|
If you think that such terms as "shot on video" or "direct to VHS" automatically imply a substandard product, then this marvelously-executed feature from independent filmmaker Mike Prosser will change your mind. Masterfully shot on digital video, this dark morality tale proves that if talent and a deft knack for storytelling are involved, the limitations of the medium become incidental.
The Dividing Hour is the tale of four friends who rob a bank and strike out on the road. Driving the getaway car is Josh (Mike Prosser), who is fiercely protective of his introverted younger brother Zack (Brian Prosser). In the back seat are Peter (Brad Goodman), a gun-toting narcissist with a penchant for bullying and womanizing, and Dean (Greg James), Peter's pothead friend who is clearly the "follower" in that relationship.
A car accident finds the four on foot on a deserted highway, where they are offered a ride by a local (Jay Horenstein) who takes them to a nearby farmhouse. There, he explains, they can use the telephone to get help.
The inhabitants of the farmhouse are a mysterious young woman (Jillian Hodges) and her deaf/blind father (Max Yoakum), who welcome the four fugitives into their household. The telephone lines are temporarily down, she explains, but they might as well make themselves at home. Something deeper is at work in this scenario.
From here, bizarre happenings ensue. Josh's recurring nightmares from his youth figure into the predicament, whereas Peter's forceful behavior eventually instigates a series of confrontations that ultimately decide his and Dean's destinies. And in the woods surrounding the farmhouse lurk mysterious, flighty figures who duck and cover as the camera skittishly scans the area, recalling some of the best moments of such classics as Phantasm and The Evil Dead.
It would be criminally spoiling to reveal more in this review. Suffice to say that the revelations made late during the movie vastly remove the story from a mere "criminals on the run" premise and elevate the tale to embrace near-religious concepts. The climax of the film even features some rather impressive CGI effects, none of which are over-used; rather, the CGI is employed only when needed, and the result makes for some genuinely startling images.
At 89 minutes, The Dividing Hour is a slick, finely-written piece of independent filmmaking which repeatedly demonstrates that talent--not technology--is the salient focus of creating a good piece of work. Anyone interested in ordering a copy should follow this link. It's some of the best twenty-three bucks you'll ever spend.
>>Back<< >>Features Main<< |
