Chad Archibald’s latest release blends crime, phantom horror and an ethical dilemma to put viewers through an emotional gauntlet.
William (Aidan Devine) lives on a farm with his daughter Gloria (Ava Preston). However, William is not only a farmer, but is also known as “the Candy Butcher” for disposing of bodies people want to disappear. Despite his ominous side job, William has a calm and casual personality. While “disposing” of the latest batch of dead bodies, a young woman named Jackie (Jess Salgueiro) presumed to be a corpse awakens and frantically attempts to escape. William proceeds to tie her to a bed in his home and patch her wounds. Meanwhile, Gloria, who is prone to seeing spirits of the deceased lurk about the farmhouse, develops a bond with the woman. Upon discovering Jackie is still alive, the gang that left her with William journeys to his farm to finish the job putting William in the middle of an ethical tug-of-war.
This is an incredibly unique film. The injection of horror into a crime drama, mixed with an ethical dilemma creates an attention-grabbing story that keeps the viewers eyes locked on the screen. The frozen, snow-covered setting adds an additional menacing aspect to an already dark theme. I’m not sure if there is such thing as the right amount of gore, but the film does an excellent job of getting its point across in body disposal scenes rather than highlighting guts spilling out of corpses and bodies being visually hacked by over-the-top characters like viewers are used to in some films.
While the film doesn’t boast any big-name actors, the cast delivers excellent performances. I was most impressed with Ava Preston for her portrayal of the paranormally apt Gloria. Gloria has an almost bi-polar personality in that she can be creepy at times, but consumed with fear when encountering spirits that lurk about the farmhouse. She appears strong-minded but has spurts of vulnerability where she relies on those around her. I found this to be an interesting angle to her character rather than the typical “creepy kid” frequently used in horror films.
One of my favorite things about this film is the ethical twist. I love a good ethical dilemma where a character must weigh options to decide the outcome for a scenario. In this case, William must decide what to do with Jackie. The film does a fantastic job showcasing William tussle with his choices as the story progresses.
Overall, I would recommend seeing this film. If you want a new horror film to watch with the lights off or an interesting crime drama with a unique twist, this film is for you.