Cassadaga
is a film that really shouldn’t work: seemingly unable to
decide what it wants to be, the film is like a compilation of
popular horror movie themes – ghost story, giallo, serial
killer movie, torture shocker, J-horror and murder mystery. It’s
to the credit of writers Scott Poiley and Bruce Wood and director
Anthony DiBlasi that the often convoluted story hangs together
as well as it does, though most viewers will probably find themselves
scratching their heads at times as assorted horror movie tropes
are crow barred in and seemingly significant plot points go undeveloped.
Kelen Coleman play Lily, a deaf art teacher who moves to the town
of Cassadaga – ‘the psychic capital of America’
– after the death of her younger sister in a road accident.
After a visit to a medium, she finds herself being visited by
a bloody female ghost, and before long in coughing up bloody gouts
of maggots. Meanwhile, women are being kidnapped and tortured
by a psychotic killer who mutilates them in his basement, turning
them into grotesque living puppets. Through a convoluted series
of events, Lily becomes convinced that the killer is the son of
Claire (Louise Fletcher), head mistress of the local college and
Lily’s landlady. As the apparitions continue, Lily starts
to investigate the murders along with boyfriend Mike (Kevin Alejandro)
and things soon begin to spiral out of control.
There
are plenty of holes that you could poke through Csaadaga’s
story if you were so inclined. The killer’s motivation is
pretty vague – a rather shocking pre-credit sequence hints
at it, but there’s so little development of the theme that
it will leave you unconvinced, and a strange supernatural element
to the murderer (different voices appearing all around the victims
before he attacks) goes entirely unexplained. Likewise, the ghost
story elements, heavily influenced by the shock tactics of J-Horror,
are effective scares but it’s hard to understand how infesting
her with maggots is supposed to motivate Lily to help solve the
murder – which is apparently what the ghost wants.
That the film works surprisingly well is a credit to the assured
direction of DiBlasi, the screenplay that manages to juggle the
various plot points and shock tactics well, and to the cast. Coleman
and Alejandro bring a sense of depth to their characters, who
are refreshingly free from genre stereotypes (and in the case
of Coleman, deaf character stereotypes). They seem fully rounded,
genuine people, as do the supporting cast, and they make all the
difference in letting the audience ignore the parts of the film
that might otherwise feel a bit hackneyed.
With some genuinely grotesque moments of physical horror (serial
killer ‘Geppetto’ carries out some of the most twisted
killings you’ll ever see), seriously creepy and inspired
use of sound (and silence), moments of gothic madness and a well-paced
story development, Cassadaga is a very pleasant
surprise, and while certainly cluttered with ideas, offers an
entertainingly fresh approach to the genre – with a post-credits
ending that hints at more to come. On the strength of this, that
wouldn’t be a bad thing at all.
Cassadaga
is a film that really shouldn’t work: seemingly unable to
decide what it wants to be, the film is like a compilation of
popular horror movie themes – ghost story, giallo, serial
killer movie, torture shocker, J-horror and murder mystery. It’s
to the credit of writers Scott Poiley and Bruce Wood and director
Anthony DiBlasi that the often convoluted story hangs together
as well as it does, though most viewers will probably find themselves
scratching their heads at times as assorted horror movie tropes
are crow barred in and seemingly significant plot points go undeveloped.
There
are plenty of holes that you could poke through Csaadaga’s
story if you were so inclined. The killer’s motivation is
pretty vague – a rather shocking pre-credit sequence hints
at it, but there’s so little development of the theme that
it will leave you unconvinced, and a strange supernatural element
to the murderer (different voices appearing all around the victims
before he attacks) goes entirely unexplained. Likewise, the ghost
story elements, heavily influenced by the shock tactics of J-Horror,
are effective scares but it’s hard to understand how infesting
her with maggots is supposed to motivate Lily to help solve the
murder – which is apparently what the ghost wants.