Berkshire County

SPOOKTOBER chapter 8: A Halloween-set Horror

A House invasion horror taking place on October 31st gave "Berkshire County" a.k.a. "Tormented" plenty of appeal despite the lackluster ratings, but little did I know, it turned out to be a rather frustrating watch with little to none of the craved-for seasonal vibes.

It all starts out reasonably well, but with a muddy, mean spirit. Our main character is Kylie Winters, a terribly bullied introvert teen, who gets cornered into giving a blowjob, is secretly filmed, and neither the school, parents, friends, the guy or his girlfriend is happy about that.. Impressively enough, throughout the runtime, the writer fails to establish enough sympathy for a character that essentially continuously suffers. Script frustrates frequently, characters, of whom some or unlikable, at times do not make rational decisions, among other things that interfere with the much needed realism.

Amidst the turmoil Kylie goes to a remote "mansion" to babysit two 8 year olds, and this is where three scary piglets come in, and try to break in. Motivation? Still not certain, so that's not so good. Sure, there's a "reveal" sort of move at the end, but it's just void. Although bringing nothing new to the table, the house invasion portion of "Tormented" is the one that works best, and keeps one engaged. A bit of suspense, a bit of gore, and at the very least an average cat-and-mouse thriller.

Eventually Audrey Cummings's directional debut runs its due course without many surprises on the way. Overall, the vibe of "Berkshire County" feels muddy, and not in a good way. The script should've been well revised before being greenlit. Set on Halloween, but has a few mentions of the word and couple pumpkins, so only recommended to die-hard fans of house invasion thrillers. My rating: 4/10.

It starts off really good. There is a lot of drama, there's a lot of not being able to do anything because of a "mistake" (though nowadays, when everyone could film you at any second, who could say they never did something they'd never wanted anyone else to know about, let alone it being recorded).

Having said that, after the initial "travel" to the country, the movie seems to kind of letting go of that premise, which is a shame. It doesn't work that good and the whole tape thing almost plays no role in what happens after a certain point. Not as much as it could have that is. Some twists are predictable and foreseeable, but it's still maintains a level of quality until the end. Decent acting for a horror movie too

Kylie Winters gives a blow job at a costume party. She is secretly filmed which is shared among her classmates. The guy is a douche and his girlfriend isn't happy either. Kylie reluctantly takes a babysitting job on Halloween night. People in pig masks come trick or treating. It's the start of a harrowing night.

The acting is relatively fine for a low budget indie horror. Kylie is pretty good. Marcus is too annoying as an idiot. He is so much better as a smarter scheming villain. His kill could have been done much better. The 911 call is an obvious twist. It would be better to accentuate the moment when she decides to save the kids instead of saving herself. The pig masks are great and the gore is functional. The filmmaking style is relatively flat. This is low value horror which isn't quite original enough, other than the pig masks. I do like the masks.

Why cast a woman aged in her early 30s in the lead role of a 17yo? That's just the start! Don't waste your time on this rubbish.

This is a rather conventional home invasion horror story that fans of the genre will find familiar.

As horror goes, this has some thrills. The villains are scary, as is their pursuit of the inhabitants. And the house itself is a star, with rooms that are very visual and a plethora of corridors and hiding places. The lead character evolves from mousy and helpless to develop the grit to fight back.

The story follows a well-trodden path with a facade of originality. It gives no motivation to the villains, who take tremendous risks for little benefit. Law enforcement is laughably incompetent. Parents are predictably clueless. The kills aren't very gruesome and lack intensity and catharsis. Twists are predictable and unimpactful.

The story finishes predictably and satisfyingly enough--it's a journey, not a destination. But then, as if the filmmakers decided they wished they made the movie very differently, a whole separate scene is tacked onto the end that is completely over the top. Apparently the film found itself with an overabundance of casting extras and gory makeup to use up. Maybe the filmmakers are auditioning for a sequel.