Monday, October 23, 2023

INFERNUM -- Movie Review by Porfle




Originally posted on 8/14/19

 

After seeing so many big-budget horror flicks that depend on gore, flashy effects, and sudden loud noises to try and get scares, it's nice to see someone who can take a low budget and some real talent and make a movie that's genuinely old-school scary.

Which is what writer-director Dutch Marich (MISERABLE SINNERS, HUNTING, BLEED OUT) does with his new film, INFERNUM (Indican Pictures, 2019). Great locations, limited interiors, and pretty much no special effects combine with a capable cast and imaginative script (and yes, one or two well-earned jump scares) to fashion a tale that chills the blood in a way you don't see very often anymore.

In the opening, a little girl's parents leave their camping tent one night to investigate a roaring noise in the woods (later described as a "paranormal rift" through which one may hear the hellish sound of "wailing and gnashing of teeth") and disappear. 


Twenty-five years later, Camille (Suziey Block, DUDE BRO PARTY MASSACRE III, MEANING OF VIOLENCE) is still dealing with her terror and loss by interviewing people with similar experiences as part of an art-school graduation project.

When she misses an anniversary dinner with her boyfriend Hunter (Michael Barbuto, HUNTING, HAPPY CAMP, BLEED OUT), he loses it and goes off on how she embarrasses him with her "a loud noise ate my parents" obsession.

Hunter also chafes at how much time she spends with young James (Clinton Roper Elledge, RUSH), a gawky film student making a movie about Camille and helping with her project's audio-visuals.


This part of INFERNUM is fairly well-done, but it only becomes apparent later how director Marich is setting us up with this borderline-tiresome "lovers' spat" routine just so he can spring the scary on us later.

This comes when Camille and James hear of a mysterious loud noise in a forest in Nevada and drive there right away to investigate, although Camille insists on not getting too close. 

When the road to their destination is closed due to an avalanche, they must instead take an antique museum train that has been pressed into service to transport people to their homes. 

Hunter, it turns out, has followed them and ends up on the train, too.  The three of them are in the middle of an awkward situation in the caboose as we wait for the train to reach its destination so things can finally pick up. (Meanwhile, the night shots of the train traveling through the darkness are beautiful.)


INFERNUM goes from "okay" to "masterful" when they wake up from a brief nap to find that the train has stopped in the middle of a dark tunnel, with no one else aboard except for a woman named Rita (Sarah Schoofs, GUT, BLACK WAKE, THEATER OF TERROR) who has lost her husband.  The engineer, the conductor, and the other passengers are all gone. 

The acting gets better and more natural as the characters go from wandering hesitantly through this unknown situation into flailing about in sheer terror when all the lights go out and that familiar roaring noise starts rushing over the exterior of the train.

One really gets the feeling of being isolated and alone in a very dark, very spooky place, thanks to skillful staging and direction, with shots that are stark clashes of darkness and light conveying eerie, oppressive gloom. 


In fact, this film has more atmosphere and suspense than ten average horror flicks smashed together.  And as is so often the case, it's what we don't see but are forced to imagine that is the scariest.

Of course, not all filmmakers can pull off such a thing, but here our imaginations are working overtime to help conjure up whatever awful force is menacing the poor souls on that train as the fear factor continues to rise.

INFERNUM manages to evoke the immediacy of the best "found footage" films, with all the breathless suspense and creeping terror but without the awkward contrivances.  It would make a hell of an extended "Twilight Zone" episode.





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