BRACKISH. (2015) MADE BY INDEPENDENT FILM COMPANY 'MAD ANGEL FILMS.' DIRECTED BY MATTHEW A. PETERS. WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY MATTHEW A. PETERS AND JASON J. COVEY.
STARRING RYAN SANTIAGO, WAYNE W. JOHNSON, CHARITY BUCKBEE, MARK JOSEPH PEEK, JOE CAPPELLI, CRISTINA DICARLO AND GRETA VOLKOVA.
REVIEW BY SANDRA HARRIS. ©
This is a terrific little 'backwoods' horror film which called to mind a million other similarly-themed fright flicks, but in a good way, not in any kind of derivative way or anything like that. It's made by 'MAD ANGEL FILMS,' an independent film company who've already produced fourteen full-length feature films with two more movies in post-production and one in production. Well, la-di-dah, your Majesties...! It's well for some, wink wink.
Anyway, it's a familiar enough story but, no matter how many films I watch with similar themes to this one, it doesn't matter. I just love the horny-young 'uns-slaughtered-in-the-woods-by-person-or-persons-unknown type of film. Any variation on this theme is fine by me.
The protagonists are not teens in this film, by the way. They're in their twenties and thirties and certainly old enough to know that the woods in horror films are always haunted or at least peopled by weirdos and wackos with only one aim in mind, which is usually bloodletting of some kind.
Ah well, it's not our job to stop people in movies from harming themselves and wandering off into danger, is it? Even if it was my job, I still wouldn't do it, haha. How boring would that be, and how dreary would it make our beloved slasher flicks...?
Anyway, Jake is a nice ordinary bloke in his thirties who's lost his beloved fiancée Sarah in a tragic accident. His bossy but well-meaning sister Tila thinks that a nice trip to the abandoned ghost town in upstate New York where their Dad grew up will do him a power of good and take his mind off his troubles. Aw, that sounds like just the job for cheering up the recently-bereaved...!
Their travelling companions will be Tila's boyfriend and another male friend who's bringing along Beth, a rather trashy big-breasted brunette in a tight white vest top whom he only met the night before and who seems to only have eyes for Jake anyway. Classy, eh? Still, never underestimate the aphrodisiacal effect that a man's inner turmoil, as in Jake's case, can have on a woman. They're all over a troubled male as if he's dipped in Lindt and garnished in Cartier diamonds, the sluts.
The two lads are called Chad and Brad, and I'm not at all sure which is which, but I do like the way that all three of the lead guys, Chad, Brad and Jake, are all nice ordinary-looking blokes with beer bellies and mostly bald heads with beardy bits here and there or whatever. I like the fact that they're not vapid male models with no acting talent, they're real blokes and you actually end up really giving a shit about what happens to 'em.
What happens to 'em, incidentally, is that the woods surrounding the abandoned old ghost town are, in fact, peopled by scary-looking hooded murderers whose motivations are unclear as they start cutting a bloody swathe through the happy campers for some reason. The killings are surprisingly realistic and there's enough blood and guts flying about to satisfy all but the most pernickety of horror fans.
Mind you, the little group can't say that they haven't been warned of the dangers of hanging around the town and the surrounding woods. Sheriff Merlock told 'em what's what, haha. The toothpick-flicking Merlock is played by a gigantic, handsome Hawaiian-looking fellow called Wayne W. Johnson (any relation to my childhood crush, The Rock, aka Dwayne Johnson?) and he's as fit as a flea, frankly speaking.
He's staggeringly good-looking according to the picture accompanying his online bio and, for any ladies who might be interested, he's appeared in a few other films too such as TALES OF DRACULA (2015), G. (GENGHIS) KHAN (2015), NIGHT OF SOMETHING STRANGE (2016) and BATAILLE DE SANG (2016), which I think means BATTLE OF BLOOD, that's if my schoolgirl French hasn't entirely deserted me, haha. Anyway, it looks like someone's been a busy boy lately...!
I love the scenes where Sarah, the deceased fiancée, appears to an already tormented Jake, and the scene in which we find out the shocking truth about what really happened to Sarah. Jake would give anything in the world to have Sarah back with him again. Just how far is he prepared to go to bring that about? I think we're about to find out. The question he should ask himself, though, is not can he, but should he...?
The woods and old rundown houses are terrifically atmospheric and the pace holds up nicely, never leaving the viewer hanging but sweeping us up and carrying us along right to the end. I also adored the scene with the sexy blonde witch and also the funny and relevant conversation between the campers about how all horror movies usually end up. Let's see if any of their predictions turn out to be true, shall we...?
You absolutely must watch this film when it comes out on general home release. If you've any interest at all in backwoods/slasher horror films, this one will do it for you. I quite fancy the idea of checking out the other MAD ANGEL FILMS now that I've seen BRACKISH, which title by the way I was unable to decipher. The only context in which I've ever heard the word is in relation to water.
Anyway, I won't puzzle my little blonde noggin further on the matter but I will, however, leave you some essential links to the film and its makers:
For more information about Mad Angel Films and the film please visit the following links:
1) Our website: http://www.madangelfilms.com/
2) Our Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/madangelfilms/
3) The Brackish IMDb page: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt5130230/
Ta-ra for now, chucks, and remember, if you go down to the woods today, you're sure of a big surprise. No, I mean it, you really really are...!
1) Our website: http://www.madangelfilms.com/
2) Our Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/madangelfilms/
3) The Brackish IMDb page: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt5130230/
Ta-ra for now, chucks, and remember, if you go down to the woods today, you're sure of a big surprise. No, I mean it, you really really are...!
AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY OF SANDRA HARRIS.
Sandra Harris is a Dublin-based novelist, film blogger and movie reviewer. She has studied Creative Writing and Film-Making. She has published a number of e-books on the following topics: horror film reviews, multi-genre film reviews, womens' fiction, erotic fiction, erotic horror fiction and erotic poetry. Several new books are currently in the pipeline. You can browse or buy any of Sandra's books by following the link below straight to her Amazon Author Page:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B015GDE5RO
You can contact Sandra at:
http://sandrafirstruleoffilmclubharris.wordpress.com
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