Black Mold

No pun intended - the movie is quite simple I reckon. Many horror movies are if you boil it or them down to be fair. But does it have to be complicated? I think not - and in a sense there still is a lot here to wrap your mind around anyway - how and why ... and especially what ... as in real and reality of course.

The acting is fine and there are enough jump scares and overall good effects to keep you entertained ... the twists work too, well mostly that is. I assume most will be able to guess where this is heading ... at least overall. So yes the sensible thing would have been to run away early ... but we wouldn't have a movie, if characters always did the sensible things, would we? Exactly.

When I sat down to watch the 2023 movie "Black Mold" from writer and director John Pata here in 2024, it was actually the first I had ever heard about it. So I literally didn't know what I was in for, aside from it being a horror movie of sorts. I was intrigued by the movie's title. And with it being a horror movie of sorts, then of course I had to watch it, given my love of all things horror.

While "Black Mold" proved to be watchable, I have to say that I was disappointed with the script. It was a fairly empty script. And I have to say that I didn't understand why Brooke (played by Agnes Albright) and Tanner (played by Andrew Bailes) just simply didn't walk out from the building and just simply walk away. It made zero sense for them to remain in the building with the things that were happening. Plus, the storyline just wasn't all that impressive.

The acting performances in the movie were fair, in all honesty. The only familiar face on the cast list, for me, was actor Jeremy Holm.

Sure, I managed to sit through the entire 92 minutes that the movie ran for, but I was only mildly entertained. This is not a horror movie that will find its way back on my screen a second time, however, as there hardly was sufficient contents for the first viewing. Nor is it a movie that I would recommend horror afficianados to go out of their way to track down and watch.

The movie was lacking a drive to engage the audience and invest themselves in the narrative and the characters. And the massive plot holes just wasn't really working out in favor of the movie.

Ultimately, not a particularly outstanding or memorable movie, but a watchable movie. My rating of writer and director John Pata's "Black Mold" lands on a four out of ten stars.

Sitting here, unable to sleep, feeling miserable with a head cold, I stumbled across this made by Tubi movie. So let me say, I thoroughly enjoyed it. If I had more energy to write a proper review I could try to do it justice, but if nothing else I'll put my vote out there.

Starts off, first third feels like an art film. Camera work is good. Main actress good. Those YouTube videos of old buildings, abandoned places... take that creepy backdrop and then apply some original ideas for a story, and you start to get a feel for this well done movie.

Just a small cast but everyone held there own. The story keeps you pulled in tight, and there are things to keep considering... why, what, who, how. Good stuff.

Near the end...The initial credit scene, before the text centric credits, brought back that eerie vibe you got at the start. It is truly unrelated, but it somehow reminded me of The Walking Dead's opener. Maybe I was imagining it, but I really dug it regardless.

Whilst at a lovely little genre-festival in my home country, a mate and I had to choose between two appealing titles that were scheduled at the same time but in different screening rooms. Of course, we chose for the least mainstream one (*), playing in the much smaller screening room with uncomfortable stools! But hey, the plot of the film - "Black Mold" - sounded promising, and my pal told me writer/director John Pata previously worked as an editor on "The Stylist", which is a movie I quite liked.

Our gamble wasn't a success. We sort of went through the same process at the lead protagonists in the film. Like them, we went in exploring the unknown because it's our hobby, but when we walked out, we weren't exactly satisfied. Oh well, at least we still walked out alive and (relatively) sane. That's more than can be said for Brooke and Tanner.

For their passion of urban exploring, they travel across the USA and sneak into abandoned buildings full of mold, ramshackle floors, and other unforeseeable dangers. Brooke is a champion in scouting terrific locations, and she takes Tanner to a massive and remote former research facility. Once inside, they are confronted with a dangerously violent squatter who prevents them from leaving. While trapped in the facility overnight, the molded walls and floors cause Brooke and Tanner to go insane (at least, that's what I suspect was happening) like the squatter already has. Tanner sees his worst fears manifesting in front of him, and poor Brooke relives her childhood traumas over and over again.

There simply isn't enough content and horror material in "Black Mold". The film easily could have worked effectively as a short feature, but as a 1 ½ hour movie it's tedious, repetitive, and slow. John Pata attempts to compensate for the lack of action by endless talking. Especially Tanner babbles non-stop. At first you simply wish for him to keep his mouth shut, but as the running time strolls forward at a snail's pace, you actually wish for him to die painfully. Eventually Pata is forced to revert back to genuine and classic horror symbols (like scarecrows and werewolves) to generate some real tension and action, but none of it is credible. Agnes Albright is an adequate actress and the filming locations are atmospheric (we shouldn't expect anything less from urban explorers), but that's hardly enough to recommend "Black Mold" to anyone.

(*) the film that played in the other theater was "It Lives Inside", which I'm sure I'll watch at some point soon.

Clearly, they didn't have much money although the effects are pretty good. I just got a little annoyed with the characters just staying in the awful place with the mold and with the dangerous guy when they could easily walk somewhere else or at least breathe fresh air outside. Maybe if they couldn't exit the building so easily or if they established that people exposed to black mold don't have the common sense to get away from it then I could accept their actions more easily. I was hoping there would be transforming or some kind of unique monster but it's more just a drama with some tension. I was pretty engaged though.