I found this film through the band In Search of Sun, whose single 'Contagious' features in the end credits.
Admittedly, coming into it, I expected something entirely different than what I got. The performance of the lead, Neal Ward, is something that I feel will be lost on a lot of people, especially Americans. As a southern American myself, I am exceedingly familiar with the accent, and it was instantly laughable within the first sentence he spoke. For many people I'm sure this comes across as poor acting, but I personally feel like it's so egregious, it has to be an intentional choice meant to emphasize the nature of the antagonist.
It also serves as a setup for the very minor twist of the main antagonist impersonating someone he's killed, explaining both the poor wig and even poorer accent. This is what solidified it as flagrantly intentional choice in my mind, and something that the characters of the world are willing to overlook as a character quirk. Characters seem to take him at face value for just being an awkward and eccentric person. You'll either like this choice, or hate the naivete of the people who he interacts with.
When Neal Ward finally switches the accent off and reveals that the character is indeed faking it within the film's universe, you see a glimpse of his genuine acting ability beyond the guise of the seemingly inept Lionel. He immediately draws forth a more threatening presence, lacking the comedic undertones of his usual goofy persona. The way he reacts to stressful situations makes it very clear that he's in far over his head, and that whatever he's gotten away with before this has been entirely on luck.
There's some decent visual storytelling with scars coating Lionel's body, implied to be from abuse from his mother, who he has immortalized in a * portrait hanging in his dining room proudly. It's up to the audience to decide whether this lack of explicit background is a choice to intrigue you, or a disregard for proper characterization. For me, I think it's more of the former.
Though I've spent most of the review talking about Neal Ward's portrayal of his character, I also think it's the thing most people will take issue with. The acting from Christopher Mulvin is good, with only a few glimpses of awkwardness peeking through in the opening minutes, where some of his emoting feels unnatural.
The performances from the other cast, particularly Liv and the two police officers who visit about halfway through the film, are perfectly fine. There's not much to complain about with them in my opinion.
The final aspect worth noting, since the story itself is as simplistic as it sounds, is that the special effects work is fantastic for such a microbudget film. It's genuinely impressive, and the use of practical over CG adds a very physical sense of feedback to the gore scenes. Seeing the main character's finger bend and crack before being snipped off was jarring to me, as I've been conditioned to expect a clean slice. In modern cinema, where gore is usually so excessively digital that it's distracting, it's a breath of fresh air to see something else.
It's clear to me that this was a film made with a lot of passion, but I think it'll miss it's mark with most people who aren't willing to meet it halfway with it's liberal use of tonal shifts and general silliness. If you think you're up for that, I think you'll find this film to be worth a watch. If you're a fan of more grounded plotlines with less egregious moments, this film is likely not for you.
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