THE CURSE OF BUCKOUT ROAD
Directed by: Matthew Currie Holmes
Starring; Evan Ross, Henry Czerny, Danny Glover, Dominique Provost-Chalkley, Colm Feore
When a young teacher commits suicide, the detective on the case brings in his old friend Dr Laurence Powell, a psychiatrist, who had met with her prior to her death. Whilst dealing with the return of his estranged grandson, Aaron, Dr Laurence discovers startling similarities between the nightmares the teacher had described to him, and those of three of her students. Its not long before Aaron too is having vivid nightmares and finds himself drawn into the curse surrounding Buckout Road…
The Curse of Buckout Road is a pleasant surprise, a relatively low-key horror movie which isn't afraid to get its hands bloody while spinning a yarn which winds up in a place you don't expect.
This is not a one-note film by any means. Firstly it has a great set of characters which it allows time to establish and develop. When we first meet Aaron, he's angry at his grandfather for not picking him up at the bus station and having to walk home. His righteous anger burning right up to the point Laurence throws it back in his face with "you could have got a cab…".It takes a while for the stand-offish nature of the pair to be explained but the script allows for the healing process between the two to be seen.
Similarly Aaron's relationship with Cleo and her father, the aforementioned detective. Is Detective Harris' concern for his daughter seeing Aaron racially motivated? Or is it something to do with something about Aaron's past (or both)? Either way, there are numerous occasions where Aaron finds himself in a compromising position and you start to wonder how this is all going to end.
Director Matthew Currie Holmes is a prominent actor, appearing in loads of tv shows over the years and knows how to develop his characters and story. I was worried that he was going to deliver the usual stock jump-scares, but I was impressed with his take on the "bathroom cabinet mirror" scare we've seen done countless times before. From that point on, the film was less interested in making me jump as it was making me fear for the fate of the characters. Holmes' script also deals out some delightful red herrings. There are some nice bloody moments too, as Aaron and the others dream about numerous suicides. These don't overpower the movie but let us know its ready to be vicious when needed.
Some of the scenes are shot in a really interesting way. The three sisters are lit from underneath in one scene in a very subtle way (not like holding a torch under their chin) and there are several scenes set in the 1970s which are shot in a faux-grindhouse manner with scratched frames and tinny sound. My favourite moment though is when Dr Laurence goes into his closet and takes out a leather suit bag, and slowly unzips it to reveal his old pastor's uniform. The way the scene is shot is like a retired superhero finally contemplating putting his suit back on.
I had an inkling I was going to enjoy this when I saw the makeup design on the cover, which is different to the usual grimy designs we've been seeing lately. And I was totally right. I went into this film totally cold, not even knowing the cast, and had a blast with it. What's more, there's no in-media-res nonsense, it has the balls to tell its story properly without any foreshadowing. My only real niggle is that the reasons and motive behind what is happening needed to be spelt out a bit slower - for me at least. But at least on this occasion I am willing to revisit the film and try to work it out again, and there aren't many films I can say that about.
THE VERDICT
The Curse of Buckout Road isn't going to blow your socks off but it is a very solid supernatural tale which delivers something relatively original, is willing to play with genre tropes and has a stellar cast. You will be pleasantly surprised by this one.