Live-In Fear is the feature length directorial debut of Brandon Scullion. He wrote the screenplay and produced it along with Iodine Sky Productions and Monsterworks66. Cast members include Sarah Greyson (“The Challenge”), Arielle Brachfeld (The Haunting of Whaley House), Myles Cranford (Mega Piranha), Maria Olsen (Paranormal Activity 3, Starry Eyes), David Lautman, Chris Dorman, Geoffrey Gould and Charlene Geisler.
Live-In Fear is the story of four “friends” on a crash course to self-destruction in the snowy mountains of Utah when an ancient evil begins to terrorize them. Bloody, unpredictable and seeming to grow in number, the group must put their differences aside to face a foe that wants them all dead.
First of all, I wanted to say… I see you Sarah Greyson! As a reality television junkie, I instantly recognized Greyson for her time on MTV as a part of “Road Rules” and “The Challenge.” On the second show, Sarah was tough as nails, got sent into elimination five times and always came out on top. It’s so cool for me to see her as one of the leads in a horror film so many years after the show. I was such a fan and I can say with 100% honesty that she did a great job in Live-In Fear. Really, the entire cast is pretty impeccable. Shout out to Arielle Brachfeld, Myles Cranford, Maria Olsen and Chris Dorman! When you have an extremely talented crop of talent, it helps to boost the overall quality of an independent movie a notch or two.
Live-In Fear definitely falls into the broad category of horror, but when it comes to narrowing that down to aim it at a specific target audience, I get a little lost. I’ve seen it described as a grindhouse film, a supernatural film and a bloody thriller. To me, though, I see Live-In Fear more as grindhouse meets experimental horror. There’s just something so different about the way Scullion handled the story progression, something so different from a visual and visceral perspective. Throw in some interesting editing choices, a rustic and woodsy atmosphere, old-school horror elements and practical effects…and you have a film that speaks to you on another level more than just “I’m going to scare you!” I was interested, though this may not be what quenches everyone’s appetite.
If I had to give any constructive criticism it would probably be to try and focus a little more on fleshing out the ideas you have, any red herrings. Make sure you give the proper time to develop the ideas you’ve laid out. Other than that, Live-In Fear is pretty solid. A full length debut that proves that Scullion is ready for more in depth work. Good job!
Final Score: 6.7 out of 10
