Union Furnace

Director - Nicholas Bushman (Stranger in the Dunes, Sandbar)
Starring - Mike Dwyer (Stranger in the Dunes, Sandbar), Seth Hammond, and Keith David (They Live, The Thing)
Release Date - 2015
Genre - Horror
Tagline - "Place your bets"
Format - DVD (Personal Collection) (Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     Movie posters and DVD artwork is a critical part of the film.  I'm a horror fan and have been for years but it is impossible to know every horror films.  Especially when there is hundreds of indie productions being released everyday under the radar.  When I go out hunting for movies to add to my collection or receive press releases for new films I tend to judge a book by its cover.  Several weeks back I received a press release for an indie horror film titled Union Furnace.  The title confused me because Union Furnace is a town in Ohio.  I know this because I've recalled signs for it while driving to Cinema Wasteland every April and October.  The artwork sent over for the film was very underwhelming as well.  It was very bland, basic, and unimaginative.  I wasn't initially interested in it because it just didn't look that appealing but when I was asked to check it out I decided to check it out.  I'm glad I was open minded to the film because it was definitely entertaining.

     The film follows a petty crook named Cody Roy McCloud who scoops up a small car to try to get some quick cash.  When his buyer fails to pay he tries to return the car before he encounters a large truck that eventually runs him off the road.  The driver of the truck gets acquainted with Cody and takes Cody to where he is staying.  He then instructs him to answer the phone when it rings because he will have a way he can make some money.  Cody agrees and late that night he gets the call.  He does as instructed and is taken to a secret area where there are seven other people waiting.   They are on a stage while the others around them are wearing masks.  They are instructed that they will go through seven games in the course of the night and with each game the loser will be forced to leave while the winners get paid.  The contestants agree to the terms but after a few games they start to fear for their safety and turn on each other.  Are the losers taken our back and murdered and what will happen if Cody loses?

     This is the second film in a row that I watched thinking I was being tossed into a horror film but this was not the case.  The first film, After was mostly fantasy mixed with some elements of a thriller.  Union Furnace is not a bad film at all but I feel that labeling it a horror film would be doing this film an injustice.  The acting in this one is fucking fantastic.  Mike Dwyer and Seth Hammond were fantastic.  Dwyer is great as the sensitive male lead that steps up when he has to.  He is not your typical strong lead but he is one that the viewer can really get behold and root for.  Hammond is fantastic.  His showman's ship through the entire film is award winning.  After looking through his imdb page I became a little depressed.  He needs more films under his belt.  The supporting cast doesn't touch a candle to these two.  Even Keith David, who did a fantastic job, doesn't stand toe to toe with these two.  The story for this one is very interesting and story driven but there was several missed opportunities.  The story doesn't give too deep into the backstories of the other characters but it does offer up a lot of character interactions with rich dialogue similar to the early works of Quentin Tarantino.  It does take a few minutes for the film to get rolling but once it does it becomes fun and violent.  My biggest complaint is that the games played by the contestants arte not that menacing or fun to watch with the exception of the hot plate and metal pipe.  I would have liked to see more games that were menacing.  Finally, this one is not that bloody.  We do get a little blood splatter and a few on screen kills but it doesn't make it the gore soaked film you may be looking for.  The kills we do get are well shot and executed with great practical effects but they are limited.  I was expecting a lot more bloodshed than what we actually got.  Overall, Union Furnace did not disappoint.  The film was not what I was expecting which makes me want to beg those involved to change the film's artwork!  Be sure to check this one out because it deserves to be seen!