Cryptic Plasm (2013)

 

(out of 5)

 

Cryptic Plasm (2013)
directed by:  Brian Paulin
starring:  Joseph Olson, Brian Paulin, and Kevin Barbare

The Movie:  It's great to get things in the mail.  Especially when you are angry you forgot to endorse a crowfunding pre-order you wanted to, only to find out when the mailman arrives you actually did and now have a shirt, a signed dvd, nice little sticker and more coming soon.  I love crowdfunding campaigns and I'll take a moment to speak on this since recently these campaigns have come under fire from various places online.  These campaigns allow for movies like this to made plain and simple if you don't like them don't donate but receiving things like a pre-order for something you would buy anyway is just giving back to the filmmakers who have no money and I'm sorry it's called good business to use other people's money to create anything. 

     This was my favorite Paulin movie so far.  Really dug the story here about a missing town and all the supernatural excitement that follows.  For anyone who has not seen a Paulin film before they are the very definition of low budget gore films and this one like all of his films pulls no punches. 

The Gore:  Plenty of gore here.  Gorehound's rejoice when Paulin makes a new film.  The very first scene in this one has a nice dumpling of melted human bodies.  Towards the end it's really just an onslaught of gore and disgust.  Loved the effects in this, they may not have been all anatomically correct but in my opinion that's not necessarily needed especially when you are dealing with influences of the supernatural.  For me it's about the hard work and artistic relevance of the effect, most especially practical effects.  Kudos Mr. Paulin great fx!

The Acting:  I was more impressed with the acting in Cryptic Plasm than any of Paulin's other movies.  Very much convinced especially with Joseph Olson he really had the tv show host thing down well.  And of course Mr. Paulin acted in this one as well playing the camera man.  Both men had the terrified mannerisms down very well, especially the screaming.  So many movies indie and Hollywood alike people just don't do scared well or at least in my opinion.  But the end of this movie proved that both actors have what it takes to fake being scared right to the very bone.

The Shots:  Liked the shooting of this one it was kind of found footage style which I always have a sweet tooth for.  I really have no clue what kind of camera and lighting was used but I really felt like I was in the late 80's or early 90's.  Not sure if this was the look and atmosphere he was going for but it worked either way because I loved it all.  The gore shots were spectacular, close up when needed and far enough back to allow the viewer to see the entire effect of the blood spilling and spraying all over the place.

The Music:  Yes this movie had an awesome score to it.  I love scores so much better than music any day of the week.  For me I can really identify with a movie better when I'm not listening to a band playing.  Hard to explain but the tones, etc. of a score like this one just bring me into the film so much easier.  Great work there.

The Script:  Awesome story.  Ghost hunter style tv show host is off to this spot and that trying to investigate different strange happenings including a big foot sort of monster living by a lake, a ghost in the woods throwing things, then an abandoned town, and soon after an exorcism.  It's after the visit to the abandoned town that our host begins to see things and feel sick.  Then after the exorcism things get really crazy.  The dialogue was great, very believable and really to me on point between our host and his buddy Brian.  No awkward jokes, no boring side conversations.

The Rating:  5 out of 5 Bloody Handprints.  Loved this one.  Really hoping Paulin continues to do what he does for years to come.