It’s time for another installment for our fun little Syndicate roulette game. At this point, is there really a need for an introduction?
SPIN THAT WHEEL!
What am I getting myself into this week?
The Shrine (2010)
The Shrine starts off with a young magazine journalist who stumbles upon an odd story. That of a young man backpacking through Europe who comes up missing. She puts together the fact that five similar young Americans have gone missing in the same region of Poland over the last 50 years. So, she decides to investigate and catch her big story. She is joined by her boyfriend/photographer and her young assistant. Can they find the missing man or will they find…. certain doom?
So, this flick overall was pretty good. A very good supernatural horror. There was a decent amount of dread when the characters found the village they were looking for. There were even stereotypical townsfolk steering the group away from the town. But above the skyline, was an ominous fog that hung over the village. This fog, kept drawing our main characters to it. Once you stepped into said fog, you saw and heard things. If you came back out of it, you may never be the same again.
Director Jon Knautz, who also directed Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer (2007), helped pen the script with Brendan Moore. The script felt kind of fresh considering it isn’t an original idea. The tone throughout was pretty bleak. The cinematography was really interesting. Extreme close-ups during conversations really allowed me to see the actors’ eyes, facial expressions and their convictions to the scene. I’m not saying it was Oscar award winning acting, far from it. I just noticed the camera really tried to capture the face, more so than the rest of the body of the actors.
The special effects were very effective. More importantly to me, they were practical. The man guilty, Allan Cooke. Who has done excellent work over the years for the genre. His effects weren’t over the top. They were more subtle. The blood-letting scene was my favorite.
The film also had nuances of other horror films thrown in. Which I think was a pretty smart and effective way to present itself. You think you’re in for a creepy forest romp a la The Blair Witch Project (1999) or The Forest (2015). But the third act though, takes us in an entirely different direction.
What movies does this remind you of?
Now, the fun part. Does my luck survive another week?
I do believe, that’s 3 wins in a row folks!
#winningstreak
IMDB: 5.6/10
ZombiSurvivor: 7.2/10
The Shrine (2010) is currently streaming on Netflix
Also, streaming for free on YouTube! (For the time being)
Thanks for reading kiddos and as always….
STAY SCARED!
-ZS
