Isleen Pines

Director(s) - Matthew Festle (Hacked, Jackson and Matt's Halloween Investigation #3) and Alexys Paonessa (Party of Darkness)

Starring - Naiia Lajoie (The Gingerweed Man, Alien Apocalypse), Darren Deng (Spoonful of Sugar, The Last Night), and Jackson Turner (Found Footage of Fear, Meathook Massacre Part VI: Bloodline)

Release Date - 2023

Genre - Horror

Tagline - "Halloween will never be the same!"

Format - Bluray (Personal Collection) (Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     It's hard to believe that the pandemic started a little over four years ago now. In early 2020 the world as we knew it would cease to exist with things still not returned to "normal" as most businesses have adopted new practices that were brought about from the pandemic. During that first year of the shutdown, I befriended filmmaker Matthew Festle on Facebook as he was promoting his found footage/pandemic inspired film Hacked. I'm not a fan of found footage flicks but I gave it a watch and was surprised by how much I liked it. Fast forward a few years and Matthew hits me up again to review another film. I quickly said yes and before I knew it a copy of the film arrived on my doorstep... well, the po box but the point remains the same. I couldn't wait to check out his newest film Isleen Pines and I once again want to thank Matthew for sending this one my way! 

      The film follows a small town as everyone gets together for their annual Halloween party and costume contest. However, on the way to the party one of them finds something strange on the sidewalk. When he touches it he finds himself infected with something other-worldly. Soon, party goers start going missing and before long a sinister creature crashes the party killing everyone in its path.

      The artwork on the blu release of Isleen Pines really made my imagination work overtime. I absolutely loved the indie comic art that featured the cast of characters fighting the creature from the film. I knew nothing about the film, but that artwork showed me everything I needed to know prior to going into it. Honestly, I loved this movie but it's nowhere near as cool as the artwork the blu release is sporting. The acting in this one is really enjoyable. While some of the characters are written better than others, the acting is pretty consistent through the entire film. The cast did a wonderful job working with each other and making the scene as entertaining as possible. The story for this one is a lot of fun especially if you are a fan of 90s made for television Halloween flicks and the 10/31 trilogy. A group of twenty-somethings getting together to celebrate Halloween with some cheap beer and cheaper costumes is a simple start to any Halloween flick and I respect it. Then throw in an evil monster and you have an effective horror film set during our favorite holiday. I loved how the story centered around so many different characters without over-complicating the plot. It has great pacing, fun dialogue, and one hell of a credit scene. Finally, the film makes very light on the practical effects until the very end of the film. It's here that we have a body count with some blood and fun effects. They are far from perfect, but they work for this film. Overall, Isleen Pines doesn't try to reinvent the Halloween horror sub-genre but wants to add to it another quality film that you can watch annually. It succeeds and deserves to be watching each year as the leaves fall and you start welcoming the trick or treaters. Check it out.