Featured Artist of the Week - "The Barn"

Going a slightly different route with this entry.  Instead of a musical artist, or a visual artist, we are going to treat the concept of art in its all encompassing meaning - "the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination".

"The Barn" is a movie - and the artists are the producers, directors, actors, musicians, director of photography, F/X specialists, stuntmen, and everybody else, such as the gaffer and best boy (whatever those are) - and anybody else involved.  The "artist" as a whole is Nevermore Production Films.

I'm not a movie critic, so bear with me on this one.

"The Barn" in an independent studio horror/slasher picture.  I picked up a copy at the recent Flashback Weekend HorrorCon, because they had quite the booth.  They offered it on DVD, they had a video game, they had a board game, they had an orange vinyl something (not sure if it was soundtrack of that old movie format).  Anyhow, it was clear they were serious about this venture - so I supported them.  Heck, they even have their own website dedicated to the movie - The Barn Merch Store.

The concept of the movie (no spoilers because it's printed right on the box) - "It's Halloween 1989, best friends Sam and Josh are trying to enjoy their last Devil's Night before graduating high school.  Trouble arises when...take a detour on their way to a rock concert, finding an old abandoned barn and awakening the evil inside..."  (Nevermore Production Films)

I wasn't sure what to expect from an indie film, but given their booth at the convention, I figured it should be pretty good.  And it was.

I'll admit, there were some jumps in logic, or things that just didn't make sense, but it's a horror film - name one where everything makes sense.  Being a horror film, it also had a pointless gratuitous nude scene, but again, most horror/slasher films do - it's almost expected.  But, really, those are the only sorta negative aspects, and are they really negatives - or just standard horror/slasher items?

The filming is very good, the camera angles are interesting, and the lighting is perfect, considering it's almost 75% filmed in the dark outdoors.  Many films end up with these very very dimly lit and hard to see scenes - but The Barn does an excellent job of keeping the dark night feel, but still enough lighting to clearly see everything going on. 

The acting and dialogue are actually pretty strong and it all feels "real" - none of it looks like "acting" or sounds "scripted".  

As a HUGE fan of Halloween (the holiday, the legends, the myths) - I am very impressed with the storyline and the premise and the underlying theme of the movie.  VERY impressed.  The plot stays true to the mythology and ambiance of Halloween (the holiday, not the movie).  The plot is established very well in the first 5 minutes and stays consistent until the end.

And, it is a horror/slasher - which means there will be blood and gore - and there is - and plenty of it.  But, it's not gratuitous (love using that word) blood and gore, it's not "gore for the sake of gore" - it's appropriately used.  And, with that comes up the topic of Special Effects and Makeup!

FX and Makeup - SUPERB!!!  Quality makeup work, quality splatter, quality kills - some very unique ones too!  Mega props to the FX, Makeup, an Props people!!!  It's not cheesy and it's not low-budget - it looks good - and from what I can tell, it's all Practical FX, no CGI.  Which, in my opinion, makes it even better!

And, finally, let me tie this back to what this blog usually writes about - music (and running).  The soundtrack is KILLER!!!  PERFECT horror/slasher music - perfect.  And integrated very well into the scenes, especially at the Hootenanny!

If you are a horror/slasher buff - and if you are willing to give independent filmmakers a chance - this is worth your investment!!!  Check it out.