Flesh of My Flesh

Director - Emir Skalonja (Fester, The Butcher)
Starring - Michelina Houlihan, Kira Meyer, and Al Baker (The Outlaw: The Living Comicbook, 666)
Release Date - 2016
Genre - Drama/Thriller
Format - Streaming (Online Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     I get asked to watch all kinds of horror films ranging from killer Jesus flicks made on $10 to arthouse style pieces made on one million.  I never know who will contact me or what kind of movie it will be when they do but I am always open to them.  Its always fun and full of surprises.  A few months back I was browsing Facebook when I came across a page for the slasher Fester.  It looked fun so I reached out to the page and they were kind enough to hit me up with a review link.  After that I became friends with the director, Emir Skalonja, and he let me review his newest film The Butcher.  Both were entertaining and received positive reviews from myself.  A few days back Emir reached out to me with a new film to check out.  After watching Fester and The Butcher I was open to anything Emir is attached to.  He sent the link over for Flesh of my Flesh and I want to thank you Emir for letting me check it out.

     The film begins with a young woman giving birth in a barn Jesus style when a strange man grabs the child before disappearing from view.  Jump forward and we follow a troubled youth who has a hard time talking to her parents and her friends.  She starts to suffer hallucinations and her parents fear for her safety.  She finds her way to a psychic and learns that she is the adopted and her father was a violent man.  She confronts her adopted parents about the situation where things quickly spiral out of control.
     I had no idea what to expect when Emir asked me to check out Flesh of My Flesh.  Emir is a unique filmmaker.  After befriending him on Facebook I have noticed that he is a very artistic individual with a true love for horror.  I was excited to see FoMF when I was asked to review it.  Sadly, there was some things that did not sit well with me.  The acting in this one is solid but had some room for improvement.  The cast showed a lot of heart and it looks like they had fun in their roles but some out staged others.  Michelina Houlihan is great as the film's lead but she has plenty of room to grow.  She has a lot to learn but she has a tremendous amount of talent and a bright future in indie horror.  With that being said, I really enjoyed Al Baker's performance.  He was fucking creepy as hell and really brought his character to life.  He stole any scene he was in.  The remainder of the cast was great but they were nowhere near the level as Baker was.  The story for this one is great but really needed to be edited a little tighter and something done with the dialogue.  The story really had me hooked with it's complexity and uniqueness but the awkwardness and delivery of the dialogue made it difficult to watch at times.  The dialogue is very rich but has no pacing and does not fit the film at all.  The dialogue needed to be more in tune with the film as a lot less teenage school bus talk.  Finally, those of you that are looking for blood and gore will not find it.  This film flows more like a nightmare fueled thriller.  The film relies heavily on story but not blood and gore like most underground indie horror flicks.  Overall, Flesh of My Flesh has a great story and a cast that could go the distance but the film falls short a little before the finish line.  The dialogue makes this one uncomfortable to watch.  Some heavy editing and maybe a few scene re-shoots would help this one tremendously.