directed by:
Daniel McGuire written by: Daniel McGuire genre: Horror |
To be completely fair, Paige’s house would have been creepy enough even if it wasn’t haunted, what with its unfinished basement and sheets hung up all over the place. That being said, her house is about as haunted as you’ve ever seen one, which, of course, would make it even tougher to live there, I’m sure. I have no practical experience with this, mind you, but I can’t imagine myself just pouring a bowl of cereal to watch my Saturday morning cartoons whilst a ghost or two had free rein of the household, you dig?
I do, however, like to think that we all have some sort of strange experience with the paranormal at some point in our lives. From what I’ve personally gathered from talking with people about it, it seems we do share this as a common thread that ties us all together in a weird “we’re not alone” kind of way. While some of those folks have had their encounters with supernatural experiences later in life, the more typical story… is that the whole foray into learning about hauntings tends to occur in our youth. That’s where you end up walking by a certain house every day on your way to school, and you’re convinced beyond the shadow of a doubt that it’s haunted. I had one on my own path when I was in the first grade, and it became a traditional dare to try & get someone to ring the doorbell, when in reality our toes couldn’t even touch the yard without a chill of fear rendering us completely immobile. You can see the kids talkin’ about the Mansfield house on the street, pointing towards it & talking about its eerie & evil characteristics. Like all kids, they quickly move on from being completely creeped out to another topic with ease; they flip back and forth between being frightened to talking about whatever else has happened in their day with little to no segue. That all certainly checks out from my experience – Writer/Director Daniel McGuire has definitely captured the mechanics of the way teenagers interact. Being a little frightened ain’t gonna stop the kids from smokin’ a joint out in the woods anytime soon unless something major has shifted in the cultural zeitgeist, and as they all hunkered down on some stones to sit & smoke some poorly rolled weed, I was heartened to see that some things never change. McGuire does a lot of things very well as this story unfolds. “LANEY” doesn’t have a ton of run-time to it, so Daniel’s in a bit of a pinch to get things going, but at the same time, you don’t feel that sense of urgency as you watch this short film. Instead, he opts for more than a third of his film to serve as the basis for building the story at an impressively natural pace, with quick cuts occasionally added to reinforce the mood, atmosphere, and suspense he’s aiming to create. Like so much of what works in the Horror genre, it can often be the best method to allow some space for our minds to fill in the blanks as we watch, and McGuire masterfully uses any extra time along its short length to great effect. Around the seven-minute mark, you’ll see your first visual confirmation that something ain’t right about this house that Paige is growing up in, and I’d imagine from that point forward the audience will be fully locked in. I don’t think anyone would necessarily be struggling to watch any part of “LANEY” for the record, but I also firmly believe that everything we watch attempts to put in a hook that grabs our attention. In the case of “LANEY,” it’s wonderfully effective in piquing our interest and taking this film to the next level. Paige takes some unique mental departures as she remembers her childhood or has discussions with herself. She has definitely seen some shit in her short lifetime, but she’s also proven to be a survivor. We get the sense that she’s in some serious danger as we continue to watch “LANEY” unfold, but she also has that like…maturity about her, I guess you’d say…that makes it feel like she’s going to be okay. Maybe it’s a case of having been there and done that in her own past that makes Paige seem like she’ll be fine. She’s as scared as the rest of her friends are when things start to inevitably go south in “LANEY,” and an unspeakable evil washes over her town - but it’s also like things are coming around full circle in a way that connects the present to her past. So much of what is happening resembles what she’s already been through that you’d have to believe that just turning on the news would re-traumatize the young lady. But what if the danger was closer than that? What if evil was coming back to finish what it started so long ago? Are there people out there so fortunate that they’re able to dodge the reaper twice in one lifetime? “LANEY” is far more than just a transparent ghost - and can definitely inflict real physical harm.
While there are aspects of “LANEY” and its parallel storyline that can be a bit confusing to watch as it all unfolds, I think most watchers will have no problem getting the gist of what McGuire has written, and that with another spin, they’ll be able to catch anything they might have missed the first time around. It’s well worth it to watch “LANEY” twice in that respect; there’s a great chance you’ll get more out of it. Any confusion is likely intentional…a choice by McGuire in his direction in terms of how he wanted to display the story for “LANEY,” and I’m cool with that - I like that he gives us the space to figure things out on our own without spelling everything out too directly. As far as the rest of the technical stuff goes, I was happy with the acting overall, but I felt like the direction/writing were the real stars of this particular show. I don’t know that there were too many challenging scenes on “LANEY” with respect to the acting involved, but I felt satisfied with everything I saw & never felt like anyone let the script down. When something needed a boost, McGuire was ready and prepared to provide it through the cleverness of his direction. Even straight through into the credits, his smart use of quick cuts in that did-you-just-see-what-you-think-you-just-saw type of way was a really great approach to keeping us all fully engaged. I suppose if there’s any criticism to be levied here, it’s that “LANEY” isn’t exactly a new type of story in the Horror realm, but it is told in a compelling way. It’s somewhat of an homage to the ol’ rampaging serial killer, while also being part modern-day ghost story, too. You could easily conceive of this story going even further, tapping into mythologies we’ve come to look forward to scaring us in the same way that “Candyman” works, or “Bloody Mary” - that kind of thing. You might not need to stare into the mirror and say the name “LANEY” three times, but she straddles that space in between the supernatural & our very real fears in a similar way for sure. From what I understand, “LANEY” does in fact serve as somewhat of a precursor of what’s to come – it’s regarded as a ‘conceptual introduction to “THE MORNING DARK”,’ which is to be “Rising Films’ next feature.” I’m all for it - I like what McGuire has started here, and seeing this character of “LANEY” continue on in an expanded universe within the Horror realm could very well pay off in the long run. Creating legacy characters is never an easy task by any measure, but finding the right one in the Horror genre can certainly span a whole ton of sequels and such to follow if you play your cards just right, and it definitely feels like McGuire has something here. As it stands, while we might want a bit more than we get this time around, it’s comforting to know that it should be on the way for the future. Everything I’m seeing here in “LANEY” would be encouraging to continue the story, & I’m looking forward to finding out where McGuire takes it next. 3.5 outta 5 stars. |
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