Cut Her Out

Director - Tiffany Heath
Starring - Tiffany Heath (Don't Look in the Mirror), Denton Blane Everett (Rockabilly Baby), and Jake Heath (Mulberry Stains)
Release Date - 2014
Genre - Horror/Thriller
Tagline - "Mask the devil inside"
Format - DVD (Personal Collection) (Screener)

Rating (Out of 5):

     Horror has and always will be my favorite sub-genre for numerous reasons.  With that being said, horror has found itself in a trend that needs to stop.  A lot of the indie horror flicks that are sent my way lack a story and substitute it with pointless gore.  I love gore but it has to fit the movie in order to work.  Films have also lost the build up of suspense and the proper way to create brooding atmosphere that horror films of the 60s and 70s had.  Instead they rely on crisp images of blood and gore.  Lucky for us, there has been several horror flicks released over the last few years that do a great job at creating atmosphere and set about some great atmosphere.  One of those film's is the 2014 Cut Her Out that was recently released by Midnight Releasing.  They were kind enough to send a review copy my way.  Thanks guys for allowing me the opportunity to check it out.

     The film follows therapist Dr. Ryan Andrews (Everette) who has been given care of Darcy (Heath) to care for.  She is slightly psychotic and suffers from sleepwalking.  He sneaks her out of the institute and takes her back to her childhood home in hopes of unlocking the secrets to her torment.  The home has been abandoned for some time and is starting to decay but they find a feral boy living in a room in the basement.  He takes him in and cleans him up while still trying to rehabilitate Darcy.  He soon learns the evil that was once living inside of those walks and her connection to the small boy that was treated as an animal.
     I kinda miss the time when horror films had the gothic or macabre look instead of giving us beautiful scenes with gore tossed in.  Films from Hammer Horror to Texas Chainsaw Massacre was able to craft disturbing films with just the use of carefully decorated sets and the building of suspense.  Very few films do this anymore but the new Midnight Releasing film Cut Her Out was able to do just that.  The film was far from perfect but it did build up a sense of dread and foreboding atmosphere.  The acting in this one is fairly decent.  Denton Blane Everett was great as the doctor.  He has an heir of sophistication about himself that made the doctor angle feel even more solid.  The other two, Tiffany and Jake Heath, do a solid job as well but their performances was not as solid as Everett's.  The story for this one is not that in depth but it does flow very well on film.  When you add in the decaying scenery and the acting and you an amazing film.  The story was not that original but it does still over up some very unique scenes.  Sadly, the stories twist can be seen from a mile away.  It was not subtle and anyone paying attention could see it.  Finally, those of you looking for carnage will not find it here.  Instead, you will find a well made and well shot film.  Overall, Cut Her Out was not the film I was expecting.  I thought the film would go the extreme horror route but instead we got a well made horror film with some amazing imagery.  Check this one out!