Conjurer

We love independent movies especially spooky ones that don't do the whole gore thing and we saw this review quoted from Dreadcentral.com back in August: "No word on a distro deal for the film yet, but I'm sure it won't take long for someone to snatch this up. Conjurer is a smart, tense ghost story that I'm sure will find its place among fans who are looking to avoid the usual ADD-causing jump scares and work instead on slowly witling away at your nerves." It really made us want to see it but there was no word about a release or anything and there was no follow up news then we saw it was going to play at the Dixie Film Festival a few weeks ago. We went and saw it and it was even better than expected and it even won Best Feature! They announced it was sold to Showtime and gets a national DVD release in late November which is cool because it's really worth watching. This is low budget and a bit slow but a whole lot better than movies like The Return or The Abandoned or The Messengers or Darkness.

A young couple moves into an old farmhouse a year after losing their unborn child. Strange, unexplained events take place, seemingly having to do with an abandoned cabin on the property.

CONJURER is an exceptional supernatural thriller. Or, perhaps it's something else. It could either be about a curse / occult conspiracy, or a man driven by schizophrenic delusions. The filmmakers have done a fantastic job of balancing dark, magical images with paranoid thinking and less-than-sane reactions from the protagonist (Andrew Bowen).

We're never quite sure if he's being tormented by a sinister entity, or simply breaking away from reality. Though the epilogue hints at a possible answer, it's sort of left to interpretation. This movie keeps us guessing throughout...

Just got back from the premiere screening, and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised and very impressed with this film.

The story established a thoroughly creepy premise, built the tension, included more than a few jumps and jolts, and had me and my wife hugging each other tightly for fear of the next scare.

So, a great horror film experience.

The production values were very high. The production design and makeup are first rate, and the effects are used sparingly and to maximum result.

Hope this gets a theatrical release, because it deserves to be seen! Check it out when you get a chance...

This is actually a pretty good little indie flick. Yeah there's nothing revelatory or terribly unique about the story framework but they didn't go down the gore road and attempted something of a throwback with creepiness instead of blood, something I can appreciate. I was actually pretty surprised. If you need something scary to happen right away then forget it...better watch something else. This is a gradual, slow burn kind of pacing that I didn't mind. I also didn't really know where the story was going and the ending caught me off guard with a psychological twist that was different. And different is good any day over same old shock or gore or Asian retread.

I'm quite wary of American ghost stories since they always seem to have several dozen false scares, loud sound effects and music, shock for shock sake that only shows a lack of imagination and dimwitted characters doing dimwitted things. A few of the exceptions are The Sixth Sense and What Lies Beneath. Spain has the best so far with The Others and The Orphanage. Most supernatural films that dish out the shocks can't or won't attempt unsettling, eerie or creepy moments because they have no faith in the audience who will think it's not scary enough or too slow. So even though this does not have a big budget and its actors are no names, they rose to the challenge. I was genuinely surprised to find the clichés kept to the absolute minimum!!! And thank God it was not a bloody repeat of The Ring! Enough with those films that all feel cut from the same cloth!! Are there things in this story that I would have chosen to do differently? yes, several of the scenes ended with weak transitions and I think the ending raised the question on just how much into the mind a ghost bent on revenge can reach that was a bit of a puzzler. But the pacing held my interest with a good rhythm, built on the suspense well and a spooky climax. So I'm happy to write as a fan of ghost stories that this was quite good.