 Golden West Films // Official site // Buy from Amazon.comIn this exciting MYSTERY/SUSPENSE tale, Jimmy Reed and Bobby Hanson are two adventurers in search of a lost pioneer homestead. With the help of an old surveyor's log, they map a journey into the heart of the Florida everglades, where they find themselves on an uncharted island. A mysterious indian who calls himself "Black Elk" appears in the night, and informs them that the island is, indeed, the site of the pioneer homestead, but it is also an indian burial ground. The indian disappears with their raft, and all of their supplies. Now stranded on a deserted island, they struggle for survival against hungry alligators, an ancient indian curse, and ghosts of the past. Produced by Migdalia Etheridge. Written and Directed by Ray Etheridge. DVD extras include the movie trailer, and a music video of the song "Bad Spirits". I've become a big fan of Golden West's films - ever since Ray & Mgdalia Etheridge contacted DVDschlock.com and started to send copies of their low-budget productions, I've eagerly sat through every single one, soaking in the unbelievable passion and sheer love for filmmaking that shines through in their films. Sure, it might be easy to focus on the production values (low), acting abilities of the cast (minimal) or any other quote-unquote "negative" that's often associated with do-it-yourself, low-budget filmmaking. But I applaud those - it helps make these films that much more endearing - and also am sincerely impressed with dolly shots, impressive locations and a pretty sweeping story arc that moves from suburbia to the woods and to the spirit realm. I think what endears their films to me most is the sincerity with which they approach their productions - most self-made films poke fun at themselves, or ham it up to play up the campiness of the film. However, Ray & Migdalia are straight shooters: they may not have much in the way of production values, but they more than compensate with the passion and seriousness with which they create their micro-masterpieces. You'd never know they're shooting on video cameras with the way they approach their material! Lots of fun, ambitious in its scope, "Bad Spirits" is an easy recommendation from this fledging production company! Video Presented in its original fullframe aspect ratio (1.33:1), this shot-on-video production very much looks the part. Some interior scenes are pretty dimly lit, but for the most part the picture quality is fairly strong throughout. Audio The Dolby stereo mix impressed me - dialogue is always clean & crisp, and there always seems to be an effective soundtrack mix running from start to finish, so there are never any quiet spots or lulls in the audio. Extras Closing Thoughts Very low budget & very entertaining + minimal extras = well worth checking out to support truly independent filmmaking! Labels: review |
