A group of twentysomethings join their friend in going to his family's apple orchard, which is hidden in a secret location and is reported to have the juiciest, best tasting apples in the world. Since the man's mother and sister were mauled to death by wolves, and his father had passed on, the orchard is now his. But of course a secret location isn't just a good place for an orchard -- it's a good place for a murder.
When I was doing some preliminary looking into this film (sometimes I like to get a feel for things), I found director Brent Nowak was born in Green Bay, Wisconsin -- twenty minutes from here and where I went to college. So, I was already feeling a bit better about what I was to see. And Brent, you didn't let me down. You can move to California, but you have Green Bay in side of you.
The filming itself was very professional -- this wasn't just some kids with a video camera, but cinema-quality film. Things were dark and at times a little blurry. This may have been due to the transfer, and might be gone when the distributor makes new prints. I noticed the online trailers seemed better lit. The DVD had more of a 1970s feel, which isn't all bad. But yes, everything was framed well, angled well, lit well (other than the overall darkness)... Nowak comes off as a seasoned film-maker and shouldn't be making independent films like this when he could be doing big budget features. (This is at least as good as the quality of the films in the After Dark horror festival, if not better.) I also need to give some major credit to the person in charge of the music. Very well done. I felt there was constantly a mood or atmosphere appropriate for the unknown situations. Even the rap and country music was excellent (I'm not a rap or country fan, but felt the rap over the credits was a great choice). One song, an acoustic guitar with a simple riff, was overused a bit around the halfway point, but I don't think most people really pay as much attention to the music as I do and won't notice.
The plot was good, which is crucial these days (I can only take so many of the same horror themes). The introduction with the old man was enough to keep my focus for the rest of the film even if it went sour (but it didn't). The apple theme is new (touched on a bit in "Behind the Mask", but not to this extent) and I found the "secret location" but believable, even in today's modern world. One big problem all horror films need to address is: how do we get rid of cell phones, and this film found a very acceptable way (and land lines, too).
Lots of the other little touches were nice. The news clippings were good -- I always think this adds more depth to any film. The wolf theme was also nice -- with a title like "Harvest Moon" and the talk of people ravaged by wolves, I was waiting for there to be a werewolf twist. Don't worry, there is a twist regarding the story of the wolf ravagings (but I won't reveal it here).
The script was stellar in the dialogue department. A shower scene contains a line that really lets us know the writer knew how we were going to interpret the scene (turning a "derivative" scene into an "homage" scene). Some of the swearing is new, which is hard to do with words we hear a dozen times in every film. The "if you want to live, come with me" was just subtle enough to almost escape me... and the best threat I've ever heard appears here: "I'm going to stick my hand straight up your (nether region) and pull out your intestines!" Priceless.
Horror fans who want blood, gore and nudity? Well, it's not buckets of bloods and scores of breasts, but you get a little of each -- don't worry! I actually didn't expect any nudity and almost did a double take. The blood I think could and should have been stepped up, with far too much of it happening just off the screen. I understand this saves a lot of trouble with visual effects and it's easier to leave it to imagination than have convincing gore. But I would have liked an attempt.
This could be the one independent film of 2007 you should see. (It's already the end of July, and this definitely outranks most of the independent films I've seen.) We have plot, we have acting of a Hollywood caliber. We have decent directing and a solid script. Ladies and gentlemen, we have a winner! I do hope this makes the festival circuit and gets the proper distribution -- I want to see these film-makers in the big time within five years at most.
