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Overall Rating : 2/10
Directed By : Greg Stechman
Marcus D. Shelby (Ladybugs.)
April Potter
Sheila McClay
Anthony Falcon
Supplied By : Greg Stechman
Film Reviewed By : Rick L. Blalock
Date Reviewed : Sept. 5, 2006
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| PLOT Based on true events, the story revolves around the murder and subsequent investigation of four women in Northern California in the late 1990's. |
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| THE REVIEW THIS HOLLOW SACRAMENT, presents the story of Det. Jeff Starken, who is seemingly, a former Prisoner Of War who was once bound and tortured at the hands of his enemies. He has since made a full recovery and is now rejoining his partner on an investigation. The investigation involves the disappearance of several young girls ; all of whom were sexually assaulted and killed. The Police have whom they think are the three culprits but later all evidence points to someone far more sadistic. We watch Starken lose his mind after the sudden death of his Fiancée Amanda, at times the film makes you believe that he may be behind the crimes, suddenly before we know it we find out that we are wrong and wonder.... is it too late for Starken? Since THIS HOLLOW SACRAMENT, is based on true events, and films of the like are almost always successful, I had high hopes for this one, as it had plenty of potential to be something great. To me, the plot of the story sounded great but as I sat down to watch THS, I quickly changed my tone about it. I have seen and reviewed many independent films, and I have seen far worse than this before, but this film overall is very hard to get a hold of and grasp. Don't get me wrong, I am fully aware of the disadvantages that fall upon an indie filmmakers such as no funds available to fulfill multiple takes on a scene and so on - But THIS HOLLOW SACRAMENT had far too many scenes that were uncontinuous - scenes that seemed to be cut short when they should have been more detailed. To be honest with you I was also not a fan of how this film was edited. Most of the time when a scene ends the screen fades to black, only to present the next scene, that more times than not, barely relates to the last, often becoming overly incoherent.There were a few times in the film where one scene would end and then another would start with something completely different occurring - I remember being lost quite a few times, not knowing what the hell was going on... in my honest opinion the pace is rather lethargic, causing the film not flow very well. The acting in THIS HOLLOW SACRAMENT, is very hard to judge, as the film is very difficult at times to follow, and for that reason I was never fully able to relate to any of the cast. I still have a hard time figuring out just why the 14 year old(I think it was) female sexual assault victim looked about 30....I won't bother elaborating on individual performances here as I do not feel I understood the characters enough and to speculate on any of them would be unfair to the cast. I hate to be so blunt but I feel the direction of the film and the overall film itself felt very amateurish. But when it comes to the film's gore material Greg Stechman, proves that he has a talented eye to capture it, and I would only hope for the best for him in the future - it could only get better.... |
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| GORE
METER 5.5/10 Although the blood didn't really look all that realistic(the red was a little too faint in my opinion), some of the effects such as the guts, etc. were very well done for a film at this budget. | ||||
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| MUSICAL
SCORE 3/10 The film sports a few rock tunes as well as some classical music? I wasn't a back fan of the soundtrack.... |
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| OVERALL
IMPRESSION OF THE FILM I have read quite a few positive reviews for THIS HOLLOW SACRAMENT, and I don't agree nor disagree with them at all. I believe that this film has it's own audience as do most films - some will love it, some will hate it. Honestly I didn't like it all that much but I encourage everyone to check it out when it's DVD release comes around - because the best judgment is your own and my review is only my opinion not the majority's..... |
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