Director – Joshua Nelson (Faces of a Dead Woman, Pandora’s Nightmare)
Starring – Chelsea Rose Barreto (Psycho-Therapy, Tales from the Waiting Room), Vincent Caprio (Orderly Disorders, Mysteries at the Museum), and Daniela Favaloro (How Can I Help You?, I…Have Issues”
Release Date – 2021
Rating – 3/5
A lot of people bitch and moan about modern horror movies. They are quick to say that the genre is dead and everyone is stealing from classic films or remaking popular titles. Sure, this does happen and more often than it should but the people that say this are pop horror fans and rarely venture to the horror underground. There is so many amazing indie horror productions getting released on a weekly basis.
Hell, I think I have my ear soundly on the ground within the indie horror community but hundreds of indie movies gets released without a single word reaching my ears. A few weeks ago I received a message to review a new horror anthology titled Triaphilia. The artwork and title really peaked my curiosity so I agreed. I was not disappointed.
**Spoiler Alert** The film follows a peculiar antique store overflowing with rare and unique items. Three of which are sold to unsuspecting individuals looking for gifts. However, these items they bought are cursed and each one brings about and unusual end to the people buy them. **Spoiler Alert**
Triaphilia reminded me a lot of the indie horror flicks I was snagging while I was in high school and college from Brain Damage Films except it had a much better video quality and a cast with experience. I enjoyed it but it doesn’t leave a lasting impression.
The acting in this one is really well done. The cast really does a fantastic job and delivers some seriously great performances. With that being said, the characters are very cliched and flat. In a lot of the scenes the character blends into the background. No one really stands out and that includes the death scenes and the scene with the demon. I liked the cast, a lot, but the characters could have been written a lot better than they were.
The three segments and the wraparound works for an anthology. The wraparound holds everything together nicely while establishing each segment before they begin. I really liked that and how tight everything was written together. However, the film doesn’t give the viewer something that stands out. All the tales are fun for first time viewing but they are pretty standard and generic for the most part. The first segment is my favorite of the film but even then the part that I like could be found in other films with similar stories.
Finally, the film has some blood and some solid make-up effects. The kills are nothing we haven’t seen before but they are red and fit the film very well. The make-up effects are solid as well which makes these kills work. Overall, Triaphilia is a fun and entertaining horror anthology that is nice and neat in a tight package. The camera work and cast is great and the stories work so well together. Sadly, it doesn’t offer up anything that really sticks with you. It’s a film you will not remember when it’s all said and done but it’s fun while you are watching it.
