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"The Chair" DVD
You know, when you
can start a movie with a quote from Harry Houdini, back in 1921,
about some guy named Mordecai Zymytryk and how his powers "baffle
and haunt" him, you just might have something there. Of course,
you're also setting the bar just spectacularly high. Your movie,
basically, is about some guy whose powers are so allegedly amazing
that Harry Houdini HIMSELF is baffled and haunted by it. Therefore,
the rest of us poor schlubs should be left absolutely dumbfounded
and terrified.
Which is most of the
plot--this Zymytryk guy's house was recently moved into by a hot
blonde chick working on her master's thesis, and naturally, the
house still has plenty of mystery and evil left on its hands.
So at this point I'm
scoffing almost audibly--it really does sound like "bah!"--and
thinking that these guys put way too much setup into this and
not nearly enough delivery. But, okay...I can be a charitable
enough fellow when the mood strikes so I'm willing to give it
a chance.
And I confess that
I'm not always disappointed. For instance, there's this marvelously
freaky sequence involving a moving chair that our heroine Danielle
never actually notices. Also, that chick playing Danielle, Alanna
Chisholm, is actually pretty good. She's going from marginally
insane co-ed to quite thoroughly insane killer type. And there'll
be plenty of creepy stuff to go around, too...mostly at the hands
of Alanna Chisholm.
The ending features
a couple interesting and--yet again--creepy twists, not to mention
a fairly well out-of-nowhere twist ending.
The special features
include audio options with director's commentary, English and
Spanish subtitles, a featurette showing the Zymytryk / Crowe mesmerism
video in its entirety, a behind the scenes featurette, and trailers
for "The Chair", "The Eye", "The Entrance",
"Sight", "Seance", "TKO", "Knock
Knock", the freaky Fearnet ad, and the After Dark Horrorfest.
All in all, "The
Chair" is a singularly freaky experience that'll really put
some credibility back into the direct to video market. Eminently
watchable, and very much worth your time, if "The Chair"
doesn't freak you out even slightly you've got a far stronger
stomach than I do. Even I got just a bit freaked out, and I've
been watching this stuff for decades.
The
Chair
***
DVD
Directed by Brett Sullivan
Written by Michael Capellupo
Starring Nick Abraham, Michael Capellupo, Alanna Chisholm, Lauren
Roy
Produced by Doug Patterson
R
89 mins
2008
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