Thou Shalt Kill

This may be low budget but it is worth every penny. Story and characters are all well done. All the characters are well developed and are played perfectly. This movie doesn't need any high priced props or special effects it is all in the story telling, character development.

It has your usual throat slits and multiple stabbing scenes. It has some family drama that fits perfectly into the story telling.

The story is told through flashbacks and first person descriptions of the killings. That's where the gore and comes in. The killer describing all the death scenes while our helpless victim tells her story through memories and dreams.

Bottom line is enjoy the movie and the surprise ending.

This film is compelling from the beginning to the unpredictable end. Vince Lozano and Augie Duke are exceptional as the serial killer and his scrappy and fierce victim. Director Richard Friedman excels at making this claustrophobic road trip not only riveting, but explosively and emotionally suspenseful. Nathan Illsley has found a way to write a new take on the thriller genre that we have not seen before. . This film exceeds it's budget, leaving other far more expensive serial killer films in the dust. Without relying on blood and gore, "Thou Shalt Kill" manages to create an atmosphere of emotional distress and imminent doom as the two personalities clash in their car barreling through the Vegas strip.

Director Richard Friedman has crafted a brilliant, but agonizing journey into the minds of his two adversarial leads. This is a film that stands out from the rest without being a cheap slasher or a creature feature. I was completely absorbed and was compelled to watch until the unpredictable end. Vince Lozano and Augie Duke are completely believable as the two choleric, but understandable people in the car during one night of hell. Even the backstory, told in a series of flashbacks held my interest as I was curiousp to see how it relates to the rest of the film. I wasn't disappointed. Neil Casey's night photography along with editor, John Riddle's precise cutting sucked me into the movie from the start. I do have to say that some of the few visual effects are weaker than hoped for, but this is not a film about special effects. If you are into intelligent psychological thrillers as I am, then this one is not to be missed.

This was a film that I got the chance to see thanks to Shirly from Studio Dome when she reached out to see if I'd be interested in watching it for review. After confirming I was interested, I started to look into this more and discovered that this is a 2025 horror film. This gave me a jump on my next end of year list.

Synopsis: a distraught ex-alcoholic mother who has nothing left to fear in life is confronted one night in her car by a crazed serial killer who can only kill those who fear him.

We start this in a hotel room. We're seeing a close up of a bible. There are two people on the bed, tied up and scared. We're hearing someone relay scripture. This person is Vince Lozano who is known as the priest. The couple are James Arthur Lewis and Melanie Jayne. The Priest is calling them fornicators as they're having an affair. They're being punished as he has a knife.

It then shifts over to a car where Shannon Donner (Augie Duke). She hears over the radio about a serial killer working in Las Vegas. They've already claimed 11 victims in 3 months. We then learn about Shannon through a phone call to her sister, Danielle (Alexis Iacono). Shannon just left a meeting with a therapist. She is considering finding a new one since all they're concerned with is her coping with alcoholism. Shannon is in the middle of a divorce from Jamie (Deliliah Andre). She makes a call to her attorney, Jeffrey Leibowitz (Tom Malloy). He gives her bad news, it isn't looking good about her maintaining custody of their son, Alby (Ayden Lozano).

This causes her to go into the nearby liquor store and relapse. It gives her the courage to then call Jamie, venting her drunken frustrations. This is just the beginning of a nightmare that continues to get worse when she's taken by the Priest. She wakes up in his car as they're traveling. He is shaken by her though. Normally, his victims plead and are scared. She's not. He's determined to change that though. It is through this drive we learn more about him and why he's turned to punishing people in the name of God. We also learn about Shannon and the truth of her situation.

That is where I'll leave my recap and introduction to the characters. Where I want to start is that this film isn't listed in the horror genre on the Internet Movie Database. There isn't a Letterboxd page as of yet, but I'm curious if it will be there. I'm not fully sure that this goes far enough into the genre. It is dark, we have this priest who is a serial killer taking our main character hostage, with a plan to kill her. It gets darker from there. There are also reveals though that does place this firmly as a thriller. It has a bleak enough concept that I'll include it.

Now that I set that up, let me delve deeper into our lead as this is a character study of her. I thought that it did well in giving us enough about Shannon before she's taken and getting into what she has to do in order to survive. I did appreciate that. Things are tough for her and we know she's made bad decisions. We jump into flashbacks throughout this to see that Alby was hurt while in her care. He cracked open his head while she was drinking. I did like developing that story and it makes more sense as to why Jamie wants full custody. It also gives her something to talk to the Priest about while they're driving. Duke had a good performance here. She needs to pretend to be drunk at different times. I also feel that she is broken with everything that has happened. I do have a gripe here as well.

Before I get to that, let me then discuss the Priest. I believe later we learn that his name is Hank. He is a recovering addict himself, who got clean and then entered the priesthood. He was the chaplain for a homeless shelter. There is an interesting story here about how he gave up on helping people after a tragic event happened. It broke his will to do good and then go to the Old Testament, wanting to be the wrath of God. Something interesting is that the things he's killing people for are on the Ten Commandments. He is killing, but he feels he's justified for it. Vince Lozano brings a good menacing feel to the role with his look and demeanor so that helps as well.

Let me then shift over to a major issue I have. I won't spoil this film since it hasn't been officially released yet. What I'll say is that, they introduce early that Shannon has a condition she's developed from her alcoholism where she hallucinates. These can just happen without her realizing it and it is used well here at times. It is used as foreshadowing for her and that is something I appreciate. My problem is that there are nightmare sequences and then something that happens late that annoys me. It is one of my bigger issues with films so I was disappointed after that.

I will then discuss filmmaking. This is one that I do think is made well enough. They are working with a low budget so that helps to keep this confined to Shannon and the Priest's cars for a majority. There is something unnerving about driving toward your death that ramps up tension. This is more about their back and forth, learning more about both characters. That means there are limited effects. I do think there are times where that hurt since we needed just a bit more for that to work better. This is also a slow burn. I do think that it could be trimmed a bit to help it run tighter. Other than that, the soundtrack fit what was needed.

Let me then finish out with acting. I've already said our two leads are solid, so once again I'll credit Duke and Vince. Ayden Lozano, who I'm guessing is related to Vince, was fine. He isn't great about showing emotion, but he's also a child so I'm not going to pick him apart. Andre is solid here as Jamie. What I like is that she's completely justified in what she's doing, but we're seeing it from Shannon's point of view. I'd then say that Malloy, Iacono and the rest of the cast were solid enough to push our characters to where they end up.

In conclusion, this has interesting elements to me. The interaction between a religious killer that needs his victims to fear him and then pairing that up with a woman who has given up due to the cards she's dealt. I thought that this made for an intriguing character study of them both. Duke and Vince Lozano were solid in their portrayals. This has a low budget, but that doesn't hamper what we're getting. The cinematography and framing help to hide the seams there. My issue is that we have a story troupe that I'm not a fan of and it hurt how this played out for me. It is also a bit too slow of a burn. I'd still say if you like movies like this, check it out and see how it works for you.

My Rating: 5 out of 10.