The Morningside Monster

I just saw this film at a local screening in Atlanta and really enjoyed it. I met the director and some of the actors, and the spoke about all the trials and tribulations they had when making the film. Considering the budget, etc., I was highly entertained. And it had a really great twist ending that I really did not see coming at all. The fact that some people don't get what actually happens in the film is laughable. The main actor was really good, like well above the acting of most indie flicks I watch. I guess there's one born every day.

"The Attack of the Morningside Monster" is the pleasing product of an independent film crew with a healthy mixture of professionals and working people who love this genre and movies in general, so any fair and astute reviewer needs to keep this in mind. The producers make the most of a small budget, and a lot of preparation and intelligence went into planning and production.

The story has several layers and is a mystery/horror combination which forces you to pay attention if you want to solve it, otherwise the 'fake outs' will 'getcha,' Several of the leads are appealing and charismatic and fit in nicely here. It seems a must that this genre contain some flesh and gore, but neither is too much especially in comparison to what is seen today. The homages, intentional or merely suggested, to various films like I believe "Pulp Fiction" and "Silence of the Lambs," among others, are funny.

This movie is refreshing in several ways, starting with the fact that it's not a $200 million production and is therefore not too slick. Overall this is an engaging movie made by people who enjoy the goose-bumps, titillation, and fun of campy horror movies and have made their own nice contribution to this type of movie. See it with some mature friends and have some laughs and get a little scared at the same time.

You can tell these guys put everything they had into this movie. This really made up for the obvious budgetary constraints.

The acting was surprisingly good from the primary cast. The supporting actors were less capable, but did far better than your average low-budget horror flick.

The cinematography, set design and editing were professional.

The script was clearly written by someone with talent. The pacing of the story was even an constantly built to the climax.

There were some major plot-holes around the narrative's red haring. And some references to the FBI that made no sense. But they didn't ruin the film.

Makeup was surprisingly good.

Where this movie fell short and broke the viewer's suspense of disbelief constantly was where the clearly did not have the budget for anything better. If you love your indi horror flicks, half the fun is admiring how the film was made, but if that's not why you're watching, it will ruin the movie for you.

For example, it took me a few fight scenes (where the murderer ambushes the victim to be) to workout why they were so poorly choreographed and clumsily cut. The film crew clearly couldn't afford to damage the set. So they had to clumsily pretend there was a struggle while trying their best not to scuff the walls or floor. The murder weapon was clearly made of foam and none of the actors were actually struck with it. Either they couldn't afford to make more than one, or they couldn't afford the liability of actually hitting something with the prop.

In all, a worth while watch if you love your low-budget scary films.

6 out of 10.

Wow, this was just a really bad script. The acting was okay for the most part but the camera work was definitely high school level. The close ups with the blurred background foretelling something ominous then, quick zoom to the "ominous area " laughable. I have no idea how this could be compared to anything John Carpenter has put out. Even his worst films are Oscar worthy compared to this. This is what I'd expect on the Syfi channel.

Buffy fans will love seeing Xander (AKA Nicholas Brendon) on the big screen in a mystery that could have easily been a season finale episode of Buffy! This is a monster mystery cop drama that pulls at the heart strings (thank you Amber Chaney)and provides some scary moments.

I don't expect the movie will be Oscar worthy, but it is a great time and a very entertaining film! Robert Pralgo gave a spirited performance. The pace of the movie was wonderful and there was never a dull moment. I enjoyed the movie very much.

All the film is missing is a supernatural Slayer to come and save the day!