Rows

Director - David W. Warfield (Deep Sea Detectives)
Starring - Hannah Schick (Feast), Lauren Lakis (Witch's Brew), and Kenneth Hughes (Death Becomes Her)
Release Date - 2015
Genre - Horror/Thriller
Tagline - "No one can escape"
Format - DVD (Personal Collection) (Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     When I review a bad movie it usually comes in pairs.  I can't just watch one movie I dislike.  I usually have to watch two or three films that just don't sit well with me.  Recently, I reviewed the sci-fi alien film Conspiracy Encounters.  The film was poorly edited and written but did have a plot that could have been pretty fucking fun.  I then followed that one up with the dark thriller Rows.  This one was sent to me randomly by MVD under their new Indie Rights Movies.  The film actually came recommended by other horror reviewers.  This excited me and I tossed it on the pile to check out when I could.  I want to thank Clint for sending this one to Horror Society to check.

     The film follows a young girl and her friend who are tasked with going through a giant cornfield and delivering an eviction notice to a squatter living in an old, dilapidated home.  Her father plans on tearing it down for a business project.  They give her the notice and soon find themselves in a murder conspiracy that keeps repeating while they are lost in the cornfield that seems to go on for day.  They have to work things out and learn why they can not get home.

     Dark thrillers and dramas are good at giving the viewer some amazing stories that are just too complex to be your run of the mill horror flick.  However, sometimes complex can turn into distracting not only for the viewer but for the director as well.  The acting in this one is not the best I have seen.  The cast has chemistry with each other but they just feel awkward to watch on screen.  I have seen so many indie horror productions over the years and have seen the heart of soul of thousands of actors get poured into their performances but this one just did not feel like their all was delivered.  The story for this one is a solid concept but poorly executed.  The whole Groundhog Day curse got old pretty quick when you watch the same thing unfold over and over again with the cast not doing anything different.  At least in Groundhog Day the film's lead is aware of what is going on and acts accordingly.  In Rows, the cast does the same thing over and over again which becomes boring very quickly.  If this only happened twice and then dived deeper into the story then it would have worked well but the film would have been drastically shorter.  Finally, those of you looking for blood and guts will not be happy with this one.  This thriller focuses strongly on story rather than bloodshed.  Personally, a little blood and guts would have made this one better.  Overall, Rows is a film that tries a little too hard to be different.  It wants to be a film that people will remember as being story rich and unusual but fails to deliver.  The story is very repetitive and leaves the viewer bored.  I recommend skipping over this one.