Welcome to another installment of DON'T WATCH THIS
ALONE! This is where we talk about the latest in the world of horror,
and give you something to make your skin crawl. Today, we're taking a look at a
new entry in the slasher/masked killer movie genre, PITCHFORK
“A New Horror Icon is Born!”
Or so claim the filmmakers of the new slasher movie, Pitchfork.
If they are talking about the deranged masked killer they have created in this
slasher movie, then I agree to some extent. However, if they are talking about
the movie Pitchfork as a whole, I have some issues with that
even if this is a movie you might not want to watch alone.
Pitchfork is written by Darryl F. Gariglio and Glenn
Douglas Packard with Packard working as the director on this film as well.
He is also listed as being the creator. I am assuming it is in reference to the
creation of the deranged masked killer in this movie that they feel will become
as icon as Freddy Kruger, Jason Voorhees, or Michael Myers. The
character of Ben Holister/Pitchfork certainly has all the makings of taking on
that task. He is definitely a clear throwback to the 1980s golden age of
slasher killers, what with his face mask made from skin and fur he ripped from
the skull of dead German Shepard dog and one arm sporting a pitchfork secured
on with barbed wire as a lethal replacement for his missing hand. Never mind
that a normal metal pitchfork would require major bodybuilder type muscle
strength to wield in that manner, let alone able to run in anything but a
lopsided gait. This killer is agile and fast his feet, which is not quite in
true 80s horror icon fashion where the killer is usually slower, but the
agility gives the character of Pitchfork an edge over his
victims that is both creepy and deadly.
What makes the character of Ben Holister/Pitchfork work in
the movie Pitchfork despite the logistics of having a
pitchfork for a hand is the actor, Daniel Wilkinson, who plays him in this
movie. Wilkinson, a professional snowboarder who also trained in the martial
arts, brings an animalistic and predatory grace to the role. Without any dialog
and only the use of growl and other animal sounds to express the character’s
voice, Wilkinson uses his martial arts training to create movements that are
reminiscent of both a wolf and a great cat stalking its prey. It’s safe to say
that Daniel Wilkinson made this character work despite it being stuck in a lame
attempt at a slasher movie.
It’s the movie plot built around this stand out
horror/slasher movie character that does not work, in my opinion. The story
line in Pitchfork had a great concept to work with. Hunter
Killian (Brian Raetz) has recently told his conservative parents that he is gay
and is now returning home to see them for the first time in five years. He
brings seven of his New York City friends as moral support.
His mother Ruth (Carol Ludwick) is warm and welcoming, while
his father Wayne (Derek Reynolds) is standoffish and gruff. Hunter’s much
younger sister Jenny (Addisyn Wallace), whom the family refers to as the animal
whispers due to her ability to calm down any animal, is happy to have her big
brother home. All the while a psychotic slasher is waiting to pounce
on them with a killer’s glee.
Speaking of glee, while Pitchfork has the
perfect and creepy ‘first victims being killed’ beginning that is standard in
slasher movies. After that, a chunk of it plays like you are
watching an episode of Glee. No sooner do Hunter and his friends roll onto the
family farm than oh boy instant barn dance party that all the local twenty
somethings seem to magically know about. Not only that, it comes
complete with its own extended, choreographed dance scenes, clichéd secret
crushes, boyfriend cheating and baby announcements. The writers make some
awkward attempts at frat style comedy that the movie could have really done
without.
In the latter part of Pitchfork, the movie turns
into a slasher movie in earnest and offers up some good 80s style mayhem
for everyone involved. However, the problem is, the movie is so jumbled
with things happening off screen or abrupt switches to something else, that it
really doesn’t hold as much suspense in the chase or the kills as you
might want in this type of movie. Really, the movie could have been better
served to have less barn dancing and more focus on the slasher part of the
movie. Though, it does lend an almost supernatural element to the movie that
Ben Holister/Pitchfork moves from one place to the next in a matter of seconds
and just in time to kill his next victim. That's a pretty amazing feat
considering we are talking about a guy wearing a pitchfork as a hand.
The special effects are your standard in 80s style slasher
movies, but surprisingly less gory than expected, which could
be attributed to all the cut aways in the film. One thing though, it did make
the actors have to use their facial expressions and reactions to ‘show’ the
audience what is going on rather than the actual physical actions would have.
Pitchfork really had potential as a story
concept, it just needed better editing or writing to have helped it live up to
that potential. If they make it to sequel territory as the ending implies, then
it will be because Daniel Wilkinson in the role of Ben Holister/Pitchfork
carried it there.
Marla’s Score: 5/10
Check out the Official Facebook page for PITCHFORK
PITCHFORK opens in select theaters on January
6th and on VOD January 13, 2017.
No comments:
Post a Comment