A Chronicle of Corpses

A Chronicle of Corpses is set in 19th century America and tells the story of the Elliott family. From the opening scenes, we know this will be a dark tale; indeed, much of that opening sequence is shot in almost complete darkness. This will set the scene perfectly for what is a story of illicit love, repression, and redemption. You can feel and see the Elliotts crumbling under the weight of the anxiety and torment over what will likely be their ultimate fate. This is not a slasher horror film; the viewer is not handed a tidy package containing all the answers but, rather demands one to ask why and what if. More art film than true horror, A Chronicle of Corpses displays excellent cinematography, an almost too lovely soundtrack for such a dark story, stark but beautiful scenery, including the chapel where the story starts and comes to its perhaps inevitable end. The acting and directing were solid. A well done, impressive independent film definitely worth watching.

A declining aristocratic family, rife with secrets and sexual intrigue, finds itself being systematically murdered in this utterly pretentious piece of garbage. This film asks many questions like "Who is murdering these people?" and "Why are they being murdered?" but the only question I found myself asking was "How could a New York Times film critic could buy into this tripe?" The title got me interested, but the quote on the box from a New York Times critic made me take a look. After seeing the film all I can say is "Cancel My Subscription!" How a critic from a major publication could take this film seriously is beyond me. The photography has an interesting early- 70's European feel, but that's the only compliment I can muster. While the film makes it plainly obvious that writer/director Andrew Repasky McElhinney has seen a lot of foreign films, it isn't so obvious that he understood them. McElhinney's style is as forced and unnatural as it is laughable. He tends to set his actors in static poses and forces them to disclaim the stilted dialogue the flattest possible manner. This film could be featured in the old Saturday Night Live "Bad Cinema" skit. I can't say for sure whether the acting is bad. The overall effect of the acting is bad, but I believe the actors probably delivered exactly what Mr. McElhinney wanted. I know the list of films I have reviewed here on this website must make me look like the worst kind of cinematic philistine, but, trust me, I went to Film School. I appreciate a good art film. This isn't one. I thought I would be able to say this is the worst, most pretentious piece of crap I have ever seen, but then I saw McElhinney's first film: Magdalen. Geez.

WARNING TO HORROR FANS. Don't be fooled by the title. This is not a horror movie. It is horrible, but it is not a horror movie.

(Some Spoilers) Long, even though it's under 90 minutes, and torturous film about a deadly curse that was cast on the Eillot family. For the evil deeds committed by the Matriach of that family Grandmother Eillot, Marj Dusay,in the distant past.

The movie Begins with two persons connected to the Eillot's being murdered. A bagger, David Scott, who hangs out on the Eillot estate and the daughter of the Eillot's gardener Anne Swales, Amanda Scheiner. As the film preceded one by one the Eillot family members are murdered by someone, or something, with a grudge against them until there's no one left, of the Eillot's, to continue the family bloodline.

Were given the lurid background of the Eillot family with stories told to us, as well as actual scenes, in the movie like infidelity murder and madness. The movie introduces us to the Eillot's as their having communion at the church at their estate conducted by father Jerome, Jerry Perna. Father Jerome at first seemed to be the only normal person in the film but even that turned out to be just an illusion. An illusion in the minds of those of us watching and trying to make some sense out of "A Chronicle of Corpses".

The movie has a number of long and drawn out sequences, that last as long as five minutes, that only seemed to be nothing more then extra padding to make the film longer and thus somehow impressive to those of us watching it. The actors in the film read their lines with monotone deliveries and blank stares as if they were on sedatives or suffering from lack of sleep. It's as if they were in the process of being brainwashed by some weird religious cult. There were also a number of scenes of people in the film giving long boring and meaningless speeches about world and local conditions, this in early 19th century America, about slavery religion war integration and the environment that had nothing at all to do with what was going on in the movie that almost ended up putting you,if you were still awake by then, to sleep.

We finally get the truth of what's happening to the Eillot's, and why, from non other then Gradma Eillot herself. This coming from what looked like the comatose Grandma who up until then never said a single word in the film. With that, by letting the cat out of the bag, about her past indiscretions that lead to the deaths and carnage that's happening Grandma Eillot now sits back and relaxes by taking poison and doing herself in.

Mind-numbing and boring movie that you just can't wait for it to finally end. Since everyone in it seems to be in some semi-conscious state of mind and that you, by watching the film, feel that you'll end up just as comatose and brain-dead as those actors and actresses in the movie.

I missed this film at the 2002 (2003?) Philadelphia International Film Festival and being a fan of horror film-- and always fond of the local arts-- I was excited to see this made it onto DVD. Sadly, this film managed to put me to sleep. Twice. I'm sorry to say there isn't a single good thing about this film. The acting is atrocious; every character speaks in the same drunken, wispy tone, and none of them speak to each other, instead giving high school grade monologues that drone on indefinitely. The photography and editing are lackluster, and it seems that no one bothered to think about consistency of color. No matter, though, because this film did remind me that M. Night Shyamalan's "The Village" is due out soon and is of a similar theme.

A Chronicle of Corpses is not a movie for those looking for big scares or gore-filled killings. Rather, the movie provides its audience with long takes that border on making the audience feel uncomfortable or unsettled with light musical cues. The film relies on building tension through scenes that feel like vignettes of a dysfunctional and unattached family. Overall, I found slow panned shots through the woods and scenes framed like paintings to be reminiscent of David Lynch's style of slowly building tension and confusion until the climax where one is unsettled and yet still left with some grander questions. That said, while the family is supposed to be out of touch some of their performances seem wooden and uninspired and as the body count increases I felt neither a sympathy for the victims nor was I interested in cheering on the "mysterious presence."