The Vale Untold- Trailer from Zach Walleser on Vimeo. directed by:
Zach Walleser written by: Zach Walleser genre: Horror, Science fiction |
"Pray for forgiveness because your sins belong to me." Wow, that's a killer line that I'll probably remember for a long time - perhaps even a great tagline for Zach Walleser's feature film "The Vale Untold." So what's in store for those who watch this independent title? Quite a bit, actually. Things like the garden of Eden, dinosaurs, exorcisms, and even a sprinkling of corporate greed incarnate. However, the main focus centers on original sin and the second coming of a particular angel turned demon. Yes, reader, this is technically a religious horror film, and I love this type of film.
Religious horror? Yes. "The Vale Untold" has possessions, demons, and regular folks steered to do the bidding of evil incarnate. It all centers on the accidental discovery of what is essentially the garden of Eden. The film takes place in multiple timelines and follows the family/founders of Lotus pharmaceuticals. The film itself has all the ingredients for a fantastic experience but, sadly, suffers mainly from its budget. Mainly. "The Vale Untold" was an ambitious venture, no doubt - and despite some of its shortcomings, there's still a good movie to be seen. Perfect? Definitely not. Enjoyable for those who enjoy indie horror movies? For sure. Although I believe cash played a considerable role during the production of "The Vale Untold," I'm not suggesting it alone is responsible for some of Walleser's more offputting segments. There appears to be some stock footage used, and when it "is" utilized, the jarring jump between it and the filmed footage is very distracting, as are the C.G. elements in the film. With the C.G. stuff, it's understandable, but with the stock elements, an effort could have been made to blend the quality even if it meant reducing the quality of the stock.
The same can be said for "some" of the audio. It sounds incredibly mechanical at times. I'll be honest: wind noise beats that mechanized filter sound any day of the week. Speaking of mechanized ... why do movies, indie or studio, make the voice of their computer sound so computer-like? The A.I. on my cell phone sounds infinitely more human than the computer voice in the film - and their computer gadgetry is meant to be advanced! There are also more than a few very awkward/hollow bits of acting in the movie. One scene near the start has a woman banging on her door to get out - scared as hell. Only the viewer, myself, could clearly tell she was barely touching the door. Another example is some weird dialog like, "Move, and I'll blow your head off," as the speaker knocks out the victim. Huh? How could she move if she's unconscious? At the end of the day, despite some of what I wrote above, "The Vale Untold" was a decent enough film. Was it perfect? No, but so what? I did find myself entertained for just under an hour, and there were enough interesting or entertaining elements to keep me away from the stop button. For those who enjoy a decent low-budget movie and understand the idea is to have a good time, "The Vale Untold" should be right up your alley. Two and a half stars. |
|
|
More To Check Out.
|
