Sheldon Wilson’s critically heralded film is now available on DVD here in the UK fresh from it’s limited theatrical release and I have to say that whilst I could certainly appreciate the film, it was a little bit disappointing.
The film opens as the majority of the inhabitants of Shallow Valley are packing up and leaving town. Their plans are interrupted however, when a young boy who is naked and drenched in blood enters the local sheriff’s station. The boy does not speak but his actions leave the local police team scared and there are soon ramifications throughout Shallow Valley.
From the moment the film begins we are treated to some really strong visuals which I won’t be forgetting in a hurry and these are backed up by some excellent moments of misdirection and eerie ambience. The film also looks great and thankfully gets it right in the visual effects department thanks to the good old fashioned use of on camera effects.
What disappointed me was the story, which dragged on. The idea was certainly novel but in execution it was a little bit too far fetched and I didn’t buy that the villain had been so badly effected by a certain incident that they would have gone to such extraordinary lengths to do what they did.
The cast are all good and are well suited to their parts and I certainly appreciated the efforts of everyone concerned, but the film simply didn’t fulfill my expectations.
OVERALL SUMMARY
I wouldn’t dream of bashing the film in any way as it was enjoyable, well crafted and certainly more original than anything that recent memory brings to mind, I was just a little incensed that it never really kicked into gear.
