Greetings & Salutations Everyone,
We’re coming up on Halloween No.2 in the midst of the pandemic. It’s beginning to seem like the last 2 years have been something right out of a horror film you can’t turn off. Although let’s face it, a true horror film is one your not going to want to turn of,f or if you do it’s because it’s scaring the living daylights out of you. The selection I get to share with you today is a brilliantly executed (see what I did there?) movie that is equal parts horror film and thriller that I hope somehow sees the light of day or dark of night in time for Halloween but will most likely see a November 9th release date so fingers crossed.
‘Lair’ is the latest directorial work of Adam Ethan Crow and is also written by Crow with contributions from writer Stuart Wright. The film stars Corey Johnson, Emily Haigh, Alexandra Gilbreath, Aislinn De’Ath, Alana Wallace, Anya Newall, Kashif O’Connor, Lee Nicholas Harris, Anil Desai, Tara Dowd, Jack Sidney Burke, Sean Buchanan, Paul Warren, Sam Pamphilon, Jen Brister, Joe Zalias, Simon Balfour, Joseph Mitchell, Lara Mount, Andrea Bennett, David Whitney, Robert Dukes, Zara Symes, and Oded Fehr.
Dr. Ben Dollarhyde (Fehr) and his partner Dr. Steven Caramore (Johnson) have made a career out of debunking the paranormal. Ghosts, demons, poltergeists, possessions, are all explainable by their definitions until Dollarhyde is arrested for the brutal murders of his wife and only son. When Dr. Caramore visits his former partner in jail, Dollarhyde claims he didn’t not murder is loved ones. Not directly anyway. Dollarhyde claims that he was possessed and that it was whatever took possession of him was what is responsible for the deaths of his loved ones and that he and Caramore were wrong all these years. Paranormal phenomena is REAL. Not every single instance mind you but the paranormal EXISTS. Still skeptical but wanting to try and help his former partner in some way by gathering data corroborating Dollarhyde’s claim (and perhaps making a profit on the side), Caramore decides to put it all to the test. He decides to conduct an experiment in an old building he owns with random test subjects. He advertises rooms for rent to travelers and wires the whole building for video/sound and then proceeds to place artifacts relating to the occult and the paranormal throughout the building. By coincidence, it is a troubled family that becomes the unwitting test subjects. A family that is about to begin a descent into a nightmare none of them can imagine or defend themselves from.
I’m extremely picky in regards to the scary movies I watch. I can just watch a slaughterhouse free for all. It has to be well written and include characters with some serious depth. A detailed background for each person is not required. But they’ve got to have a heart and even a soul to lose in the first place. There also has to be a ‘catch’. Whether it’s a ‘way out’ of whatever horrible nightmare is taking place or a plot twist that tricks you into thinking the characters or at least some of them might just get through it all. ‘Lair’ does NOT disappoint. It is an excellent film that I hope finds its proper place in the genre and gets the viewers and credit it deserves. Even though Oded Fehr is only in the film for a few minutes I think it’s one of his best performances. Quality over quantity in this case. Dramatic and intense. Major kudos to the rest of the cast as well whose performances were exactly what a film like this needs to put it over the top. The film clocks in at 1 hour and 36 minutes. It starts slow but it needs time to build up the story and give the viewer some background. Trust me your patience will be rewarded. Watch it late at night with the lights off. NOT for the faint of heart or children. I give it 4 out of 5.
