Director – James Morris (The Witching Season, The Astrological Whipping Boy)
Starring – Colin Cunningham (Preacher, Blood Drive), Jessica Staples (This is Not Home, The Stolen Valley), and David E. McMahon (Johnny Z, Rose Blood: A Friday the 13th Fan Film)
Release Date – 2023
Rating – 3/5
Way back at the end of September I made a post about my annual October horror binge. I was fishing for a few indie horror flicks to add to my month long marathon but was met with an overwhelming amount of films to watch and review. In fact, it’s now the end of December and I’m maybe a third of the way through the movies sent my way.
One of the films that was sent over was He Never Left from director James Morris and Witching Season Films. I became a huge fan of theirs after the release of Witching Season, They Live Inside Us, and their segment in 10/31 Part III. I want to thank James Morris for sending this one over and I want to apologize for taking so long to get to it.
**Spoiler Alert** The film follows a man who is trying to get his life straight but fails to do so. A string of events leads him to a seedy motel where his ex-girlfriend has bought a room for him so he can lay low for awhile after he accidentally kills someone. Now a state-wide manhunt is underway for him which is pushing him over the edge mentally. Things take an even darker turn when he suspects that people in the room next to his is murdering people. Soon he learns about the local legend of the Pale Face Killer and his connection to the motel that he was trying to seek refuge in. **Spoiler Alert**
He Never Left was not the film I was expecting but I did enjoy it for the most part. While it was an enjoyable film with a clever story, I found it to be a little too busy and clumsy at times. There was some questionable choices made along the way but the overall film was entertaining and well worth my time.
The acting in this one is one of the better acted indie films I’ve seen. Colin Cunningham carries the film as the murderer on the run. Watching him mentally break down as the film progresses is nothing short of brilliant. He delivers an absolutely fantastic performance that makes the film what it is. We also get fantastic performances from the supporting cast with Jessica Staples, director James Morris, and David McMahon carrying their own weight in the film.
The story for this one is a fantastic set up but not all the pieces fall into place as they should. A fleeing murderer seeking asylum in an old motel only to find himself in the room beside a legendary killer is something that will leave horror fans chomping at the bit for. We then have an angle with two detectives or marshals (forget which) are hunting for him. Their chemistry is fun but they character arc does feel a bit out of place. When you combine both of those in which the way the film was edited and you are left with a film that doesn’t reach it’s full potential. I think viewers would have liked to see the mentally unstable man exploring the people next door further in a more linear story format.
Finally, the film has a lot of blood and some solid practical effects. The deaths are not the goriest I’ve seen but they do look great and fit the film very well. I was hoping for more memorable death scenes but I appreciate what we were given. Overall, He Never Left has one hell of a premise but it did struggle with it’s own footing. Maybe some editing could get the film to where it needs to be but it’s still an entertaining film as it is. Check it out.
