This was a movie that I got from winning a contest through a podcast. It is part of a compilation of 8 Midnight Horror Movies - Hatchets & Cleavers. This isn't starting out well though as this isn't a horror movie and it also doesn't feature either of these weapons.
That isn't to say I hated this movie though. We get an interesting set up here. Our lead character, Matty Matthews (Jacob Hedman), has been accessed to this workshop with a famous criminologist, Dr. Ronald Klugard (Luca Berovici). This takes Matty to Cape Cod area.
As he leaves, he's given a book titled Dirt Boy. The crimes within in happened in the town he's going and the writer still lives there. Matty listens to it on tape to pass the time. He gets sucked into searching out the places of the murders and it leads to him being targeted as the killer is still around.
What I like about this film is the small town feel. Everyone knows everyone. They love their author, Atwater Bridges (Arthur J. Walsh). They also bring in tourists to the area and this seminar from Dr. Kulgard seems important too. I like that the town knows about the murders, but thanks to Atwater, it has given them a strong economy here. When Matty looks into the crime though, they circle the wagons to stop him.
The story needs work though. We start in a flurry and I was lost at first. I did settle in though. From there we get an interesting little mystery. It is a bit farfetched with some things, but I can work through that. The acting is decent. For the budget though, I thought it was fine. The movie is from 2001 and a low budget, so it looks like it. I do think they do some interesting things with cinematography so I'll give credit there.
We get an interesting concept here, but the execution falls short. It is using elements we've seen before. For me, I'd say this is over average. Despite it not fitting with the compilation, it was a decent enough start.
My Rating: 6 out of 10.
