Penny Dreadful

When it comes down to reviewing a film you've got sit down and look at more than a few things. Were all the characters developed thoroughly, was the story interesting – original, the logic of the film and its situations, etc. In a regular 90 minute film, it's hard to get all of this in and get it right on the money. In a short film, it's much worse. Instead of a full hour and a half or more, you now have less than an hour to put all of these elements – or at least a few of them – and still have everything turn out to well. Upon sitting down to review Penny Dreadful I knew five things, one this was a short film, two it had a lot of rave reviews from festivals and online sites alike, three it was a ghost story, four there was another film out there sharing the same title and five; it had Betsy Palmer in it. Other than that, my mind was pretty much a clean slate. The film starts off with our main character Jessica, along with her husband, has just inherited a house her aunt left them in her estate. Due to some taxing law in the state of New York they cannot keep the house and have to sell it but decide to live there while waiting for it to come off the market. While in the house Jessica starts to see apparitions of the paranormal kind and immediately decides the home is haunted. Dismissing the spirit of that of just a playful child Jessica soon begins to unravel a mystery of dire consequences leading to the story's shocking conclusion. I was surprised after watching this one. I heard many mixed things about it and most that were going in the film's favor say it worked as a short. Me, I think it needed a lot more fleshing out. The story was more than interesting, the characters were likable and the acting was above average. This film just screamed to be longer but only clocked in at under a half an hour. I liked the film for what it was but could see a lot more being done with it. The entire film felt too rushed and Betsy Palmer's character was underused. All of the film's characters seemed like there were underused. Everyone could've been built on more as well as the film's story. But I have to commemorate the filmmakers for doing their best on the short film as the final product is no schlep of a film, it's actually rather good. One would not complain a short film was too short if they didn't like what they saw and wanted to see more. I'm sure you have figured that out on your own though there haven't you? Yeah, you smart ass. Anyways, the film works in the areas it's supposed to. It manages to hold onto the viewer and keep a firm icy grasp within its short running time. I could imagine this happening even if the film was longer because as I said, in its short run – it is a very well done, creepy little film. My only real complaint, aside from it being too short, was the lack of use of Betsy Palmer's character. She's only in the film for a better time of 5 minutes or so then is quickly rushed off screen while everyone else continues on. Not that anyone else in the film was bad; I just felt that Betsy's character could have been used more in the story. One of the major things I have to point out in this film was the way it was shot. It looks so much like an old school Canadian horror film from back in the 70's its amazing. From what I understand this is what the director of the film was going for and I must address that they pulled that off and with flying colors to boot. The film builds up a lot of suspense in its shots of the long dark hallways, in the empty rooms as Jessica explores the house after hearing strange noises for the first time. All of it fits together very nicely and works well. Penny Dreadful is no classic film by any means, but it never tries to be. All it ever tries to do is be a smart and original ghost story with one hell of a twist which it pulls off wonderfully. Director Bryan Norton is now a well known horror fan who manages to incorporate several of horror's biggest franchise stars, hey where else can you see the original Mrs. Voorhees in the same film as the first man to play her grown son? That's what I thought.

I've seen plenty of short horror films through my travels. Most are complete trash which make me ask myself "How the hell did this get distribution?" But every now and then, you come across something different, something unique. When it seems like all hope is lost and you're about to give up on movies, that gem comes along that makes the wait worth it. Walking into "Penny Dreadful", I never thought it would be anything more then another sloppy horror short. But it turned out to be that gem us horror fans so badly needed.

After her Aunt dies, Jessica (Emily Vaughan) and David (Sebastian Lacause) inherit a huge house in the upscale section of NYC. Right away, strange things start happening. Jessica is sure the house is home to some odd apparition. She brings in Psychic Trudie Tredwell (Betsy Palmer) to check things out, while David is constantly away, working. According to Trudie, the house is completely ghost-free. Regardless of the house being haunted or not, the weird happenings continue. Incredibly creepy phone calls of a woman screaming for help and Jessica waking up in a refreshingly large pool of blood, really take a toll on Jessica. It pushes her over the edge, and there may be no turning back...

The first thing I want to say about this movie, is that it puts the characters first. That's not only rare for a horror film, but for ANY modern film in general. Being a horror film, it would usually showcase the gore and violence above everything else. But there is little of both in this film. Don't get me wrong, this movie does have some nice gore shots, really good in fact. Nothing extreme to push it to splatter film status, but definitely enough to satisfy the gorehounds and gross out the chicks. There are also some extreme moments of tension here. I've watched every kind of extreme film genre there is, and even I felt a sense of dread at times. The cinematography and music were top-notch as well. I'll leave it at that, or this review will end up being 60 pages long.

Of course, the characters wouldn't have become who they are without the wisely chosen cast. The biggest attention grabber here is obviously Betsy Palmer, which any horror buff will know, played Pamela Voorhees in the ultimate slasher epic, "Friday the 13th." Although her role is brief, she does what she came to do and really adds something to the movie. Another known name in the horror community, Warrington Gillette, also stars. Gillette played the unmasked Jason in Friday the 13th Part 2. He did an outstanding job as the a-hole husband of the couple who buy the house from Jessica and David. I'm not sure who played the real estate agent, but he was a real scumbag and I loved it. Bryan has thrown in some truly REAL characters. Leading lady Emily Vaughan really made this movie something special. I hope she sticks with the craft, because I see big things for her. Oh yeah, and she's really hot too. I had the pleasure of meeting her in person. I'd also like to note Sebastian Lacause, who played the husband, starred in "Boogie Nights" as a character called "Hot Traxx Dancer." That's hands-down the greatest name ever. It has nothing to do with this movie, but it's so ridiculous that I had to say something about it.

Hollywood has lost its magic, it's up to little guys like Bryan Norton to keep that flame burning. Penny Dreadful is a ball-gripping experience that leaves a taste of blood in your mouth. This is an amazing short horror film from Bryan Norton, and I'll be waiting for his debut feature.

Every once in a while comes a little gem of a movie that catches you by surprise and you know you won't forget it.

New York City and Greenwhich Village have never been so lovely on screen as they do for the setting of this story about a haunted townhouse and the young couple who move in. The wife begins to see grisly visions of a murder that seems to have been committed there. But is the house really haunted? The story takes place in October, and you can practically taste the autumn on the screen (I took the Village haunted house tour one Halloween weekend- great fun).

Great setting, great mood. "Penny Dreadful" is a very good film indeed, but is a lot of fun for film buffs, too. There are subtle homages I noticed to other horror films ("Topper", anyone?) - some references more successful than others. Is this really the same setting as "Wait Until Dark"?

"Friday the 13th" star Betsy Palmer has a somewhat humorous role as a Trudie, a looney psychic who tries to help figure out the mystery. The supporting cast is made up of genre actors (Palmer, Gillette, Dupre, and Tina Krause) who nicely play off the attractive leads Emily Vaughan and Sebastian Lacause.

The scene with Vaughan having to crawl across broken glass will have you turning away, and there's a great bit with an shotgun totting intruder trying to break into her bedroom in the middle of the night during a thunderstorm. There is a great ending ( I wasn't expecting the twist at all) .

Perfect Halloween viewing . Sit back with your candy apple and enjoy.

***1/2 out of ****

What a night! I attended a cast screening of the new short film Penny Dreadful last night which was a wonderful time. Betsy Palmer was on hand to sign autographs after the show as was the lovely Emily Vacchiano who plays the lead role of Jessica in the movie. Both were so nice and were willing to talk to fans. Penny Dreadful is an excellent film with good, old fashioned story telling. No flashy or slick BS thank God. Listen carefully and you can hear the 'Silver Shamrock' jingle from Halloween 3 in the background of the kitchen , which made the audience erupt with laughter, as did an wonderful in-joke about Betsy's take on dead children being mischievous. The story is good and there is a neat twist at the end that makes me want to see the movie all over again so I can pay more attention.

Penny Dreadful: written and Directed By Bryan Norton. Starring Emily Vaughan, Sebastian Lacause, Tina Krause, Peter Dupre and Betsy Palmer. Screenin Date: Oct 26, 2005

***1/2 out of **** stars

'Penny Dreadful' is old fashioned haunted house movie that will most probably please connoisseurs of the genre. While it hardly breaks new ground, the film is at times funny, scary and violent. There are subtle references to other films, such as "Don't Look Now" and "The Haunting of Julia". Betsy Palmer (Mrs. Voorhees from the original Friday the 13th) comes to investigate a seemingly haunted New York City townhouse inherited by a handsome couple Jessica and David Clausen(Emily Vaughn and Sebastian Lacause). Is the house possessed or is poor Jessica losing her mind from repressed guilt of a secret abortion from years before? Just when you think you've figured it out, you haven't. The acting, score and cinematography are first rate.