SmugKitZine Tied for the best movie I have ever seen

FirstWitch A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

Arianna Moses Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

Tobias Burrows It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

ASouthernHorrorFan Dennis Smithers Jr's "A Bothered Conscience" is a dark character asseveration of cold, driven horror. The film stars Dennis Smithers Sr., Stephen Martin, MacFarland Martin, Thomas King, Tim Turner, Dannial McCoy and Tina O'Neal. The plot is more or less an open one with a father taking brutal measures, and cruel tutorship, in raising his son to protect the family land from outside influence and trespass. "A Bothered Conscience" really proves that indie horror can be done and done well."A Bothered Conscience" is a stark, nearly flawless tragedy of sorts, filmed with an effect that hearkens to late 70's video nasty days, Smithers captures all the raw, edgy elements in "A Bothered Conscience". It is a story that plays out harshly and matter-of-fact with characters that almost feel both protagonist and antagonist simultaneously for most of the film, until the real protagonist comes forth near the end. The dialog is minimal but effective, character dramatics are short bursts of terror or just straight chilling shock as most of the interactions are of a brutal nature.The acting is mediocre but very committed to the story. The atmosphere is very reminiscent of classic gore flicks like "Stanley" or " Let's Scare Jessica To Death". Only the surreal is almost non-existent until the last act, most of the film is a visceral nightmare that unfolds plainly, with calculative bluntness. Although there is no layered visage to the characters, "A Bothered Conscience" creates a powerful, straight forward modern video nasty that is very entertaining. Special Effects and soundtrack are mild but clear elements that really make "A Bothered Conscience" a good film for gore-hounds and horror fans. The effects are smart, thought out tricks that offer gruesome moments to kill scenes without looking cheap, or cheesy. The blood is convincing enough, the deaths are creative and effective emotionally to the scene. Honestly it is amazing that "A Bothered Conscience" was shot on a shoestring budget of 2,300 dollars.The soundtrack is an instrumental chorus of highs and lows that fit perfectly, I found myself having to keep saying "this is a modern film and not a previously unreleased video nasty from the late 70's. I didn't really expect much from "A Bothered Conscience", and true the acting isn't stellar, but everything works, and I enjoyed everything about this film.

Paul Andrews A Bothered Conscience is set in Arkansas & starts in 1974 where Keller McGavin (producer Dennis Smithers Sr.) is very possessive about his land, he hands out rather brutal justice to anyone who trespasses on his land. Jump forward '20 Years Later' over the course of which Keller has tried to teach his son Lucas (Stephen Martin) to follow him in his murderous footsteps, that's about it really...Photographed, written, produced & directed by Dennis Smithers Jr. who is also credited with the special effects one has to say this glorified home video is awful. This is the sort of film that makes you want to give up on the medium, seriously A Bothered Conscience is maybe the worst film I've seen this year & believe me I've seen some stinkers. This is one of the most plot less, pointless, boring & downright awful films I've ever seen. Hardly anyone is even given a name, character development is absolutely zero, there's barely any dialogue in it, no-one is given any motivation for anything (one guy puts a gun in his mouth & commits suicide because his mate might have killed someone. Eh? How does that work?), there's no logic behind anything that happens (one hunter tries to shoot Keller but he has no bullets in his gun, what would a hunter being doing carrying a gun with no ammo in it? Seems a bit pointless to me) at almost 90 minutes in length it feels like it goes on forever with shots & scenes drawn out to tedious lengths & to top it all off there's one of the worst most pointless twist endings I've ever seen. This is a horrible film in every way, seriously it's one of the most plot less & amateurish films I've seen.Director Smithers was working on a low budget but that's no excuse for making such a crap film, if I released my holiday video footage badly edited together as a film that wouldn't automatically make it any good. This is literally home video stuff, these days it seems like anyone with a camcorder think they can make a film & all us horror fans are mugs who will put up with any old crap aren't we? Not me, this is crap of the highest order & I honestly don't know how else to describe it. Although set in 1994 the cars on show are modern contemporary vehicles, during the flashback to 1974 the woman has a brand new modern camera with an LCD display & Keller mysteriously doesn't age a single day between the flashback to 1974 & the later day events of 1994. The gore consists of some fake blood, a few zombies & a headless corpse. The effects are rubbish & the blood doesn't look like blood.With a supposed budget of about $2,300 you can see why this is such a poorly made, conceived & executed film. Shot on location in a patch of forest in Arkansas. The production values are rock bottom & generally speaking it's an eye sore. The acting is awful as well & the guy at the end looks like an idiot in that bright orange hat.A Bothered Conscience is awful, it's one of the most plot less & pointless films I've ever seen & I urge you not to waste your time or money on it. I have nothing against low budget films or the makers but that doesn't mean they are immune to criticism.

Jeff_Free_Jacob Wow! ... While this movie was not great, it was very well made and I jumped a few times. Unlike the new influx of crap horror movies that rely on creepy music and and actor (or 'something') jumping in front of the camera, A BOTHERED CONSCIENCE has some truly scary moments. The good points of the film are in its direction and music score as well as very talented acting by ... um ... amateurs!! The cinematography and editing are astounding and quite realistic. A bad point would be the opening 'kill.' Little was explained why the young woman dropped her beloved camera (and, I instantly thought the camera would have 'somehow' snapped a picture of her demise). Another bad point would have to be twofold: the film opens in 1975, then proceeded "20 years later." That would make it 1995?!?!? I wanted to feel it was taking place today (like I did watching the original TCM upon its release). The 'dream' sequence was quite a surprise as it pays homage to many of my favorites: The EYE, Ju-On, Living Dead (series), and Italian Giallo. I even knew before I saw it there was going to be a 'twist at the end,' but I wasn't ready for it. The images from this film kinda freaked me out. Oh ... if you are going to see this because you want to see gore ... Forget it. There isn't a lot, and what there is is kinda dumb, and uncalled for. Watch it with the lights out, during a storm, alone, at night, in the dark ...

shawn justice If you are looking for a new original horror movie then this is exactly what you are looking for. Dennis is getting better with every movie he makes. The story is really good and easy to follow and has some damn good twists near the end. The effects are done very good for a low budget movie, but like before with his short film, he needs a bigger budget. A lot of people that make low budget movies stick their family members in and sometimes it hurts the movie but not in this case. Dennis Jr. knew exactly what he was doing when he got his father to play Keller. Stephen Martin did a good job as Lucas. I don't want to take anything away from Martin's job as Lucas, but I personally would have liked to have seen Thomas King come back and play that role. Speaking of Thomas, I think he stole every scene he was in. Overall, A Bothered Conscience is smart, dark, twisted and original. Just what horror fans have been needing!