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The Despair (2009)
A cross between Intervention and Blair Witch.
I was recently sent a copy of Mike Crawford's experimental film: "The Despair". A hybrid type movie that tackles two very scary aspects. Drug addiction and Horror. And that's Horror with an 'H'. Generally, not the type of serious topics you'd want to put into one film. Sure, we all know that the teenagers who have sex and do drugs always die in horror movies, but this approach is not meant as the stereotype.
The Despair has some pretty cool shots, especially if you're a fan of LSD. But all jokes aside there are some pretty trippy scenes. And for the next to 'No' budget they had I got to say it's not bad at all. But I can't score it points for being OK with a small budget. Why? Simple. It's because I've seen a lot of movies with 'No Budget' end up looking and being amazing indie films. Like I said, that's not saying The Despair is bad, it's just not amazing. Try to picture a cross between the reality show Intervention and the Blair Witch Project. That's about what this film looks like. In the story area The Despair is nothing all that new, but it does kind of put it's own spin on things. Sort of helping to freshen up the genre. Not a bad job for the writer (Who also happens to be Mike Crawford) and as far as this type of film goes it's presented and edited the way it should be. Mike scores points in the writing area for not having his characters come across as corny, or all sounding the same. Nice job! Another aspect of this film that worked very well was the musical scoring. Totally complimenting what happens onscreen. Excellent job. Now, I gotta say that one area that brings this film from a dead even score to a slightly above average score is the acting. Very well done cast. It seems that pretty much every character and line delivered are done right with no 'Cheese' factor. I almost want to say that this really is a documentary because the acting is pretty damn good. High five and a virtual toast guys and gals. So. When it's all over The Despair isn't anything to write home about. But it's not bad either. It does have some sharp moments and loads of decent acting. When you factor in the budget and style it's really no wonder I actually did enjoy this film. The DVD will be on my wall of independent fame for sure. But with all the praises I just can't look past the films few shortcomings. So. What is my opinion of The Despair..... A solid 3 out of 5 stars. |
