Director – David Kerr (Curse of the Slasher Nurse, Return of the Slasher Nurse)
Starring – Matthew Sharpe (Bloody Summer Camp, Bad Witch), Christine Oswald (Nightmare Pageant Moms, Sutherland), and Emily Zinski (Emily Who Was Very Sad)
Release Date – 2024
Rating – 4/5
Several years back I befriended filmmaker Dave Kerr on Facebook when he was promoting Bloody Summer Camp. Most of you know how much I love slashers, so I was all over this one. We spoke and after that he started sending news about his projects to be covered on the site. Since then, I’ve spoken with Dave and frequent collaborator Michael McGlynn at several horror conventions.
Their love for the genre is evident so when they announced that they were raising funds for a new horror film titled Go Away I was ready for it. Several months back when I was preparing for my October horror binge Dave was kind enough to send over a link for Go Away. I want to thank Dave and the Slasher 15 crew for sending this over for review!
**Spoiler Alert** The film follows an estranged family coming together for a dinner after revealing that their mother remarried a few years back. Their bickering and arguing is cut short when a group of masked intruders make their way into their home. They tell them to hide and if they are able to escape then they can live but if they are found then they will be slaughtered. What should be a simple game of hide and seek for the killers takes a deadly turn when they realize that the home, they just broke into belongs to a killer that is more cunning and has more experience than all of them combined. **Spoiler Alert**
I had posted about Go Away several times before I was able to finally see it but I made sure I kept the synopsis a secret to myself because I knew I would be reviewing it eventually. I usually just copied and pasted the news from the press releases and did very little reading. I typically do that to films I want to review later down the line and I’m glad I did because there was a part of the plot that I was not expecting and really enjoyed.
The acting in this one is fantastic. We have amazing performances from genre icons Thom Matthews (Return of the Living Dead, Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives), Tuesday Knight (A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master, The X-Files), Felissa Rose (Sleepaway Camp, Zombiegeddon), and Robert Mukes (House of 1000 Corpses, Bone Tomahawk). It was great to see them in another genre title that doesn’t just exploit their names. They get decent screen time and do great in their roles. With that being said, the star of the show are the is the rest of the cast. They carry the film and do a fantastic job.
The story for this one is not another home invasion horror flick with no depth. It is a home invasion horror film but with a spin to it. It has a slasher sub-plot that makes it feel completely different while keeping the basics of the sub-genre intact. I loved the “twist.” the characters, and how well the sub-plot and story worked together.
Finally, the film has some seriously solid practical effects that I was not expecting. We get a decent amount of blood and some seriously impressive practical effects. The kills fit the film very well and I love the mask design for the intruders. Overall, Go Away is one of those titles that will cause ripples in the indie horror community. I highly recommend it especially if you dig slashers and home invasion flicks. It’s well worth your time.
