Brandon Stephens
This indie film is the brainchild of Roman Jossart and Brandon Prewitt, two local filmmakers from Indiana and Ohio who have an appreciation for old school horror. The synopsis of this film is your basic throwback slasher from the 80's, but once the movie starts it's anything but basic. This is one of the best indie slasher movies I seen in a long time, upon viewing you wouldn't think that this was the directorial debut of Roman Jossart. During the opening credits we see and get a feel of what the rest of the film has in store for us, a full on fest full of scares, laughter and blood.The film opens up with a couple heading on a weekend retreat with some friends to celebrate a friend's birthday at a near abandoned Campground: Little Farm on the River....they never make it. As the night continues on, their friend Brandon (played by director & writer Roman Jossart) introduces them to the Legend of Charlie Varsin. Thinking it's a story and unbeknownst that 30 years earlier an actual young boy named Charlie Varsin was viciously murdered on the same grounds where they are staying. As the night continues, their party comes to an abrupt stop as each of the friends have to survive the night from the "ghost of Charlie Varsin (played brilliantly by Shane Jossart).I have never had a local indie movie make me jump out of my seat before...& That's just the first 20 minutes of the movie. The writing style and cinematography are executed rather well. The subtle horror film homages are quite clever the way they are placed in the film. The story never lets up and in this day and age of where you have characters who just fill a page, you actually care about all the characters in this film all the way down to the cameo of Brandon Prewitt who plays Deputy Wes Brown. The killer itself has a Jason Voorhees vibe which is apparent and pleasing to those who are fans of old school horror. The kills are great and well done & the weapon of choice isn't a machete or a Axe...it's a screwdriver which has it's own back story as well which plays well throughout till the ending epic battle sequence. I also wanna add watch all the credits as there is extra footage which is definitely worth checking out.I purchased this film from their booth at Horrorhound in Indy & it was totally worth the purchase, I've watched it twice and recommend it to anyone who loves a good slasher story. I myself am looking forward for more from these guys.
