Most horror fans seem to think that horror is limited to the story of one central killer or killers that hunt down a group of unsuspecting people. Those films are fine if done right, however true horror is more than just blood and gore; it’s something that taps into the human emotion and leaves the person thinking far after the experience in terror.
Hollywood seems to think the more guts and blood the better. It’s what sells, yet people tend to forget the experience when they leave the theater or shut off the television. New York breeds a different kind of filmmaker, especially in the world of independent horror. There is a great group of filmmakers here in New York and the New Jersey metro area that all come together and work with one another to make great films. Many of them happen to be horror-related. One of the top of these filmmakers is Jeremiah Kipp, whose new film, Contact, is the subject of this review.
I first became familiar with Kipp a few years back when I reviewed The Pod, a film that is similar to Contact in that its content has to do with drugs, but Contact is a beast all its own. The short short film runs just over eleven minutes. My first experience with it was with the trailer that the director posted on facebook.com a few months back. I was completely blown away at how well the trailer was put together.
Contact begins with an older couple sitting at a table. There are three place settings, but only the couple is sitting there. The look on their faces says it all as they look at the empty place setting, when there is a knock on the door. The film then flashes to a couple (Zoe Daelman Chlanda and Robb Leigh Davis) walking though what appears to be a run-down building complex where they meet up with an apparent drug runner (Danny Lopes) who introduces them to the mastermind behind the drug (Alan Rowe Kelly) that they are about experience together. After buying the drug, the couple goes to a place of their own, strip nude and experience the effects of this mind-altering substance together. All seems fine until the side effects start, and the drug opens a door to their worst nightmares.
With the success of The Pod, Kipp based Contact on that story. While the film is does not have much dialogue, actions speak louder than words. The action, Tom Burns’ great score, and the brilliant photography and editing of a promising young force in the film business, Dominick Sivilli, make Contact the sharp film that it is. It’s well written and very well produced. Even the overall production value, for a film shot on a such a small budget, is perfect. It is just one of those film whose story is one that sticks with you. You are completely sucked in and blown away by how well produced it is.
In every film in which I have seen Zoe Daelman Chlanda, she always has stolen the show. She is an actress who just grabs any part that is thrown at her and makes it her own. The relationship between Chlanda and co-star Robb Leigh Davis is stunning. The two have incredible chemistry that brings both of their characters to life. The supporting cast is great as well, although many of the roles are in very small. As always, Alan Rowe Kelly (who also produced the film), whom I only can describe as a modern day Lon Cheney, is great in the role of the drug dealer. The rest of the cast includes Katherine O’Sullivan, Tom Reid, Danny Lopes and a cameo by producer and Vindication director Bart Mastronardi.
Contact is a visually stunning effort that shows how great a talent Jeremiah Kipp is in the world of independent film. It is not only a film that has elements of horror and suspense, but its message about drug use, and its effects on people’s every day lives is something that many families go though every day. It’s a film with a message that will stick with its viewers well after the credits roll. It is a short film masterpiece in independent cinema. Look for Contact on the festival circuit soon.
– Horror Bob
Read the interview with Director Jeremiah Kipp on The Colonel’s Crypt
CLICK HERE
(in conjunction with The Horror Review)
- 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
