What year is this? I can’t look at Shannen Doherty and Tom Green without thinking back to their late 90’s hit shows “Charmed” and “The Tom Green Show.” This was single-hadedly the biggest reason why I wanted to see their new movie Bethany. While I’ve seen #cancerslayer Ms. Doherty in Blood Lake: Attack of the Killer Lampreys back in 2014, I haven’t seen anything from Mr. Green since Freddy Got Fingered in 2001. Oh, the nostalgia of it all! The other reason I wanted to check out Bethany is because it comes from film-maker James Cullen Bressack, who wowed audiences with hit horror films like 13/13/13, To Jennifer and Pernicious. Cult stars, a fantastic producer and an eye catching poster was enough to convince me to spend my night off watching Bethany. Here’s my thoughts having taken it all in.
From the jump I was in love with the style Bethany was shot in. At first, it seemed like a modern tale with super fancy cameras, but it transitioned to a slightly older look with an old school method of story-telling. This, of course, is not a negative thing by any means. Bethany is more mature and artistic than some of Bressack’s previous works and I was happy to see him step outside of his comfort zone; though it does bare some resemblance to a film he produced last year – Restoration. I knew from the jump that Bethany wasn’t going to be an in your face type of horror film, but more of a character developing and story building experience, which I was totally OK with because… seriously, Shannen Doherty is a goddess. Just a powerhouse of raw emotion and I was here for it.
The simplest way I can describe Bethany is Mommy Dearest meets The Grudge. The plot follows a young married couple – Claire (played by Stefanie Estes) and Aaron (Zack Ward) – as they move into Claire’s childhood home. Almost immediate Claire is not herself and she starts to be haunted by memories from the past and nightmares of the present. She starts to believe that both traumas are trying to teach her something, but she may not survive to unravel the mystery. The means of scaring the audience and leaving them uneasy are done through flashbacks, hallucinations and ghost attack effects. The gore is kept to a minimum and I don’t remember there being any nudity. Again, this is a slow burn horror film that’s going to get your attention in other ways than shock and awe. Claire’s got mommy issues and in more ways than one!
Now I have to say that The Bunnyman Massacre and The Undying‘s Stefanie Estes is supposed to be the lead actress and the story is supposed to revolve around her, but I gravitated to her co-star A Christmas Story and Resident Evil: Apocalypse‘s Zack Ward. For me Mr. Ward completely stole the show. Both actors are extremely capable and give great performances, but I feel that Estes and her character Claire were hindered by forced dialogue that didn’t flow right. Claire’s dialogue seemed so compressed and unrealistic that it made Estes come off as wooden in some scenes. The entire lead cast – Doherty, Green, Estes, Ward and Anna Harr – had a lot of on screen chemistry and I enjoyed the cameos by Bressack, Hunter Johnson and Sleepaway Camp‘s Felissa Rose. Just a massive pool of talent.
Bethany was a solid production and entirely error free, but I never expected anything less from a flick written, directed and produced by James Cullen Bressack with co-writer and co-producer Zack Ward. They really know their stuff. With cinematography by John DeFazio and editing by Bobby K. Richardson, all the major players were in the game and Bethany is sure to be another big hit for Brilliant Screen Studios and Grit Film Works. Besides the previously mentioned forced dialogue and some lackluster CGI near the end of the flick, this was pretty great. Mommy Dearest meets The Grudge for sure. If that sounds like your cup of tea, definitely consider watching Bethany. It’s on VOD now! Final Score: 7.5 out of 10.
