I don't have as many reviews done as I wanted to so far this month. I was hoping to do at least a review every other day. That fell through when I couldn't stay awake the other night and I ended up sleeping for ten hours. I'm guessing I needed it in order to sleep that long so I'm not really complaining. I hope to get caught up, or maybe even get ahead, over the next few days. I took some time off from work to get my car looked at, but I think the problem has been fixed already, so I will just enjoy a four day weekend instead. Hopefully, I can crank out some reviews while I'm in a writing mood. Anyway, I got around to watching House Of Hope (2010). I've been looking forward to watching it since I got it as a bonus disc when I bought The Bad Man.
Ryan (Tyler Andrews) and Abby (Nicole Bruce) are driving through a wooded area when Abby suddenly goes into labor. Ryan panics some since she is two weeks early. Spying a house off the road, Ryan heads toward in hope of finding someone home or a phone at the very least. He finds Angela (Cassandra LePlant) and her little brother Malcolm (Nathan Stanger) and gets knocked out while trying to use the phone. When Ryan doesn't return, Abby heads to the house and gets captured as well. Anglea has been taking care of her little brother and hiding him away from the evil world. Now she plans to save Ryan and Abby's souls, but at what cost?
House Of Hope was written and directed by Scott Schirmer. I got this movie when I ordered The Bad Man. It came as a bonus disc which was really nice. I had yet to see this movie and had no idea if it was out of DVD somewhere or not. It predates Found by a couple of years, which was the first movie I had ever watched by Schirmer. I wasn't sure what to expect especially when I saw that the budget was an estimated $500. Not that an ultra low budget film can't be good, but most aren't. Not sure what I was worried about though because Schirmer always puts out good stuff and House Of Hope is no exception. The story was really good here. Not a lot happens as far as the characters doing things. Ryan is tied to a bed for most of the movie and Abby is tied up in the basement. Most of the character interaction comes from Ryan and Angela. We eventually find out why Angela is the way she is thanks to a series of flashbacks with Angela and her father, who is played by Kirk Chastain. I enjoyed the flashbacks because they help us understand Angela better. She isn't really a bad person, just misguided. The only problem I had with the flashbacks is that we get a flashback within a flashback at one point. It wasn't hard to follow because of that, but it still annoyed me. Anyway, Abby and Ryan soon realize their only hope of escaping might just be Malcolm. They don't really try to turn him against his sister, but by trying to show him there is good and wonders to be found outside. Since his sister, which I guess we can still call them brother and sister if I got the backstory right, is a bit misguided, so is Malcolm. It was a pretty good story with a fairly shocking ending on top of it.
There wasn't much going on as far as effects go. Not that I was expecting any with such a low budget. There is some blood on a sheet after something gets cut off, but that is as bloody as things get, which wasn't much. The acting was well done. Cassandra LePlant is really the main character here despite being the villain of the story. She does a good job here and I was slightly impressed with her acting. It would have been nice if Nicole Bruce had more screen time than she did, but she also does a good job with her role. The same goes for Tyler Andrews and Nathan Stanger. Kirk Chastain was good also, giving iff a bit of a creepy vibe as well as looking a little weird.
House Of Hope ends up being just an hour long. Part of me felt that run time was just right and part of me wished it had been a longer movie. It wasn't a movie that I loved from my first impression of it after watching it, but I think this is a movie that I will enjoy more upon watching it again. The pace does get a little slow as we learn more about Angela despite the flashbacks. Not much is going on during the present day story until towards the end. As I said, things do get a little shocking towards the end and I had to wonder if Angela actually went through with what we heard happen. I get why she did it, but I'm not so sure she could have gone through it. I would recommend this movie to all of you since I'm pretty sure most of my readers haven't watched it, but I'm not sure how available it actually is. If it sounds like something you want to watch, good luck finding it.
3 out of 5 Can't say I have been tied up in a basement
Ryan (Tyler Andrews) and Abby (Nicole Bruce) are driving through a wooded area when Abby suddenly goes into labor. Ryan panics some since she is two weeks early. Spying a house off the road, Ryan heads toward in hope of finding someone home or a phone at the very least. He finds Angela (Cassandra LePlant) and her little brother Malcolm (Nathan Stanger) and gets knocked out while trying to use the phone. When Ryan doesn't return, Abby heads to the house and gets captured as well. Anglea has been taking care of her little brother and hiding him away from the evil world. Now she plans to save Ryan and Abby's souls, but at what cost?
House Of Hope was written and directed by Scott Schirmer. I got this movie when I ordered The Bad Man. It came as a bonus disc which was really nice. I had yet to see this movie and had no idea if it was out of DVD somewhere or not. It predates Found by a couple of years, which was the first movie I had ever watched by Schirmer. I wasn't sure what to expect especially when I saw that the budget was an estimated $500. Not that an ultra low budget film can't be good, but most aren't. Not sure what I was worried about though because Schirmer always puts out good stuff and House Of Hope is no exception. The story was really good here. Not a lot happens as far as the characters doing things. Ryan is tied to a bed for most of the movie and Abby is tied up in the basement. Most of the character interaction comes from Ryan and Angela. We eventually find out why Angela is the way she is thanks to a series of flashbacks with Angela and her father, who is played by Kirk Chastain. I enjoyed the flashbacks because they help us understand Angela better. She isn't really a bad person, just misguided. The only problem I had with the flashbacks is that we get a flashback within a flashback at one point. It wasn't hard to follow because of that, but it still annoyed me. Anyway, Abby and Ryan soon realize their only hope of escaping might just be Malcolm. They don't really try to turn him against his sister, but by trying to show him there is good and wonders to be found outside. Since his sister, which I guess we can still call them brother and sister if I got the backstory right, is a bit misguided, so is Malcolm. It was a pretty good story with a fairly shocking ending on top of it.
There wasn't much going on as far as effects go. Not that I was expecting any with such a low budget. There is some blood on a sheet after something gets cut off, but that is as bloody as things get, which wasn't much. The acting was well done. Cassandra LePlant is really the main character here despite being the villain of the story. She does a good job here and I was slightly impressed with her acting. It would have been nice if Nicole Bruce had more screen time than she did, but she also does a good job with her role. The same goes for Tyler Andrews and Nathan Stanger. Kirk Chastain was good also, giving iff a bit of a creepy vibe as well as looking a little weird.
House Of Hope ends up being just an hour long. Part of me felt that run time was just right and part of me wished it had been a longer movie. It wasn't a movie that I loved from my first impression of it after watching it, but I think this is a movie that I will enjoy more upon watching it again. The pace does get a little slow as we learn more about Angela despite the flashbacks. Not much is going on during the present day story until towards the end. As I said, things do get a little shocking towards the end and I had to wonder if Angela actually went through with what we heard happen. I get why she did it, but I'm not so sure she could have gone through it. I would recommend this movie to all of you since I'm pretty sure most of my readers haven't watched it, but I'm not sure how available it actually is. If it sounds like something you want to watch, good luck finding it.
3 out of 5 Can't say I have been tied up in a basement
