Director – Andy Lohrenz
Starring – Joe Nemmers (Breaking Bad), Jodie Moore (Maggie, Oldboy), and Frank Mosley (Don’t Look in the Basement 2)
Release Date – 2013
Rating – 3.5/5
Tagline – “How far are you willing to go to protect your family?”
Brain Damage Films/Midnight Releasing and I have a shaky relationship. I used to collect these films when I was in middle school and high school. I love the campy, cheesy, and cheap horror films and this company releases some memorable titles. For a small time they partnered with Mill Creek Entertainment and Pendulum Pictures and released some very sought after box sets. I also collect these as well. Sadly, some of their newest films just don’t hold the charm as their earlier releases. They are trying to get away from the campy horror films I grew up watching to focus more on the professionally shot horror films with bigger budgets.
I recently watched Evil Souls and was not impressed by the film. It was beautifully shot but the story was all over the place. It was a pretty boring experience to say the least. Around the time I got Evil Souls from them I received the crime thriller Suburbanite. The film looked interesting but I was a little gun shy after watching Evil Souls. I am glad I checked it out but wish it would have been marketed towards those that love crime thrillers and not the horror crowd because horror it is not.
**Spoiler Alert**The film begins with a man, Mack (Moore), talking to a hit man about taking care of his wife who is in the middle of filing a divorce. The hit man agrees and leaves the bar where we learn he is not really a hit man but a con artist who plans on black mailing him for more money. The man drinks too much and wonders out into traffic where working class man John (Nemmers) strikes him with his car. Afraid of going to jail and losing his job and perfect life, he takes the body back to his house to bury where no one can find it.
However, what he doesn’t plan on is finding Mack alive. To make matter worse, Mack and John was followed by the con artist who now plans on black mailing John in order to keep his hit and run accident out of the hands of police. Mack slowly regains his strength and the two are able to put an end to the con artist and his partner but John still has one more mistake to take care of and his name is Mack. **Spoiler Alert**
Evil Souls was a beautifully shot horror film that had the elements to be an amazing story but struggled to put them together in the proper order. I was afraid that Suburbanite would be the same way but I was dead wrong. The may not have looked as beautiful asEvil Souls but it offered up much more in terms of entertainment.
The acting in this one is great. Some of the cast is a little better than others but overall the acting is great. The film’s leads, Joe Nemmers and Jodie Moore, do a great job and compliment each other in every scene. Both of their performances is emotional and engaging. The film would not have been as good as it is if someone else was cast in their roles. With that being said, my favorite performance comes from Frank Mosley who plays the corrupt cop/con artist. His performance is pretty intense and he really brings the drama to each scene he is in. He is a very charismatic villain and I love that.
The story for this one is very entertaining but it is not a horror film. It is a crime thriller that reminds me a lot of a Tarantino film especially Reservoir Dogs. It is very dark and macabre but is still a crime thriller at heart that is very character driven in the same line as most of Tarantino’s earlier films. The ending does turn bloody but that only solidifies my Tarantino observation. My biggest complaint with the film is how slow some of the scenes are. They are filler scenes that do very little to push the story along.
Finally, the film does offer up some blood and a tiny bit of gore which was surprising considering the type of story we got. We have some great practical effects but we are robbed of the kills which take place off screen. As great as the effects are I would assume we would get to see the death but we don’t. Overall, Suburbanite is a claustrophobic thriller that has a superb cast and an intriguing story. If you are looking for substance over gore then you may want to check this one out.
