Evidently,
if you go south enough in downstate Illinois (bootlegger country) it starts to
look downright Southern. In this rural 1970s community, adherence to
superstition far exceeds job creation. Violence is rooted in the very land and
Sheriff Waterhouse helped plant the bloody seeds. Consequently, he will have to
face up to his karma in Hunter Adams’ Dig
Two Graves (trailer
here),
which opens this Friday in New York.
Jake
Mather made the right decision when she declined to dive from a natural scenic
overlook into the rocky waters below, with her beloved older brother Sean.
However, she still inevitably blames herself for his resulting watery demise—or
rather his presumptive demise. There are so many caverns and ledges in that
watering hole, his body will probably never be found.
Unfortunately,
a trio of brothers will exploit her uncertainty and guilt, as part of a scheme
targeting her grandfather, craggy, crotchety Sheriff Waterhouse. As members of
a demonic snake worshipping cult, they appear to possess supernatural powers.
They will offer Mather a Faustian bargain: Sean’s resurrection in exchange for
the life of Willie Proctor, the bullied grandson of Waterhouse’s predecessor and
former boss, with whom he is not on good terms.
For
the most part, Two Graves seems to be
a horror movie, but it becomes much more ambiguous during the third act.
Regardless, there is nothing more sinister in Adams’ film than the past. It also has a strong sense of place. Many viewers
will mistake the Southern Illinois setting for Appalachia, but they are really
not so far wrong. The point is, this is a community where people know some
pretty twisted secrets about their neighbors.
Two Grave has another major
claim to coolness: the great Ted Levine (the other serial killer in Silence of the Lambs) taking care of
business as Waterhouse. He brings the attitude, swaggering and glowering like a
junkyard dog, but he also develops a rather endearing rapport with his
granddaughter Jake (played with unflagging earnestness by Samantha Isler).
As
mean old Proctor, Danny Goldring goes toe-to-toe with Levine, chewing the
scenery and clearly enjoying his despicable villainy. To be honest, he and
Levine look like they just have baking flour caked on their faces during their
frequent flashbacks scenes (jumping back thirty years), but they still strut
and snarl like old pros. If you need any more genre credentials on top of all
that, keep in mind the joint is executive produced by Larry Fessenden.
