At first I thought it was a 80's slasher revival, judging by it's retro poster and traditional plot. Though, it's not quite the stereotypical slasher film after all. It's definitely a modern take on the sub- genre we all love. Mainly the audiovisual vibe is far from classic, which is probably one of the nicer features in this film.
Justin Russell is not a well known guy in the industry, though I think it's just a matter of time. I took a peek at his other work and it sure stands out. The Gremlin (2007) is obviously one of his first projects as the style of that flick has no personality. And 'The Sleeper' (coming soon) seems to be the real tribute to the 80's slasher. DSH stands in the middle, but is it more than just a step towards the 'good stuff'?
It's definitely more. I can imagine a lot of people will disagree, but I think I felt exactly what Justin was trying to do here. We meet the two protagonists named ''Elizabeth'' and ''Taylor'', whom are played by Lisa Kreninsky and Jenna Fournier. And for those who care, Jenna will also star in Russell's ''The Sleeper''. Easy on the eyes, but barely capable of doing anything besides screaming. Lisa Kreninsky is a great scream queen!
They're on a road trip, bladiebla, and it all goes to poop in some weird little village. There's a rather haunting soundtrack. Hard to describe, but it sounds like a distorted 'wind' blowing constantly. It never gets annoying because the piercing shreeks and low frequency tones often shake things up to optimize the vibe to each and every scene. He often drops the noise and brings the viewer complete silence, which has an amazing effect and definitely creates some sort of tension.
It's not brilliant, but it stands out from the low budget horror crowd. They rarely look + sound the way I like it. It almost makes me forget about some of the weaknesses. For instance, it tends to get rather repetitive near the end and they are all (including the killers) way to clumsy to be taken seriously. It's not a film that is meant to be taken lightly, it's pretty serious. Which is also surprising since most of these 'slasher' films tend to over-do on the camp sauce instead of bringing some ideas of their own.
Justin Russell proofs to be a worthy director, who deserves some more attention. Again, I can imagine only few people will agree with me, but that's almost always the case now isn't it? Check out the trailer and who knows...you might be the next one to cheer for Russell. Don't expect the next Ti West though, you'll be disappointed beyond believe.
