Toad Road (2012)

(3 out of 5)

Toad Road (2012)
directed by:  Jason Banker
starring:  James Davidson, Sara Jones, Whitleigh Higuera, Jamie Siebold, Donnie Simmons, Scott Radar

     Talk about a disappointment.  I read many positive reviews on this film and perhaps I'm letting the hype get to me but this film was a big let down for me.  I usually enjoy films like this.  Reality based, excellent dialogue, I really cannot blame the writing at all.  My expectations were to be scared in some shape or form.  The movies it's been compared with were scary to me including The Blair Witch Project which is named on the cover.  This one fell completely short in that regards.  More of a bad trip than some entity out to get you in the woods.  I think if I had I not read anything about this film I would have liked it more.  Like I said the writing was perfect, the acting was well done no complaints there either.  Most especially James Davidson and Sara Jones.  These two had a very distinct connection while acting together in this film.  The digital effects for the "gateway" to hell and other scenes were very cool as well.  There were not a lot of effects in this movie but what there were worked very well with the shots.  I also loved the shots, the camera work was visually creative in every sense of the word.  I will be looking into more by the director.

     The movie follows a group of youths who imbibe every drug they can get their hands on.  Two in particular James and Sara who have fallen in love and want to run away together.  Sara is a good girl with straight A's in school until she meets James and his friends.  It isn't long before her life is spiraling out of control much like them and her new boyfriend.  Then James begins to see the light at the end of the tunnel and wants out.  Problem is he told Sara of this urban legend involving seven gates leading to hell.  "No one has ever got past the fifth gate."  Sara tells him trying to egg on her reluctant boyfriend who dismisses the whole thing as pure mythology. 

     All of a sudden Sara disappears not long after taking LSD with James and talking the walk down "Toad Road" the pathway through the 7 gates.  Days pass and James wakes up alone in the woods.  Or had it been days?  And was he really there the whole time?  The mystery is in the head of the viewer.  That part I liked but I just wanted more in the creepy department.  The walk down the road especially was just a bit of let down.  I have a feeling this one will grow on me possibly in the future after a second viewing but my initial response was definitely a disappointment.  Kudos to the actors and the writing of Jason Banker.   

Alone in the Ghost House

Director - Henrique Couto (Scarewaves, Babysitter Massacre)
Starring - Adam Scott Clevenger (Scarewaves), Henrique Couto (Bleeding Through), and Joni Durian (Applecart)
Release Date - 2015
Genre - Horror
Tagline - "They wanted fame.  They found pure evil"
Format - DVD (Personal Collection)

Rating (out of 5):

     Henrique Couto and myself have a rocky relationship.  Henrique is one hell of a guy and one of the nicest guys I have met over the years here at Horror Society.  We actually got to hang out at Cinema Wasteland along with the beautiful Erin R. Ryan where we enjoyed some delicious Applebees and a ton of laughs.  Though we get along, I sometimes don't get along with his films.  The first film of his that I was able to review was Bleeding Through and it was not something that I enjoyed.  I then followed that up with Babysitter Massacre, Haunted House on Sorority Row, and Scarewaves.  All three were outstanding horror films that really raise the bar for indie horror.  This made me a fan but deep down I was always afraid that he would make another film like Bleeding Through and I would not enjoy it.  Would Alone in the Ghost House be that film?

     The film follows a couple and their cameraman as they explore haunted locations as they travel across the country.  They meet up with a friend and decide to visit the Devil's Commune where an artist of sorts tortured his model girlfriend and the remainder of the commune living on the property.  They decide to spend the night and record.  They hire a medium they found on Craigslist.  She is a strange and warns the others that staying there would result in their death.  They refuse to listen to her and she leaves.  They prepare to spend the night and soon learn why no one ventures into this home anymore.
     Found footage usually lets me down.  The stories are weak, the camera work makes me feel sick, and the kills usually take place off camera.  The Blair Witch Project was fun for what it was but it was far from being a classic horror movie.  Most of the other found footage films tries to capture the tension and suspense found in this film but all they do is make home videos set against a horror backdrop.  Alone in the Ghost House was one of those films that made me think I was going to hate it until the very end until it unleashed some real Hell.  The acting with this one is solid but found footage acting is always awkward to me.  They try to act natural like real people carrying on real conversation but all they really do is awkwardly talk to each other in an unnatural manner.  I sometimes call this the anti-Tarantino dialogue.  This isn't the cast's fault but it does come with the found footage territory.  The story for this one is one we have seen several times before among horror.  Hell, it is even the basis for several other found footage flicks.  However, very few end like this one does.  It turns from sane, in a sense, and then goes bat shit crazy with Erin R. Ryan going off the wall.  The end of the story was worth sitting through the beginning of the film.  Finally, those of you looking for some gore will not find any here.  The film does have some kills but they all mostly take place off camera with the exception of one or two that is nothing gruesome or memorable.  The practical effects are minimal and work for the kills but that is about it.  Overall, Alone in the Ghost House is a found footage film that makes you think that it is just another mediocre found footage horror flick that can be easily forgotten but ends on a high note.  The ending is awesome and well worth the running time.  Check it out.