The Notorious Finster

Henderson has elevated his delivery with this suspenseful movie. This is a great who-done-it storyline with unsettling, and sometimes untrusting relationships at its foundation. The gore-factor is relevant without it taking center stage. It is just enough to depict the scene without it being over-the-top. Henderson does a good job of leaving you wondering and unsettled until it all unfolds. Several scenes deliver a solid shock-value causing immediate reaction. One scene delivers a very intense dose of noxious imagery which left me watching with one eye peeking between my fingers. Totally worth the watch!

This movie feels very realistic. Many of the killing scenes are not shown. There isn't much space for victims being tortured, screaming for help. The lack of shenanigans makes the movie a little more creepy and more focused on the characters.

Several of the characters are quite broken people with some sad stories. That gives the movie another note of complexity. I liked this one. The whole time I was watching it, I couldn't figure out why it was listed in the "horror section" on Prime. I think it deserves to be in drama or thriller but I definitely recommend it.

I thought the production value was pretty good for a low budget indie.

This one took me by surprise - it was really a really good film! I found myself engaged from the very beginning and it managed to check most of the boxes I look for in a film. The story follows a tenacious writer, Annie who works closely with a detective (Det Sgt Brady) to track down a serial killer that took a short hiatus but is now back on their radar. Annie has some demons of her own and struggles to keep her eye on the ball. Annie finds a new friend who shares in her very same struggles and the relationship between the two is compelling. Very well done film and a most definitely worth the watch!

It's an Indy flick, and it shows. If you like movies with poor acting, poor filming and a predictable storyline, then this one's for you. I only paid for it because of all the great reviews. I wish at least one person had told the truth - well I am. Absolute stinker. This is two hours you'll never get back. Don't say I didn't tell you. The leading lady is a Jennifer Connolly look-alike. Most of the acting is very stiff. The special effects were awful. I have watched all of John Carpenter's debut films, on the low budget that I read he had - he created a masterpiece. This is not a masterpiece, but it is a piece.

When I saw "The Notorious Finster," it was rated 4.0 with very few reviews and almost all of them were glowing and suspiciously high. But I gave it a shot. My rating of 3 should give you a hint of my impression.

The premise was actually interesting, but that's where the interesting part ended. Considering this was concerning a serial killer, you'd think there'd be a lot of killing...but, not really. The kills were really bloody, but mostly off-camera. The grossest part of the movie was when the lead actress made herself puke up a pill the killer gave her, and then drank it back up. I do not understand what the point of that was, but it was disgusting.

The acting is serviceable at best. Cinematography is rather dreadful, appearing to have been shot on a smartphone with the photographer's hand unable to hold still. The waving and shaking was incredibly annoying and distracting.

The biggest issue I had was the length. At almost two hours, the first two acts were a rather uninteresting buildup to the final act where the lead actress and the killer are alone together. They are two entirely different movies. Expand the first 2/3 into a slasher flick and the last 1/3 into a suspense. Add good actors, real film and an interesting script and you have two good movies. But instead, you have one meandering, boring, long low budget film that isn't particularly horror. I suppose for its budgetary limitations it's passable, but I was pretty underwhelmed.

Trying to find something positive, I do respect the actor whose throat was cut. It drives me crazy in these movies when someone's throat gets slashed and they just lay there and bleed to death. This guy actually grabbed his throat, trying to stop the inevitable. I respect that.

Overall, however, 3 is the best I can do for this turkey.