up suspense and atmosphere and never finish the story you started to tell, it's a real rug pull the audience because this film had potential to be great but a mediocre send off takes a lot of points off.

That is why I have to give it a 5 out of 10, It's such a shame because i was really invested in the story.

Sitting here, unable to sleep, feeling miserable with a head cold, I stumbled across this made by Tubi movie. So let me say, I thoroughly enjoyed it. If I had more energy to write a proper review I could try to do it justice, but if nothing else I'll put my vote out there.

Starts off, first third feels like an art film. Camera work is good. Main actress good. Those YouTube videos of old buildings, abandoned places... take that creepy backdrop and then apply some original ideas for a story, and you start to get a feel for this well done movie.

Just a small cast but everyone held there own. The story keeps you pulled in tight, and there are things to keep considering... why, what, who, how. Good stuff.

Near the end...The initial credit scene, before the text centric credits, brought back that eerie vibe you got at the start. It is truly unrelated, but it somehow reminded me of The Walking Dead's opener. Maybe I was imagining it, but I really dug it regardless.

Trying to find more content, a group of urban explorers decide to visit a haunted mental asylum that no one else wants to, but the more they stay there for their videos they come to find that the black mold in the facility may not be responsible for the visions they face of their greatest fears.

This one wasn't that bad for what it is. One of the finest features here is the impressive setup that generates a highly entertaining time in a genuinely creepy atmosphere throughout. Building off the workable main setup which focuses on the couple going through the abandoned buildings and finding their potential target in a derelict building left empty with tons of ragged clothing, decaying furniture, and absolutely decaying artifacts left behind that once signaled someone lived there but not recently, this allows the storyline to generate a rather creepy and chilling tone inside. The backstory of the location ties in immensely well with the physical appearance of it, giving everything an appropriate context so the whole idea of something creepy happening in a creepy location that no one can be sure is real is not all comes together to generate a kind of impressive setup for everything to work off of. As they continue around the facility and start to encounter a series of weird events, there's a lot to enjoy here. The first instances that something's happening with the idea that the facility is making them hallucinate various dreams and memories of their past, the introduction of the squatter living there who captures them and starts trying to screw with their minds is a fine way of going about bringing in the plots in the second half where they're so at odds with each other the situation rapidly deteriorates. As everyone is at odds with everyone else due to the stress of the situation and the hazardous location they find themselves in, this all sets in motion a frenetic final half as the whole idea of not knowing what's real or not means that the encounters with the scarecrows, the stalker chasing them through the hallways of the building or the hallucinations of their past coming to interact with them has some worthwhile elements presents. These are all enough to make the film likable although there are some issues with this one that do bring it down. The main detriment here is the unnecessary decision to include the squatter who lives in the building as this doesn't end up adding anything to the film. His inclusion in the film stalls the momentum considerably with the unnecessary stalking antics, holding them captive in his living quarters, and taking the focus away from the far more intriguing idea of the building coming to affect their health and well-being by going far more into repeated conversations about their past influencing how they react. It's not in the slightest bit interesting or chilling and really only enhances the running time. That does come to pass in the other factor here where a lot of the encounters do get drained of their genre thrills with the way it plays out with everything here turning into a confusing mess rather than anything, and overall, these issues all come together to bring this one down.

Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Language and Graphic Violence.