Feral State

I've been seeing signs around the county for this movie and I had to know why. Apparently it was shot here in Citrus County, which is kinda cool I guess. Decided to give it a shot. It felt so funny to me to see almost everything they showed in the movie because I've seen it all my life, like the Roller Barn. If only I'd carved my name into that table they sat at 20 years ago, now that would have been great. The movie had a lot of potential. It wasn't absolutely terrible, but they kept changing scenes so fast before you could get a feel for what was actually going on. I don't think any of the actors were bad at acting, I just feel like it would have made more sense if they slowed down and took their time making it, maybe added in more details. Give it a try and you may understand where I'm coming from. It wasn't bad but it wasn't great either. They probably would have done better making it a series rather than a movie, but once again they'd need to give more details.

I was all excited to see this, and was watching and watching. She is beautiful, of course . She's a great actress . Then they stole that thing about running down the hill . The story from colors that Robert Duvall says to Sean Penn . That really really did not sit well with me completely stolen, it's too bad it could've been a great movie and it it's a drag when people get lazy like . It looks nice and it could've really been something . But that really set a tone. I feel bad for all the people at work on a movie like this that had potential in an end up going nowhere. Oh well, what can you do?

It's a fairly decent directorial debut for newb writer and producer Jon Carlo. Had the story been less convoluted and had more continuity, this could have been a cult classic. At the end you're left shaking your head, and wanting closure.

The 84 min runtime was decent, but the pacing needed improvement, especially due to the "all over the place writing".

The score was decent for a b-film, and the cinematography on point. Casting was good, although I found Ronnie Gene Blevins a little annoying and unconvincing in his role, as was AnnaLynne McCord. Perhaps it was from the inexperience of Carlo directing his cast properly. However, first-time actress Sif Saga as Lexi was outstanding - a real natural I'd say her performance was the best of them all.

Overall an ok one-time watch b-film. It's a 5/10 from me.

The 0 - 3 reviews seem to be written by people who think that every film must include automatic gunfire, CGI explosions or a car chase. Instead of this, Feral State shows what you can do by investing in the script, characters and camerawork: create intrigue and tension - and any film that keeps you watching until the end deserves 5/10 at least. All of the acting seemed fine to me and Ronnie Gene Blevins convincingly holds the whole thing together as the father figure of not just a gang, but also a community. The idea of bumping off miscreants and burying them in the woods (or just leaving them for the crocs) isn't without its appeal either.

Feral State knows it was never designed to be a Hollywood blockbuster and, just like the similar Deathwell, sensibly snips itself off around the 1h 20min mark - just before you've had enough but when you're curious to know more.

My husband and I had no hope for this movie as 1- it was shot in Citrus County and having lived here for 37 yrs and knowing what it's like and the type of people here, we just expected nothing but some cool sights for nostalgic reasons. And 2- Anyone making a good, or decent movie wouldn't be shooting here. But, this was a fantastic movie, well done and decent acting. Completely unexpected. My husband is a major snob when it comes to what seems to be low budget movies and he loved this. I absolutely LOVED seeing all the places shown. Especially Big Blue, that place was such a staple in my childhood and early teens, I grew up out there and lived in Arrowhead for 18 yrs. Had my 6th birthday party at the Roller Barn! Grew up eating at Chicken King, in fact my old fashioned grandfather tipped a waitress there with a penny tails up once she was so bad! ( Early 90s) And let's not leave out Scott Addams butthurt "Eternity in hell" billboard! All in all great movie! Even met Nick Tamposi the other night and talked to him about how much I loved the movie and places featured, not even realizing it was him, at the liquor store ( featured in the movie) Seeing my liquor store guy Beamer in the movie was the cherry on top! It's a must see for anyone living in Citrus County!