A Wounded Fawn

I had no idea of what was going on after the halfway point in this film.

The first act was great. Nice premise, great acting, good environment, and setting up to be quite the thriller.

The second act however goes completely off the rails. I'm not sure what they were thinking. It turns into a 1970s psychological drama and you can't determine what is real and what is not.

This is one of those films I wish they had tested with audiences before completing the entire thing because I'm confident most who watched it were equally confused by the end.

What was the purpose of the owl? How did these people come to life?

First and foremost, I would like to put a disclaimer that if you are not a fan of something without a distinct throughline, some artsy fartsy-ness and a true indipendent production... this is plainly not for you. Please, give it a shot, but your close minded 1 star review means nothing in that sense.

Now, with that being said... this was a mixed bag for me and as an indi actor who knows much about the scene, I'll judge it accordingly. There were a lot of pros and cons to this one, yet there are still aspects to be appreciated and enjoyed despite it's missteps.

The first thing you will notice is the grainy filter with dust specs all over it, giving it a 90s film reel feel. At first I was not a fan and found it distracting, but settled into it and liked the older filtered look with the over saturation while assisted by a lot of nice shots. Lots of artsy close ups that felt expected that I could have lived without but it's fine.

The story started out solidly engaging, which the first act was more successful with that than the second. You will notice a lot of spoon fed foreshadowing along with a decent amount of contrived dialogue. Neither were super horrible and almost felt like it was in a purposeful 90s style... at least we can hope. I will say, in the first act they did not do a great job at establishing the level of her and the "mystery mans" relationship. It was like one line would feel like they were strangers, next it would feel like they have known each other for two months, the next three dates.

The second half was when it went into full mania, slowed down a bit and kind of fell off the rails. I'm sure there were plenty of metaphors and allegories that went over my head, which is okay, but if you don't mix that in with a little bit of laymans then your message gets lost and doesn't reach as many people as it could... and if you're not making a movie for the masses, that's fine too but it also runs the risk of edging on pretension.

As far as the acting goes, this was also a mixed bag. On one hand i thought the lead girl did a great job. Her delivery was natural and down to earth yet still had a little flair making it her own and unique. I would love to see her in something else. Whereas our psycho dudeman maybe paled in comparison a bit. He totally looked the part, but a lot of his delivery felt a tad "silly" which could have lent itself to that socially awkward, quirky psychopath... However, it just didn't quite get there for me and came off more stilted and contrived for the majority of it unfortunately. I did however love that extended final shot. So weird and disconcerting. I know that was uncomfortable and not easy, so good job.

Some technical stuff - as I said before I ended up really liking the way it looked. The audio levels were off at times making dialogue a little difficult to hear. Also the sound design/effects were a little much at times and edged on distracting. The score was interesting and I liked it. Loved the costume design, particularly in the first act. Owl man and the reveal both looked a little juvenile and silly while horned twig man was the most creepy and successful. I was pleased with the special effects/ gore for the level of production this was, I thought they did a good job. The only thing was the color of blood was off.

Over all I think that this was a successful indi flick and should be judged as such. This is not meant to be your typical, brainless Hollywood blockbuster...so keep that in mind. I do think that there were a lot of ideas here and maybe their "mission statement" got a little convoluted but with a plethora of ideas there are going to be hits and misses. I don't usually write reviews this long, so when I do I always say it obviously made me feel something. So I'd rather that, than not. Would recommend.

How it was filmed is very cool had that old school vibe to it. The start of the film was strong and to the point... but it just seems that the love just went limp and you just said as you were.. started 100 for the first 30mins rest was just flat... I think my horror days have come to a end.?

The cast was good main lady really done well.and would like to see her in more stuff. Now back to this film. The flatness of the film just tryed to much off that clut old vibe what didn't really work them days let alone now.... would of like it to have have a old vibe with new flow would of bin nice to of seen as the start of the film was bang on.

Travis Stevens' A Wounded Fawn is undoubtedly several notches above his Girl on the Third Floor. The 16mm visual style and gruesome-looking special effects are notable in a film with a straightforward Act One and a twisted Act Two. Art is a key factor in the film, and its finer layers are heavily soaked in it. The plot is simple: an art-obsessed serial-killer (slash thief) is seeking his next target, an art authenticator. But what begins as a slasher with a sprinkling of Greek mythology moves into a much darker, Hell Raiser-esque space, delving deep into surrealism, compounded by a supernatural recompense.

The surprise element here is whether it's the killer's mind playing games with him (after he gets hit in the head) or if he's really in a purgatory-like place where he's being psychologically tortured as punishment for the deadly sins he's committed. What also works are the two lead performances. Both Sarah Lind (as Meredith) and Josh Ruben (as Bruce) are pretty effective. While the film loses a little momentum in Act Two, the much-talked-about end credits sequence is a winner (akin to Pearl), both from the perspectives of storytelling and performances.

Let's just start of by saying this film isn't for everyone. So please spare me the whiny reviews from all of the people out there that aren't willing to immerse themselves in something pretty far out.

I really loved the practical fx and the cinematography of this film. Seeing something shot on film in 2022 was great. It's a straight forward but very unconventional little tale about a serial killer who's victims manifest themselves as some kind of Greek/Roman demons inside the killer's insane and damaged mind. Needless to say, things become very surreal by the end. There is also a great sense of humor behind it all. A scene with a dog sporting woman's head comes to mind as the funniest part... it's pretty entertaining.

I'd like to see this filmmaker make something a little more grounded. I loved the technical aspects of the film. Was it a little too artsy? Maybe By the end. But that doesn't mean I didn't enjoy it. Definitely worth a watch if you appreciate the type of things. I think this filmmaker could potentially evolve into a pretty great one if he kept things a little more grounded. Or he could just keep making things like this and that's fine too because it's pretty good. 8.7out of 10. B+