Synopsis:
Into the Gravel Pit follows the story of three young friends that choose to celebrate one last time together before going their separate ways in life. As they experiment with a off-street drug, things go terribly wrong.
IMDb: N/A
Rotten Tomatoes: N/A
Colin Bressler (The Mummy Murders, No Promised Land) wrote and directed this low budget experimental horror film (shot for $30,000) starring Lisa Wilcox (Alice in Nightmare on Elm Street 4, 5, MILF Manor), and Paul T. Taylor (Pinhead in Hellraiser: Judgment).
Obviously, you won’t get Oscar worthy performances with new or amateur actors. Despite this, they actually do a pretty good job. The only times they’re rough around the edges, is when the writing fails them. However, the trippy visuals and music do a pretty good job at disguising these shortcomings. I really dug the Oliver Stone subliminal flashes.
The writing is a bit all over the place. Hugely important dramatic plot points including dead mothers, parental abuse, alcohol abuse, all just appear out of nowhere and then disappear for the rest of the film. I get you are trying to create three dimensional characters, but it’s a little cringe worthy when these kind of things have no buildup, or any indication they exist, until a five minute overly dramatic scene which ends and then is never revisited. And why is the Dad attacking his daughter out of nowhere? I don’t get it. And he holds the baseball bat like someone who has never ever played baseball a day in his life. And the awkward love declaration between two of the main characters is yet another thing that suddenly appears for a 5 minute scene and goes nowhere. Don’t forget the awkward lovemaking scene between a young Wayne Brady looking dude and a garbage bag that shows a glimpse of his gigantic schlong! Or the toilet stabbing during an argument with the voices in your head where you respond, “I meditate every day!”
The music is interesting, as it plays for basically the entirety of the movie, going from intense, to ambient, to background noise, but it fits the mood of pretty well every scene. I am not sure if it is all original, or stock, or what, but it really was curated or composed or whatever the case may be, really well and I enjoy it when details like this are focused on and executed well.
There’s a lot to be proud of here. It’s a great movie to have on your resume if you are an up and coming filmmaker or actor. The visuals and colors are great at times, the music is fantastic, but it’s a bit odd in terms of choices made in the writing. It also takes a bit to get going. And then there are the parts for Lisa Wilcox and Paul T. Taylor. They feel like they were shoe horned into the movie when they got word that two name value actors were going to be available. Like, “hey! We got these two people, but they’re older than the principal characters, so just write in a subplot for them and it will all work out.”
Overall, if you dig this kind of thing, you will love this. It’s odd. Experimental. Bizarre. If you don’t, then stay far away from it. I tend to not like these kind of films, but I can appreciate the love and effort that goes into making this. It’s better than anything I could ever do.
Just remember, drugs are bad, mmmkay?
https://www.intothegravelpit.com/
4.0/10 Stab Wounds
