Amber's Descent

So refreshing to see original content. Great film .

Amber's Descent harkens back to the 1970's tonal horror films. In particular I am reminded of Let's Scare Jessica To Death. Albeit because of budget constraints and unfamiliar cast, these atmospheric horror films invoke unworldly vignettes set in small towns of nowhere in particular. It is the journey of the netherworld that helps define the film from start to finish. Where are we? What time frame does it take place in? It doesn't matter. In fact in any of these films the location can be a literal Dantesque hell from start to finish.

Like as with, Let's Scare Jessica to Death, Amber's Descent is really about a journey of her psyche. Is anything real? The over-the top characters and portrayals are cries from her emotional id. This is not a film that is supposed to have a clear point A to Point B. This is a film to get under your skin and and haunt you late at night watching it alone on a small TV in an old house in the country.

This is an anachronistic tale in the vein of all late night horror tales that I saw as a child and I still think about as an adult. Were they works of great cinema? No. Did they do their job and creep into my subconscious - yes.

In fact, like the character Amber, after all these years, I am uncertain if what I saw actually existed or was it my childhood innocence manifesting something for me to label as my fear?

This film is nothing short of excitement and brilliance as the cast and crew deliver a well developed film that grabs for your attention from the very start. Without giving away any spoilers, the directors creativity allows the mind to venture in and feel as though you are a part of the movie in a orthodox Way. When it comes to getting an audiences attention, this film does exactly that this is a recommendation I would like I would recommend to all fans of the topic and also the fans of the Indie community. Very cleverly done and I give this film to thumbs up based off of the creativity that this movie provides along with a very well misdirection that causes a chain reaction of events.

I just gave one of the worst reviews on IMDB after trying to see this movie, having quit after watching for 40 minutes, however, something kept telling me to watch it until the end.

I guess I quit before the movie started developing more, since it slowly burns until it starts getting interesting.

All I can say is, it could be a LOT better. The photography is spot on, the house, colors and even garden are a must, but the slow pace can get boring for a long time if you have no pacience for slow burning mysteries.

Actor wise, it's no nomination for awards, but Kayla Stanton is perhaps the best actor on this, all the rest varies from very bad (sorry Michael Mitton) to getting the job done.

What the movie lacks is more suspense, to build the tension more until you get scared, to develop a bit more when anything relevant happens. As it stands it fails to scare and to take advantage of the mood to build a proper horror, haunting movie.

If a door is to be closed or open, let it happen at the right time, with the right music tone, with the right reaction from the actors. Sometimes I felt there was no reaction to really scary situations and this is where the main actor (Kayla) fails, failing to convince she was really terrified.

Want a good example of a very low budget movie, with 3 actors only that is a masterpiece? Watch "The Dead Room (2015)" - this is the kind of suspense I am talking about.

On top of all this, the ending seemed rushed and somehow fell in the old cliche of "let's confuse the viewer and in the end we just frame it in one word". It somehow ruined the whole movie for me.

As a curiosity, I found someone crouching on a corner of a scene that supposedly should not be there, I think this was not on purpose and it's towards the middle of the movie.

All in all, a below average mystery haunting movie, that could be so much more if the right elements were there, but a good effort nonetheless and very watchable, if you have a real taste for slow pace movies.

Not only is Amber's Descent beautifully shot, but from start to finish I couldn't take my eyes off of Amber. Her hair, her wardrobe, and most importantly her acting, was fantastic. I couldn't help but notice all the little details, like the shadows on the piano, and how the light came in through the leaded glass windows. Beautiful! So many little twists and turns, and I loved how it all came together in the end. Well done!