Indie Scene: ‘Dismal’ Derivative but Good
Indie cannibal flick shows that the swamps have eyes
written by Bo Buckley
directed by Gary King
Dana can’t afford to fail her Biology class, so, despite her squeamishness, she joins four other students on a wildlife expedition in the heart of the Great Dismal Swamp for an extra credit assignment. The group is led by Curt, their teaching assistant, who clearly has a thing for Dana but is too nervous to act on it. Deep in the marshy lands, there is, naturally, no cell phone service, so the group is all alone in the wilderness… or are they?
There’s a monstrous cannibal lurking in the woodlands, and one by one, the group is offed in quality death scenes. The first half of Dismal follows the standard, backwoods slasher formula stemming from Friday the 13th, but we are later introduced to the killer’s more competent but equally crazy family, and then things begin looking like the Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake with a bit of The Hills Have Eyes mixed in. There are some twists along with way but nothing we haven’t seen before.
Dismal is rather derivative, but, despite some minor amateurish mistakes, it’s impressively professional for an independent film. The production values are high for its budget; the cast is young, attractive, and talented; the wooded setting (shot on location in the swamps of Georgia) is used to a cinematographic advantage; the effects are good aside from some painfully unrealistic CGI. The script, written by Bo Buckley, could have used some work to avoid predictability, but as is the film still maintains your attention, keeping the viewer entertained throughout the 78 minute duration. Dismal may not bring anything new to the table, but director Gary King does prove that he can make a good, entertaining film nonetheless.
Horror 101 gives Dismal a 68 out of 101
4 Comments
Comments RSS TrackBack Identifier URI
Leave a comment
You must be logged in to post a comment.
[...] Free ‘Dismal’ Screening in NC If you’re a horror fan living in or around North Carolina, you’re in luck, because this Saturday, January 10th, there will be a free screening of Fearmaker Studios’ Dismal at Thalian Hall in Wilmington at 8 p.m. The film is being prepared for distribution, so this will likely be your only chance to catch it on the big screen. Read our review of Gary King’s indie cannibal flick here. [...]
Let’s remember that these reviews are of the initial test screening! The premier in Wilmington this Saturday is the final version.
[...] “King does prove that he can make a good, entertaining film…” – Horror-101 [...]
[...] and gave it some new artwork, which can be seen above. You may also noticed that a quote from my review of the film is also present on the cover. Unfortunately, fans in the United States won’t be [...]