Final Caller

Final Caller is Written and directed by Todd Sheets. Todd is an iconic filmmaker who has inspired me for years . He does things his way and really is loved by the fans of this genre. Now Todd returns with a cool Little slasher flick, just in time for the summer.

Final Caller is about a radio talk show host Roland Bennett (Douglas Epps). Douglas Epps is over the top and kills it in this movie. This is a major reason to see this movie for his performance. Yeah he is obnoxious and you want to kill him yourself, but that's the role he is playing. It's so fun to watch and he nails it perfectly.

He is called upon to solve a murder mystery as on air calls reveal the murders unfolding on his overnight show called "On through the Night". The serial killer The Outsider (Jack McCord) is slicing and dicing his way through his victims. He is calling in his killings and wants to make an appearance. Also in for the mix is Rolands ex wife serving divorce papers. Just adds to the chaos.

So when The Outsider makes his appearance the host and his crew is in for a night of bloody mayhem. This movie doesn't disappoint of what us fans expect. There is the usual closeups of blood, intestines and tons of squirting blood. Gallons and gallons.

Todd once again wears all the hats and after over 30+ years of doing this he hits his mark and then some. So no worries fans. The blood is poured on thick and the slasher gore is old school fun that we have come to cherish. This has been reported to be one of his lowest budgeted movies but the quality is beautiful. Rich sound and colors make this feel like a movie Way above it's budget and a pleasure to watch.

The pairing up of Douglas Epps and Jack McCord was genius. They feed off each other and deliver a beautiful performance that deserves a revisit in either a sequel or a new project. These guys are great together. Along with Todd Sheets direction these guys can become a new horror duo that will be eagerly watched with every movie.

While dealing with his own personal problems, the host of a shock radio show becomes increasingly unnerved as a man claiming to be a savage serial killer continually calls into the show saying he'll continue killing until he finishes a sadistic ritual and put him and his staff in danger.

There's quite a lot to really like with this effort. Among the more impressive aspects of this one comes from the highly enjoyable setup that allows the two characters to play off each other incredibly well. The main characters that we follow throughout here, with the sleazy shock-jock host that's going through numerous personal crises, that's actively aggressive to callers and upsets everyone around him, and the serial killer who's going around killing people while trying to make a call into his show in order to talk through is issues, sets the film off rather quickly. The two going back-and-forth here while trying to put their various viewpoints across as he believes the caller is just a nutjob looking for publicity. The conflicting nature of their conversations manages to bring about some fun times here and it's all handled quite effectively. That setup allows the film to come together quite nicely for a series of brutal and graphic kills that are rather fun. The fact that they're being committed over the radio while he's on the show gives this a different energy instead of the usual stalking and slashing that's usually found here in the first half which features some wholly impressive torture setups unleashing tons of great gore. The second half here is quite fun with it turning into a more traditional slasher feature concerning the killer arriving at the studio and bringing about a series of impressive sequences involving the killer and a secondary psycho coming into play that changes things up in an unexpected manner. With some nice gore effects and some shocking elevations that come about, these aspects manage enough to hold it up over its problematic issues. There aren't too many flaws here but it does have some problems. The main drawback to be had here is the rather weird second half that comes off as quite unnatural and realistic with how the reactions to everything play out. The fact that a serial killer is openly butchering everyone in the studio with them in graphic and brutal means yet the reaction to everything going on doesn't read as concerned for their lives but rather an annoyance. Everything that's happening here is played as if there's an inconvenience to be running through the studio trying to stay alive and it is slightly offputting that there's not a more concerted effort here. As well, there's some obviousness to be had in the low-budget effects work that takes place here which stands out somewhat, but overall there are not too many flaws here.

Rated Unrated/R: Extreme Graphic Language, Graphic Violence, and Nudity.

With me never having heard bout the 2020 horror movie "Final Caller" as I sat down to watch it, I literally had no expectations to the movie. I didn't know what I was getting myself into here, but the fact that it was a horror movie was sufficient to make me check it out. I am a horror fan after all.

Writer and director Todd Sheets put together a watchable enough script. Sure, this wasn't a stellar movie, nor was it a particular outstanding horror movie experience. But it was watchable enough for what it was. And if you enjoy low budget horror movies, then you might actually get a kick out of watch this 2020 movie.

Needless to say that I wasn't familiar with the cast ensemble in the movie, but I will say that the acting performances were fair enough. Nothing outstanding though, but fair enough.

The effects in the movie were actually surprisingly good for a movie of this budget and premise. So that certainly counted for something.

If you enjoy low budget horror movies, or am a newcomer to the horror genre, then give "Final Caller" a chance. But for a life-long horror aficionado, then I can't say that this was an outstanding movie. Watchable for what it was, sure.

This was a low budget horror movie that was made with a writer and director Todd Sheets's passion for horror movies, no doubt about that.

The movie's cover was actually over-selling the movie by a landslide, as it was far better than the movie itself.

My rating of "Final Caller" lands on a generous four out of ten stars.