tellstar

I liked the basic scientific/supernatural ideas offered here, and I would have found the film a lot more interesting if it stuck with and developed them. Why has this girl become attuned to otherworldly messages and how can electronic devices be used to monitor supernatural phenomena? That's good stuff. Unfortunately, the thriller aspect of the film is the least successful, and that becomes obvious as those elements begin to dominate the plot in the third act. If you can't figure out who's behind a series of murders in the area in just a few minutes, then you're a really bad judge of character.

While watching a decidedly low-budget film, I often ask myself why the filmmaker's chose to devote time and money to making it. Was the story so compelling to them that they felt it must be told? Did they believe they'd make a killer sale to Netflix? Or did they receive a government grant that needed to be spent?

It's hard to say what motivated the team behind this film to undertake this talky, static production that barely qualifies as a zombie entry. It features an ineffectual and deceitful sod wandering around the countryside supposedly looking after his sister as he tries to find their father. Along the way they meet some other folks, have long conversations, drink beer - or get smacked about.

You meet a few "infected", but this is mostly a film about hiking and camping, punctuated by gabby intermissions and the main character - the author of his own misfortune - weeping at his self-inflicted fate.

With surprisingly few edits, this could be sold as stock footage of the English countryside.

Non-actor Don Cerrone tries so hard to fill the shoes of the main character, you may actually find yourself rooting for him to pull it off - just to suspend the misery. Most of the film features Cerrone stomping around an apartment unit and mumbling to himself during a demonic invasion. He breaks some furniture, fights a couple of people in demon suits and hides in a trash bin. When you think this can't get any more absurd, he dons a sombrero and starts pasting duct tape across his window for protection, while threadbare sets waver and wobble. There's also a painfully mawkish love scene and a "surprise" ending. It's strangely watchable if you're in the right mood - half asleep perhaps - and can get into the groove, which is why I give this ***.