I think it’s safe to say that Independent films are really outdoing Hollywood films this year. And on top of that, being a native Long Islander myself I can honestly say that we have some dam good filmmakers making films here. Long Island’s own Dave Campfield whom lives not to far from me, helms this Hitchcock like masterpiece. “Under Surveillance” is not really a horror film but a great psychological thriller with a suspenseful plot followed with an awesome story and one hell of a tense soundtrack.
The story revolves around a college kid named Justin, and his above the law cop father. Justin just moved back into his father house, however, his father has subdivided the house into three separate apartments, with some very odd tenants. However recent cult activity has surfaced around the area and when a victim of the cult killings turns up on his property, a friend of Justin suggests he keeps an eye on his father tenants by using small video cameras to spy on them. However the more they learn the more they put their own lives at risk.
If you’ve been a follower of my site, you know dam well that I’m a huge Hitchcock fan, and any film that has a “Hitchcock” feel to it I’ll watch no matter what. In this case I feel that Dave Campfield got it right for the most part. He hit the nail on the head in terms of characterization and building the suspense. All in all the directing and the writing are great. The acting surprisingly enough is pretty dam good for a low budget film, and the production value is not half bad either. The great thing about the film is the flow of the story which moves along very well, I don’t think I would have noticed this however if I didn’t realize the DVD skipped on me while I got up to take a leak, when I came back I was watching the film all over again and thought I has a film like “Memento” on my hands. I was wrong I was watching most of the film over again, but I picked up more things in the film that made the plot that much more interesting. On a side note the beginning and end credit rolls where great, and I can’t forget the ending as well.
Overall “Under Surveillance” seems to be yet another great film coming out of Long Island, NY. It’s well worth checking out, highly recommended for Hitchcock fans and fans of cult thrillers.
– Horror Bob
- Interview with J.R. Bookwalter - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Andrew J. Rausch - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Rick Popko and Dan West - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Director Stevan Mena (Malevolence) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Screenwriter Jeffery Reddick (Day of the Dead 2007) - January 22, 2015
- Teleconference interview with Mick Garris (Masters of Horror) - January 22, 2015
- A Day at the Morgue with Corri English (Unrest) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Writer/Director Nacho Cerda (The Abandoned, Aftermath) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actress Thora Birch (Dark Corners, The Hole, American Beauty) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actor Jason Behr, Plus Skinwalkers Press Coverage - January 22, 2015
