By Kyle Laugh
Director:
Writers:
Schuyler Brumley, John-Paul Panelli (screenplay by)
Stars:
Karli Hall, Amanda Kathleen Ward, Sascha Ghafoor
When two sisters go to an isolated cabin in the woods to film a passion project, family secrets start to get in the way, as do masked strangers filming a passion project of their own.
"They're Inside" take various pieces of the found footage, home invasion and slasher subgenres and mixes them together in a compelling manner, utilizing the pretext of filming behind the scenes footage of a film project, in order to keep the camera rolling throughout the entirety of its screen time, which is a different approach than your traditional "ghost hunt" and "we need to document this" reasons for keeping the camera on in the first place.
Although the opening sequence gives us a quick introduction to some graphic violence at the hands of the film's antagonists, everything moving forward is worked pieced together in a slow-burning manner.
We are immediately suspect of our lead character, Robin, (Karli Hall) due to the way she's displaying her variety of emotions. This is something I chalked up to being nervous prior to her first day of filming, but as the story progresses, smaller pieces begin to emerge and unfold, causing conflict within the group, most notably, with her own sister Cody (Amanda Kathleen Ward), and leaving us with a much more in-depth reasoning for her varying states of emotion.
With these types of films, you would typically find a hiccup somewhere within the story, the cinematography or most likely, within the acting.
They're Inside not only finds a way to remedy the typical issues taking place in a found footage film but also provides us with a pair of very well played out antagonists, thanks in part to Matthew Peschio's wonderful ability to effectively deliver dialogue, while Alex Rinehart performance does the opposite, using her physical acting to add an uneasiness to each scene she is placed in.
The only downfalls the film has are minor ones but these are things that some people may, unfortunately, dwell on, considering the state of people in this day and age.
Getting into specifics, the clear and obvious one, how the film somewhat resembles "The Strangers" due to the masks used by our killers, alongside the quickly noticeable home invasion angle which also plays a small factor within the film. Just remember, this must not be the main focus for yourself as a viewer as there are many more important things that should be focused on.
Other than these similarities, the only thing that people may find an issue with is the way the twists are set up and explained. If you aren't paying full attention to the film, you're likely to get lost within the complex intricacies of the bouncing storyline. You're set up to think one thing but end up being quickly fooled. Something I can personally appreciate, but I'm sure others, (I'm looking at you kids playing your Candy Crush and reading up in your Facebook) may have a more difficult time deciphering these things, leaving them upset that "the film made no sense".
While there are some familiarities to other popular horror flicks that take away from. Its originality, the twists provided should be more than enough to keep any genre fans intrigued.
I would be remiss if I didn't give you a heads up that you will see some full-frontal male nudity, balls and all. Just in case this is the kind of thing you're either looking to avoid seeing, or might be wanting to take a gander at!
7.5 out of 10
Have you listened to our HORROR Podcast? This week on Beyond The Void Horror Podcast. We watched two brand new horror comedy movies! Nekrotronic (2018) about demons, ghosts and laughs. Wildly stylistic. Then The Banana Splits Movie (2019) which takes murderous kids show robots on a rampage disassembling the cast and your childhood. Check it out! Listen on iTunes Here or on Spotify here!