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.

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.

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.

My quick rating - 5,2/10. A slightly above average home invasion movie that delivers on the scares. After a girl agrees to babysit on Halloween, a trick or treater shows up to turn her night into a living nightmare. The cat and mouse game between the woman(Alysa King) and the killers is well drawn out and leads to a bit more plot then the usual. A decent attempt at trying something a little different in a genre that is stale and really doesn't give a whole lot of wiggle room for creativity. I guess the message so far in these movies is "Dont answer the door for trick or treaters" since they may end up being there to distract you for someone else to slaughter you. That should make you feel better in 18 days from now...(depending on what day your community allows trick or treating)

I recently watched the Canadian horror film 🇨🇦 Tormented (2014) on Tubi. The story follows a young woman babysitting on Halloween night. A boy in a strange mask knocks on her door, and she dismisses him. Shortly thereafter, other masked individuals arrive, and they seem unwilling to leave. What do they want, and why are they there on this particular night?

Directed by Audrey Cummings (She Never Died), the film stars Alysa King (The Dwelling), Madison Ferguson (The Shape of Water), Michael Lipka (Girl), Samora Smallwood (The Way Home), and Bart Rochon (Cascade).

This movie felt similar to The Strangers in many ways. The family dynamic is well established, and while the killers' motives are unique, they could have been better executed. The kills and horror elements are lacking for most of the film, except for the cool masks, which were my favorite part until the very end. The acting was solid and authentic enough. I particularly liked the ending, which had a smart twist and left me wondering, "Where was that throughout the film?"

In conclusion, Tormented has enough horror elements to make it worth a watch but not enough to stand out within the genre. I would score this a 5/10 and recommend seeing it once.