I recently watched a film called, Savageland directed by Phil Guidry, Simon Herbert, and David Whelan. The synopsis is: A small border town on the Arizona-Mexico border is wiped out, and suspicion falls on the lone survivor. It’s only 1 hour and 20 minutes long and is filmed to play out like it’s a documentary on the event.
It starts out kind of slow and in the typical fashion of a documentary. Overnight, all the residents of the small town are killed or end up missing. The only survivor is an illegal immigrant who is found on the highway alone and covered in the blood several of the townspeople. In the beginning, it seems like a fairly cut-and-dry case; however, the person who “made” the documentary and did the investigating didn’t think so and starts to dig deeper. It’s through this investigation that we find out more, and things start to get creepy, especially when they show the photos the lone survivor had taken.
During the investigation, the journalist and his associate, a retired Border Patrol agent, breakdown the crime scene and activity as it occurred according to evidence, police reports, and what they found on a roll of camera film from the survivor. The police story starts to unravel and the photos show some very chilling scenes. Whoever they had taking the pictures and manipulating them for this movie is really talented. They are raw, well-done, and creepy as hell.
I’m not going to spoil the movie for anyone, but I highly suggest you go watch it if you like horror movies. There is a great subplot happening throughout, explaining why the survivor went through the town as he did instead of just running away. Just keep in mind that this isn’t a typical movie. You have to watch it with the mindset that it is a documentary or a mockumentary. Overall, I give it 3/5 stars.
Pros: The movie is unique with a fun twist and a great use of film. The photos add so much to the story that it’s worth it just for the pictures alone. Couple it with the sub-plot, and some of the other evidence introduced, and it’s a wonderful spectacle to watch.
Cons: The conclusion that the journalist comes to at the end as to what he thinks is really happening is kind of lame and unbelievable. With that much evidence put forward, I just can’t get behind his half-assed explanation. Also, I can’t believe the police would be so quick to pin it all on the survivor, there was just too much evidence even without the photos to pass anyone’s giggle check.
Overall: Check this movie out and enjoy the ride.
It starts out kind of slow and in the typical fashion of a documentary. Overnight, all the residents of the small town are killed or end up missing. The only survivor is an illegal immigrant who is found on the highway alone and covered in the blood several of the townspeople. In the beginning, it seems like a fairly cut-and-dry case; however, the person who “made” the documentary and did the investigating didn’t think so and starts to dig deeper. It’s through this investigation that we find out more, and things start to get creepy, especially when they show the photos the lone survivor had taken.
During the investigation, the journalist and his associate, a retired Border Patrol agent, breakdown the crime scene and activity as it occurred according to evidence, police reports, and what they found on a roll of camera film from the survivor. The police story starts to unravel and the photos show some very chilling scenes. Whoever they had taking the pictures and manipulating them for this movie is really talented. They are raw, well-done, and creepy as hell.
I’m not going to spoil the movie for anyone, but I highly suggest you go watch it if you like horror movies. There is a great subplot happening throughout, explaining why the survivor went through the town as he did instead of just running away. Just keep in mind that this isn’t a typical movie. You have to watch it with the mindset that it is a documentary or a mockumentary. Overall, I give it 3/5 stars.
Pros: The movie is unique with a fun twist and a great use of film. The photos add so much to the story that it’s worth it just for the pictures alone. Couple it with the sub-plot, and some of the other evidence introduced, and it’s a wonderful spectacle to watch.
Cons: The conclusion that the journalist comes to at the end as to what he thinks is really happening is kind of lame and unbelievable. With that much evidence put forward, I just can’t get behind his half-assed explanation. Also, I can’t believe the police would be so quick to pin it all on the survivor, there was just too much evidence even without the photos to pass anyone’s giggle check.
Overall: Check this movie out and enjoy the ride.
RSS Feed