Hello there fellow dilettantes of death, it’s Thakgore and today I bring you a review of the upcoming dark horror comedy, “Camera Obscura”. This trippy indie ride really runs the gamut of horror from darkly comic to downright unsettling. So sit back and let’s take a look at the world through the lens of the….
Co-written and directed by newcomer Aaron B. Koontz, “Camera Obscura” stars Christopher Denham, Nadja Bobyleva, and Catherine Curtin of “Orange is the New Black” fame. “Camera Obscura” tells the story of Jack Zellar (Denham), a war photographer who has given up his vocation due to crippling PTSD. In an effort to encourage him to get back into photography his wife Claire (Bobyleva) purchases an old camera at an auction to give to him as a gift. Jack soon discovers that the camera has the ability to predict deaths that will occur at locations it photographs. When his wife appears in one of the photos Jack begins a terrible, bloody quest to try and save her life.
I have mixed emotions about this one. On one hand I can genuinely appreciate some of the decisions director Aaron B. Koontz made. From comic shifts that were unexpected, and surprisingly funny, to gore effects that actually shocked me I found myself liking many things about it. On the other hand I did dislike quite a bit. I admit that upon first viewing I was ready to judge the film more harshly than I did in this review, but after briefly discussing it with fellow Staff Writer Matt Storc I decided to give it a second look and found myself forgiving some of the film’s more quirky elements.
Let me start with the acting. While everyone involved gave adequate performances, with only one glaring exception, much of the weight was borne by the lead Christopher Denham. He really carries this movie and has to swing back and forth between terror, confusion, and comic ineptitude regularly. His job was to make you both like him and sympathize with him while he does some pretty horrific things. This was no easy task, but Denham pulls it off. He was easily my favorite part of the film.
Less impressive was Nadja Bobyleva as Claire. I commend the Russian born actress on a (mostly) awesome American accent. I also bemoan the fact that she’s wasn’t given much to do outside of smiling a lot, saying encouraging things and taking part in a startlingly ill-conceived sex scene. However, I can’t in good conscience fail to mention how bad her acting was. As good a job as she did with the accent I feel like in her effort to maintain it she butchered the rest of her performance. Every line she delivers sounds robotic. It was very distracting.
I was also distracted by the tone of the film. It took me almost two thirds of the movie to realize that it wasn’t straight horror. Everything about it felt like straight horror until Jack visits a hardware store about an hour in. The scene is jarringly comic in tone and I was flabbergasted through most of it. While I laughed several times I remained unsure as to whether or not it was intentional because the music was deadly serious throughout. Upon a second viewing I still don’t think the director did enough to let the audience know that it was a dark comedy/horror so this scene still feels extremely out of place. While the rest of the movie has a few comic moments here and there the ridiculous hardware scene, as hilarious as it is, just sticks out like a sore thumb.
Most of my complaints can be attributed to what I believe was inexperience on the part of director Aaron B. Koontz. While he has directed several short films in the past this is his first feature. The palpable atmosphere he manages to bring to several scenes showcases his talents well. In particular I loved the haunting dream sequence at the pool, but for every scene that engaged me there were several that were either poorly blocked, confusingly constructed or terribly choreographed. For example, there is a comical(?) fight scene that goes on way too long and while I’m almost sure that it was supposed to be funny I just found it awkward for all the wrong reasons. Also, the pacing seemed off and as a result the film dragged a bit in spots. I do think Koontz shows promise, however, and I look forward to seeing more from him in the future.
Now there’s no way that I can end this review without talking about the elephant in the room. This movie bears striking similarities to “Say Cheese and Die” from the Goosebumps franchise. The movie does acknowledge this with a tongue-in-cheek throwaway line and I give them props for not shying away from the comparison. I will also concede that the film does play very much like a gruesome, grown-up episode of the old Goosebumps TV series. Whether or not that’s a good thing is up to you.
In conclusion I can say that I tentatively recommend “Camera Obscura”. While I’m not sure I completely enjoyed it I can see how others might love it. I suspect that this movie will hit the nostalgia button for a lot of horror fans out there pretty hard. So if you like quasi-comedy horror and the Goosebumps TV show be sure to check this one out. For everyone else I give it a 3 out of 5.
“Camera Obscura” will be released on June 9th for a limited theatrical run and on VOD and Digital HD starting June 13th. Check out the film’s Facebook page for more information.
