Lockbox (Based on the Knifepoint Horror Podcast)

It seems like Hollywood remains incapable of writing a major veteran character who does not have PTSD. Frankly, for Winthrop Benson, his military service-related PTSD arguably wasn’t as bad as his pre-service PTSD. Of course, it is all good for those that latch onto and exploit such vulnerabilities. His older cousin, Ellen Hershbergen long carried guilt over his early childhood trauma, even though she was not to blame. She might finally have the chance to help him, if she truly believes the dangers he faces in Daniel Stamm’s Lockbox, which opens this Friday in theaters.

Apparently, the producers and distributors think it is very important to trumpet Lockbox was adapted from one of the Knifepoint Horror podcast’s storylines. Whether ticket-buying consumers also consider it important remains to be seen. Regardless, Justin Yoffe’s adaptation of Soren Narnia pod-script takes a rather intriguingly roundabout approach to its introduction of its demonic elements.

After providing her late mother’s hospice care, Hershbergen moved to Pontiac in Upstate New York, for fresh start. As it happens, Benson will start a factory join the area soon, so she agrees to take him in. She is not prepared for how damaged and awkward he is, but she understands his reasons. After young Benson witnessed the death of his parents, custody was granted to his horrifically abusive uncle. Hershbergen never knew exactly what he endured, but the family guessed enough to feel deeply ashamed.

Weirdly, free-spirited hippy woman Vahna Minter also starts inviting herself over. Hershbergen wants to be neighborly, but the odd woman seems to have an unhealthy interest in the cousins. Then she finds Minter brutally murdered—and the night-walking insomnia-suffering Benson becomes the chief suspect.

The title eventually makes perfect sense, but it is better to wait for it. Until then, there will be a lot of trouble coming the cousins’ way, so Hershbergen soon learns the value of having good representation. However, a team of priests led by Father James Light will be even more helpful.

As it happens, Hershbergen was already a regular church-goer, so Lockbox is rather faith-friendly. Jed Rees brings a lot of humanity to the film, which fans of William Peter Blatty will appreciate. Indeed, faith and spiritual instruction play significant roles in the third act.

Slamdance ’16: How to Plan an Orgy in a Small Town

What else are you going to do in a quaint little Canadian burg that still only has dial-up? Watch hockey or read Anne of Green Gables? Actually, the good townsfolk of Beaver’s Ridge are more partial to the virtuous YA novels of local luminary Maureen Cranston. Make that the late Maureen Cranston. Her black sheep sex columnist daughter has returned for her funeral, getting an even more awkward reception than expected in Jeremy Lalonde’s How to Plan an Orgy in a Small Town (trailer here), which screens during the 2016 Slamdance Film Festival.

Back in the waning days of high school, Cassie Cranston decided to seal the deal with her boyfriend Adam Mitchell during a party. However, he wasn’t quite ready. Through an unfortunate chain of events, Cranston was forced to do a near naked walk of shame through town, while Mitchell curled up in the fetal position on the bathroom floor. That was kind of it for Cranston and Beaver Ridge. She moved to the big city and unloaded on the town’s prudery in her first Carrie Bradshaw-esque column. They still remember that one.

In fact, the town’s paragon of Puritanism, Heather Mitchell, Adam’s wife and Cranston’s old nemesis, sort of over-compensates. She tries to enlist Cranston’s help organizing an old fashioned Marin-county orgy. Cranston is incredulous and slightly appalled, but she agrees anyway. She happens to be in a bit of a fix. She is due to deliver her book to her publisher, but she hasn’t written a word. Honestly, she is a bit of a fraud. Despite some research in sex clubs and what have you, Cranston is still technically a virgin. If nothing else, a Beaver Ridge orgy should be good material.

Of course, there are about half a dozen colorful characters who agree to participate in the swinging bash for their own reasons, including her trampy bestie Alice Solomon, Solomon’s ED-afflicted ex, Bruce Buck, his suave new realty partner Spencer Goode, and the ill-matched Mitchells. Some look good in various states of undress, others not so much. Generally, the on-screen action is mostly somewhat frank rom-com stuff, but that title is not metaphorical.

Plan is generally amusing, but it is nowhere near as clever as last year’s Canadian underdog, Big News from Grand Rock. Stargate: Atlantis’s Jewel Staite is an engaging screen presence, who finds just the right attitude for Cranston. Katharine Isabelle certainly will not jeopardize her growing cult popularity with her vampy work as Solomon and Lauren Lee Smith is rather spectacularly prim and shrewish as Heather Mitchell. However, Ennis Esmer, who was terrific in Grand Rock, underwhelms as her doormat-like husband. Likewise, the realtors and the other assorted orgiers are not so subtly drawn or nuanced.

Go broad and slightly naughty was clearly Lalonde’s strategy. In general, it works okay and he earns bonus points for not chickening out down the stretch, but it doesn’t have much staying power, so to speak. For those who are looking for something easy with no emotional entanglements, How to Plan an Orgy in a Small Town screens again this Wednesday (1/27), as part of this year’s Slamdance in Park City.

88: Katharine Isabelle is Out for Revenge

In this case, that number does not refer to the number of keys on a piano. It could well be the number of times director-co-screenwriter April Mullen flashes forward or backward along her temporally fractured narrative. The number also seems to hold some significance for the black-out prone heroine of Mullen’s 88 (trailer here), which releases on DVD today from Millennium Entertainment.

Her name is Gwen or perhaps Flamingo. She has just come to in a roadhouse diner in front of a huge plate of food. We soon learn Gwen/Flamingo was on the warpath a short while ago, looking for some payback from the men who killed the love of her life. She knows her gangster employer Cyrus is somehow behind it all, but the exact details are sketchy. However, once she reached the diner, a switch was flipped in her head. She is now completely lost and confused, especially when she discovers the local sheriff’s deputies are highly upset with her. Ty, her apparent accomplice, will try to keep her at-large and on-target, as she waits for the world to start making sense again.

When a complicated time-skipping narrative structure works, it can be mind-spinningly rewarding, as with the Spierig Brothers’ Predestination, opening this week. When it doesn’t, it can be an awful headache. Admittedly, 88 sort of comes together down the stretch, but most of the film feels forced and unnecessarily convoluted. Even though it mostly makes sense at the end, Mullen and co-writer Tim Doiron lose sight of the whole point of a revenge thriller, denying us the vicarious satisfaction of vengeance taken good and hard. Frankly, the implications are rather messagey, making you wonder if Mike Bloomberg underwrote the film.

A simpler approach probably would have borne greater fruit, especially with up-and-coming cult star Katharine Isabelle (American Mary) as the traumatized vigilante. Keep it simple. Point her and Ty towards the bad guys and let them go. Indeed, you can see why Isabelle’s geek fanbase continues to grow. She is quite effective in both her assertive and passive timelines, while looking good in tight, bloodstained wardrobe.

Doiron might have over-complicated the script with Mullen, but he gives the film regular energy boosts as Ty. Likewise, Mullen chews the scenery quite enjoyably in her too brief appearance as Lemmy, the illicit gun dealer. Of course, Christophe Lloyd is no stranger to playing heavies, once again maintaining his standards of bug-eyed, erratic villainy as Cyrus. It is also cool to see Michael Ironside do his thing as the world weary sheriff.

There are a number of cleverly realized scenes in 88, but it labors under the weight of its temporal shifts and ultimately takes itself too seriously. Still, it has enough fan favorites, like Isabelle and Ironside, to justify some time-killing on Netflix, but it is not something you will feel compelled to add to your collection of physical media. For the faithful and the curious, 88 is now available on DVD and BluRay from Millennium Entertainment.