TW - SA
Happy Tuesday Horror Fans! I checked out a movie from 2012 that had an interesting poster, and this was a great reminder to never judge a book by its cover. This poster was the scariest thing about this movie. This film follows Eli (played by Spencer Daniels) when he moves to a farm with his family. Shortly after arriving, he meets a girl, Amanda (played by Alexia Fast) who he quickly develops feelings for.
While this is marketed under horror it felt like much more of a romance-centered film. While it seems like the audience is supposed to root for Amanda and Eli, we don't get a ton of development with their relationship if you can even call it that. Eli and his family are working for a man named Waylon (played by Brad Dourif).
As the film progresses, we learn that Amanda is actually dead and was killed by her brother Waylon. The audience then discovers that there is a tree on the property that if you are hanged from then your spirit haunts the grounds essentially. Amanda makes Eli promise to protect her and her body which he of course does since he has fallen for her. Waylon then gets upset that Amanda won't show herself for him and he takes himself to the tree and hangs himself so he can confront his sister and he attempts to assault her. Amanda then pleads for Eli to cut her down and let her go so her brother can't hurt her anymore. After he cuts Amanda and Waylon down it seems like Eli and his mother could finally have a nice quiet life.
Overall I'm not sure if this is a horror movie aside from the horror of a person that Waylon is. It felt much more of a tragic romance than an actual horror film. The woods add to the spooky and isolated aesthetic throughout the film. There seemed to be odd plot lines that didn't add much to the overall story, like Waylon's gambling debt. Honestly, I would recommend skipping over this one, don't let the poster fool you. While it was just short of 90 minutes I would recommend "Shark Side of the Moon" over "Last Kind Words" any day.
2 out of 10 Screams