directed by:
Micah Overby written by: Micah Overby genre: Horror |
In "Rxcall," Cheyanne has just graduated from an anger management program, and after meeting Justin, she seems to be getting a better grasp on her rage issues. Shortly after the murder of her sister, she is hired as a caregiver for Millicent, an elderly patient who starts remembering a sinister past as a result of taking an experimental drug.
Making a movie is a hard gig, and I applaud anyone who sets out and ultimately completes the task, regardless of the scale or budget they are working with. However, I must be brutally honest out of respect for this process. "Rxcall" was a hard watch. There are just too many moving parts at work here, and the production feels spread thin across numerous locations with a vast cast weaving in and out of the story. The movie is constantly busying itself with subplots that feel shallow and unfocused. Throw in two cops who conveniently pop up whenever the script needs their presence, and you basically get the idea. Cheyanne (Alexis Hart) is particularly annoying and uninviting as a character, and as a horror movie fan, I must say I was hoping she would be the first to go. However, this isn't on the actor – it's the director's job to create that connection. I just felt like I was watching someone record a first reading rather than a scene that was meticulously planned and emotionally driven by both filmmaker and performer - as it should have been. This makes the themes and deeper-rooted messages that the story is trying to convey - seem dormmate and unearned. Justin (Joshua Grant) is likable, yet he is underutilized. The coverage of the interactions is awkward and out of focus for the most part - and the backing sound design is more of a distraction than anything. An audience can be forgiving of a visual inconsistency, but the very moment you lose them to bad sound, you have to work twice as hard to get them back.
Micah Overby writes and directs, and I'll assume (since there is no credit) edits the film - which gives me a sliver of hope. The edits move right along, and despite the material, it always manages to get to the point of where it's trying to go. I'd be curious to see this filmmaker take on a leaner script because even with all that's been said so far, there may still be a voice somewhere in all of this that needs to be heard—two and a half stars. |
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