The Morningside Monster

I just saw this film at a local screening in Atlanta and really enjoyed it. I met the director and some of the actors, and the spoke about all the trials and tribulations they had when making the film. Considering the budget, etc., I was highly entertained. And it had a really great twist ending that I really did not see coming at all. The fact that some people don't get what actually happens in the film is laughable. The main actor was really good, like well above the acting of most indie flicks I watch. I guess there's one born every day.

No real surprises here. Very much a substandard, threadbare and generic DTV masked serial killer slasher with a couple of familiar names attached. But don't fear you do get a bit of nudity here and more blood here and there. You just gotta stick it out. In a small rural working class town Morningside, a group of drug runners seemed to be targeted by a ritualistic serial killer.

The progressive drama features heavily, as it's more or less story based, developing a few level-headed plot threads (the sheriff's relationship with a long-time friend / and the friend's struggles to care for his ailing wife), giving certain actions a bit of weight and character motivations (conflict between drug runners) for the first hour. In doing so, it can meander and feel flat, where I found the killer and the mystery around their exploits to be pushed aside early on (so it seems), downsizing the red herrings, even though from the get-go there's only one or two real choices, where it's not too hard to figure it out. Our sheriff seems to trip and fall into a lot of the clues, than any real work, as the viewer is a couple steps ahead and I don't think we are meant to be either. In spite of that I was kept engaged mainly thanks to better-than-expected performances. Robert Pralgo goes about things in a rather relaxed manner as the town sheriff, maybe too so, but it's a likeable performance. Gotta love his; "drugs are bad" speech to a class of school kids. Reliable genre favorite Tiffany Shepis gives proceedings a bit more punch as his deputy and a dreary Nicholas Brendan pines a lot, which is understandable from what his character is facing. Other than the strong core, the rest of the cast are hit or miss.

It does take its time to get where it's going, but in the second act it gathers momentum throwing in some deranged jolts, no real tension, by lingering on cheap gore FX, yet resourceful for its budget, as our killer (wearing a glittering black cloak and ceremony mask), when they're not using a sacrificial mace, messily goes to work on their victims with a grinder removing vital organs in a sort of "DEXTER" style set-up. It looks it, and it's executed quite plainly, outside of some oddly titled camera shots, but it's more than acceptable in its low-rent delivery.

Wow, this was just a really bad script. The acting was okay for the most part but the camera work was definitely high school level. The close ups with the blurred background foretelling something ominous then, quick zoom to the "ominous area " laughable. I have no idea how this could be compared to anything John Carpenter has put out. Even his worst films are Oscar worthy compared to this. This is what I'd expect on the Syfi channel.

Buffy fans will love seeing Xander (AKA Nicholas Brendon) on the big screen in a mystery that could have easily been a season finale episode of Buffy! This is a monster mystery cop drama that pulls at the heart strings (thank you Amber Chaney)and provides some scary moments.

I don't expect the movie will be Oscar worthy, but it is a great time and a very entertaining film! Robert Pralgo gave a spirited performance. The pace of the movie was wonderful and there was never a dull moment. I enjoyed the movie very much.

All the film is missing is a supernatural Slayer to come and save the day!

You can tell these guys put everything they had into this movie. This really made up for the obvious budgetary constraints.

The acting was surprisingly good from the primary cast. The supporting actors were less capable, but did far better than your average low-budget horror flick.

The cinematography, set design and editing were professional.

The script was clearly written by someone with talent. The pacing of the story was even an constantly built to the climax.

There were some major plot-holes around the narrative's red haring. And some references to the FBI that made no sense. But they didn't ruin the film.

Makeup was surprisingly good.

Where this movie fell short and broke the viewer's suspense of disbelief constantly was where the clearly did not have the budget for anything better. If you love your indi horror flicks, half the fun is admiring how the film was made, but if that's not why you're watching, it will ruin the movie for you.

For example, it took me a few fight scenes (where the murderer ambushes the victim to be) to workout why they were so poorly choreographed and clumsily cut. The film crew clearly couldn't afford to damage the set. So they had to clumsily pretend there was a struggle while trying their best not to scuff the walls or floor. The murder weapon was clearly made of foam and none of the actors were actually struck with it. Either they couldn't afford to make more than one, or they couldn't afford the liability of actually hitting something with the prop.

In all, a worth while watch if you love your low-budget scary films.

6 out of 10.