Disconnected

Greetings And Salutations, and welcome to my review of Disconnected; here's the breakdown of my ratings:

Story: 1.50 Direction: 1.50 Pace: 1.25 Acting: 1.25 Enjoyment: 1.50

TOTAL: 7.00 out of 10.00

This little-known picture came as a pleasant, if slightly disturbing, surprise. It possesses some intriguing concepts and is one of the better modern telephone horror films.

The screenplay, written by Director Gorman Bechard and Virginia Gilroy - based on her short story - tells the tale of Alicia and Franklin's doomed romance and throws in a generous spattering of mystery, mayhem, and murder. One day when Alicia leaves for work at the video store, she spots an elderly gentleman who appears distressed. Being a kindly person, she offers him a cup of tea. However, no sooner has the tea been brewed and she's walked back into the room does Alicia find him gone. Quickly she moves to her front door and looks out but can't see the gent anywhere. He was slow-moving and unsteady; there was no way he could have walked out, descended her stairs, and ambled down the street before Alicia scouted the neighbourhood for him. The incident troubles her, but she soon forgets him when the phone calls start coming. Franklin is a cinephile. One day he pops into Alicia's store and shyly asks her out. She happily accepts his advances as she's unsure of Mark, her ex, and her twin sister Barbara. Her sister has issues, and one's to seduce her sister's men. Alicia believes Mark has already fallen under her temptations. And this theory is borne out when she receives a call from Barbara. However, it appears to be a crossed line as Bab's not conversing with her but with Mark, and she's saying that her sis is clueless about them. But this isn't the only curious call she's received, and it won't be the last. Because, now, when the phone rings and she picks up, an undulating shriek screech from the earpiece before the strange and obscure chatter starts. Is she suffering a mental breakdown? Are these aural delusions? While out in the streets of her town, a stalker is killing and mutilating women. The police are having little luck in apprehending the slasher. Will they find him out in time, or will Alicia and Bab's end up on the wrong end of his blade? A lot is going on in Disconnected, but it never feels overly stuffed or heavy. Bechard and Gilroy magnificently weave together all the strands into one strong rope of a tale. They keep the narrative flowing smoothly and fill it with appealing and credible characters. I particularly like the two detectives; they have a je ne sais quoi about them.

Another positive is Bechard's direction. This guy attempts to make every scene interesting at every opportunity. He uses light and shade, varying camera angles, different styles of panning, quick cuts, and composition to entertain the audience. I especially liked the phone call segment when Alicia rings Franklin to accept his dinner offer. We see her in the video store dialling his number. We then have a semi-close-up of Franklin appearing to wake up in his bed and answer the phone. After they hang up, we stay in Franklin's bedroom, but this time we're standing looking down at the foot of the bed. We slowly pan up the bed to reveal the bloody chaos. It's a simple shot, but it works well. There's also a superb rolling pan in the nightclub to witness the patrons sitting at the bar. It doesn't bring anything to the story, just interest in a filler scene, but it's good.

As for the performances, these are all above par. However, I would've liked more tension and darkness from Mark Walker (Franklin), especially in the murder scenes. He's a tad soft for my liking. But apart from that, everyone does well and are on an even keel.

I would gladly recommend this macabre piece of cinematography to every Horror and Dark Thriller fan. It's original and mysteriously entertaining, and a wonderful way to spend a dark autumnal night. But beware, I have found this story has a way of crawling into your cerebrum and nestling there.

Don't listen to the voices on the phone. Focus on my voice; now, please read over my IMDb lists - Absolute Horror and Killer Thriller Chillers, to see where I ranked Disconnected before I have my fun with you.

Take Care & Stay Well.

Disconnected (2017)

* 1/2 (out of 4)

Women are being brutally murdered by a psychopath. At the same time, video store worker Alicia (Frances Raines) begins dating a new guy but she's constantly worried that her slut sister Barbara Ann (also played by Raines) might be trying to do something wrong.

Gorman Bechard made DISCONNECTED before doing PSYCHOS IN LOVE and I must say that the title of this movie perfectly summed up my feelings on it. I really did feel disconnected throughout the entire film and I had a really hard time trying to connect with anything going on. To say the film struggled to hold my attention would be an understatement.

This film has quite a bit going on with it as you've got the entire story dealing with the sisters. You've also got the story dealing with the good sister and her new relationship. You've also got a detective (Carmine Capobianco) talking directly to the camera as he tries to solve the killings. All of this is going on in a film that runs 84-minutes and to say it's very fair to say that the overall movie is very uneven and it seems like they weren't quite sure how to handle everything.

For the most part the performances are good enough for this type of film. There's some sleaze elements with some nudity and some mildly gory scenes but consider this is a slasher film, neither are really up there among the genre's more memorable moments. With that said, fans of the director might want to check this out but others can certainly stay clear of it. I will add that it was fun seeing a video store like they used to be.

My review was written in January 1986 after watching the movie on Active video cassette.

"Disconnected" is a low-budget horror film made by locals in Waterbury, Connecticut, which tries to surmount the cliches of the genre, but emerges as a routine picture. One-man filmmaker Gorman Bechard shows some style, especially in flashy insert shots, but needs to come up with more original material.

Frances Raines toplines as Alicia Michaels, a young woman who works as a sales clerk at Valley Video, a home video store. She's had a fight with her deejay boyfriend Mike (Carl Koch), accusing him of having slept with her twin sister Barbara Ann (also played by Raines), and now a young guy Franklin (Mark Walker) keeps hanging around Valley Video trying to get a date with Alicia.

Meanwhile, the cops are investigating a series of slasher murders, with evidence (shown to the viewer but not known to the cops) implicating Franklin. Alicia is plagued by annoying phone calls that feature harsh noises. She also becomes involved romantically with Franklin.

Although Bechard plants some interesting clues in the opening reel, plotline goes haywire when Franklin is seduced by twin Barbara Ann, murders her and then, in a poorly designed scene (it's largely omitted, referred to verbally later) is killed by the cops. The killings continue after Franklin's death with an open-ended finale ponting at the real killer.

Bechard's exposition scenes, particularly with the lackadaisical cops, continually mock the rigid format of slasher films, but ultimately his picture lapses into these cliches, such as the overuse of he phone call gimmick. Leading lady Raines, who has been featured in many B-films of late, is impressive in her dual role, combining vulnerability with the ambiguity of possible madness necessary in a "Repulsion"-type heroine.

Both the (extremely) low budget production values and the bad acting helped to create a film that was reminiscent of giallo, which brought a sense of nostalgia to the table for me- however, Disconnected has characters that are the 'every day' american type, and this, alongside the graininess of the cheap film stock, makes the film seem much more like a 70's film than an 80's one. The more real violence contributes to the 70s feel- other than the acting, there is no cheese to be found here. The first 3/4 of this film were absolutely fantastic. A real sense of tension and a blend of realistic, sleazy subplot alongside a more surreal main plot made Disconnected an absolutely unique and interesting piece. After the subplot culminates however, the film falls off, and begins to wear out its welcome. Overall this film is actually really cool as long as you can stand the super low budget feel.

Four stars...for THIS film; all the proof you need to realize the rating system here just can't be taken seriously. "Disconnected" is, for lack of a better description, a movie for people who are truly into film. It's not a movie to simply watch for entertainment, or as a distraction, but rather something to be studied for it's technique, camera angles, experimental ideas that come together to create a totally unique experience. New wave music and 80's fashions are on display, as this intriguing story that centers around a group of people that love movies and music...and sex and murder, unfolds like some nostalgic dream. The fact that the cast, both male and female, is gorgeous, doesn't hurt the production at all. Alicia works at a local video store where she rents big box movies to the locals. The store is decorated with movie posters. When she goes home to a place that is also covered with movies posters, you realize that Alicia is a big movie fan. She has an identical twin sister, Barbara Ann, who is as crazy about her sisters boyfriends as Alicia is about classic movies. One of the men sis decides to steal, is a violent, psychotic serial killer.. But things aren't as they seem, and Alicia has unknowingly invited an evil force into her home, by way of a mysterious old man, who seems homeless, and in need of a phone to call for help. That old man disappears when Alicia turns her back. She assumes he has left her house...but he hasn't. This evil presence manifests itself through the telephone, when Alicia starts being terrorized by a horrible, evil, ear splitting sound on the other end of her phone line. The connection between the serial killer and this evil force isn't explained, but the whole thing is just such a chilling and fascinating mix of horror and oblique mystery. "Disconnected" is sort of a punk rock movie, with it's music and clothing, and those night club scenes. The characters are those hip people who always seem to know the cutting edge bands and the underground music venues. Shot on a tiny budget, the gray, late Autumn scenery creates an atmospheric and unsettling world. Strangely the recent horror film "It Follows" has a very similar aesthetic to this film, and I wonder if the director of that movie is a fan of this obscure gem. The bluray restoration for "Disconnected" is a welcome addition to any fan of cult and avant garde horror, and it already goes for a hefty price on auction sites. And this film is exactly that; a film for movie collectors and serious film buffs. Casual viewers will most likely not comprehend the greatness that is this film..