Artik

Hmmmm. This movie is hard on me because it has everything I love in an indie horror film but I can also see why some wouldn't care for it. From the violence to the setting to the music to the actors. I love it all. This is the unique flavor of true indie horror/thriller. With that being said, there are a few flaws but so does almost every indie horror film. This movie has a great storyline going for it with a nice "coming of age" feel but the director seemed to have trouble presenting things clearly and in an orderly fashion. Most of the movie is like this and 25 minutes in I still wasn't able to fall under the film's spell. However, by the third act I was fully invested in the film. I really like Chase Williamson and it was great to see him in the role of a "real cool" good guy. The trailer teases by implying max violence when really the violence is A-typical and almost all of it is shown off screen. Still, for me, it was satisfying enough. I love the casting. Jerry G. Angelo shines as Artik and Chase Williamson is also very good as Holton. It's a tense good vs evil story and the showdown is exhilarating to watch. Another thing this movie does well is keep the viewer on their toes with a loud and impending score that punches ur eardrum with sounds of tension and terror. The actual film stands firm at a 69 minute run time but that's a perfect runtime for this film as it's punchy and to the point..nice work Tom Botchii. 7/10

Just viewed this at the New Jersey Horror Con. My first film fest and I really enjoyed this film. Lots of creepiness, blood, horror and good camera work. Acting by all was great, Jerry Angelo as Artik, was a great character, good acting. Story was weird and provided a good horror atmosphere.

I read some reviews before watching Artik so I had my hopes up for a good serial killer horror movie but in the end it wasn't that special at all. It all looks like it's been done before, no element of surprise here. The sound gave it a good creepy atmosphere, gave it some suspense, and suspense it needed because the story itself wasn't that great. Overall the acting was okay, not great but not bad either. I'm kind of done with brutal torturing scenes, it was creepy when it was new, now it's all been done before, and better.

The good: it's grain and well-shot. Congrats for hiring a real DP and film crew with actual knowledge of camera placement, movement and lighting. Most of the cast is good. The music is rocking, and adds to the overall good atmosphere. The makeup is quite professional. The horror is adequately tense.

The bad: the guy playing the baddie is bad at acting. And his dialogue is so idiotic. It would have been much better if he was mute. And the overall film is just kinda there.

The trailer really did its job well, made me eager to see the film. It looked like a dark, gritty and violent revenge type film. But it's just the run of the mill hick farmer killer who uses his kids as slaves and a nosey straight edge man who decides he'll be a hero and save the kid. And that really is all there is to it. Nothing more. Shame as the film in the trailer looked great. The film is kinda tame really with hardly any gore to speak of and forget character development. It's not bad acting etc but just didn't go anywhere at all. Disappointing.