Director:
George Snow
Studio/Production Company:
Athelstan Productions
Genre:
Horror
Length:
Feature
Website:
http://www.ussinners.com
Score:
1.5/5
“Us Sinners” came to me with so many caveats, explanations and excuses from the director, George Snow who wrote to me and said
“My horror movie Us Sinners has been receiving two types of reviews. It's a great movie that every horror fan should own, or it's the worst piece of shit ever made.
I of course believe the great reviews. But, like the great reviews the people who hate it all say the same thing. I had no idea of what I was doing. They attack the story, acting, cinematography, lighting, sound, music, everything. One person said it was the worst thing he'd ever seen, EVER.”
I was intrigued, of course. He continued:
“I need someone with film knowledge to really watch the movie I made, and tell me where I went wrong, from a film-making point of view. They would have to keep in mind the restraints I had while filming. For example one person said the dialogue sequences needed more camera movement. We shot in tight spaces (we had no choice) so camera movement was out of the question.
Do you think you might be up to the task? I can promise you this. You might hate every second of Us Sinners (though the acting is tremendous for a micro-budget), but the ending is like nothing you've ever seen before.”
So, I was really expecting a terrible, badly made, unwatchable film and that is not exactly what I got. No, I did not like “Us Sinners” but, with a few tweaks in tempo and screenplay, it is possible that I might have liked it much, much more than I did.
Reminiscent of “Henry: Portrait Of A Serial Killer” it is a gritty, realistic, detached look at what drives a disturbed young man to kill and kill again. No big surprises here, Tim is badgered by a domineering, abusive mother, picked on by co-workers and otherwise socially challenged.
So, yes, “Us Sinners” was made for almost no money on sub-par equipment, in little time and with non-professional actors. Did any of this bother me? No, not at all. I thought the acting was pretty good. I thought parts of the film were well shot and attractive. An unattractive film can still succeed if the story is engrossing enough that the audience is not distracted by the lack of production values --- witness the 2003 Sundance hit “Pieces Of April” starring Katie Holmes.
Snow wants me to pinpoint what it is about the film that sank it for me and I have. Undeniably creepy and unpleasant, it, unfortunately becomes a bit tedious because of the lack of a compelling plot. Character study is one thing and it can certainly by pulled off but, in this case, there is a routine structure that is established early and merely repeats itself: Tim at work, Tim at home, Tim killing. Yes, eventually he begins to leave clues about his identity but this is not really enough to make the film engrossing.
I believe that a film is a piece of music and like the best pieces, there should be an ebb and flow, a rise and fall, a sense of tension and release of tension, ups and downs. Screenwriting, to me, is closer to music composition than any other sort of writing. For me, a writer who actually specializes in and enjoys watching micro-budget films, there are certain hoops that low-budget filmmakers have to hop through in order to distract from whatever technical or artistic short-comings the film might have. Simply put, “Us Sinners” is simply monotonous, as in one tone, it quickly got boring and boring is bad. Snow is nearly correct about the ending being like nothing we’ve seen before. Actually. I have seen things like it before but it is still pretty shocking. But, what Snow also says “You might hate every second of Us Sinners, but the ending is like nothing you've ever seen before” is at the heart of the problem that the film has --- it doesn’t matter how “great’ the ending is if the 75 minutes leading up to it are boring, tedious and nearly unwatchable.
George Snow
Studio/Production Company:
Athelstan Productions
Genre:
Horror
Length:
Feature
Website:
http://www.ussinners.com
Score:
1.5/5
“Us Sinners” came to me with so many caveats, explanations and excuses from the director, George Snow who wrote to me and said
“My horror movie Us Sinners has been receiving two types of reviews. It's a great movie that every horror fan should own, or it's the worst piece of shit ever made.
I of course believe the great reviews. But, like the great reviews the people who hate it all say the same thing. I had no idea of what I was doing. They attack the story, acting, cinematography, lighting, sound, music, everything. One person said it was the worst thing he'd ever seen, EVER.”
I was intrigued, of course. He continued:
“I need someone with film knowledge to really watch the movie I made, and tell me where I went wrong, from a film-making point of view. They would have to keep in mind the restraints I had while filming. For example one person said the dialogue sequences needed more camera movement. We shot in tight spaces (we had no choice) so camera movement was out of the question.
Do you think you might be up to the task? I can promise you this. You might hate every second of Us Sinners (though the acting is tremendous for a micro-budget), but the ending is like nothing you've ever seen before.”
So, I was really expecting a terrible, badly made, unwatchable film and that is not exactly what I got. No, I did not like “Us Sinners” but, with a few tweaks in tempo and screenplay, it is possible that I might have liked it much, much more than I did.
Reminiscent of “Henry: Portrait Of A Serial Killer” it is a gritty, realistic, detached look at what drives a disturbed young man to kill and kill again. No big surprises here, Tim is badgered by a domineering, abusive mother, picked on by co-workers and otherwise socially challenged.
So, yes, “Us Sinners” was made for almost no money on sub-par equipment, in little time and with non-professional actors. Did any of this bother me? No, not at all. I thought the acting was pretty good. I thought parts of the film were well shot and attractive. An unattractive film can still succeed if the story is engrossing enough that the audience is not distracted by the lack of production values --- witness the 2003 Sundance hit “Pieces Of April” starring Katie Holmes.
Snow wants me to pinpoint what it is about the film that sank it for me and I have. Undeniably creepy and unpleasant, it, unfortunately becomes a bit tedious because of the lack of a compelling plot. Character study is one thing and it can certainly by pulled off but, in this case, there is a routine structure that is established early and merely repeats itself: Tim at work, Tim at home, Tim killing. Yes, eventually he begins to leave clues about his identity but this is not really enough to make the film engrossing.
I believe that a film is a piece of music and like the best pieces, there should be an ebb and flow, a rise and fall, a sense of tension and release of tension, ups and downs. Screenwriting, to me, is closer to music composition than any other sort of writing. For me, a writer who actually specializes in and enjoys watching micro-budget films, there are certain hoops that low-budget filmmakers have to hop through in order to distract from whatever technical or artistic short-comings the film might have. Simply put, “Us Sinners” is simply monotonous, as in one tone, it quickly got boring and boring is bad. Snow is nearly correct about the ending being like nothing we’ve seen before. Actually. I have seen things like it before but it is still pretty shocking. But, what Snow also says “You might hate every second of Us Sinners, but the ending is like nothing you've ever seen before” is at the heart of the problem that the film has --- it doesn’t matter how “great’ the ending is if the 75 minutes leading up to it are boring, tedious and nearly unwatchable.
Come to think of it, I have a lot of controversial movies in my collection....