Apparition (DVD)
Matt Boiselle
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Starring Jody Quigley, Katrina Law, Pete Postiglione, Lili Bordan
Directed by Quinn Saunders
Distributed by Revolver Entertainment; Order on iTunes
“Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned” – these words really need to be etched into the whole “the only certains are death and taxes,” because if you’ve ever wronged a lady in any facet, you too have felt the wrath that feels worse than a thousands deaths. Okay, I may be stretching it a bit, but all you need to do is lay eyes upon Quinn Saunders’ woman-done-wrong thriller Apparition to compare and contrast this issue.
The film (formerly titled Remorse) brings a newly engaged couple, Lori and Doug (Law and Quigley) to the forefront as their imminent new life together is on the horizon, and aside from a slight bit of intrusion from Lori’s douchey ex-boyfriend, the two seem poised to set adrift and move into their new digs… well, old, refurbished, and slightly haunted digs. As I mentioned just one short sentence ago, Lori’s ex simply loves to push Doug’s buttons, and he’s having a very hard time letting it go, and after another incident, this time at their engagement party, Doug questions Lori’s faithfulness on the ride home, leading to a horrific accident and Lori’s tragic death.
Flash-forward to a short time afterwards, and we see Doug attempting to pick up the pieces of his shattered relationship, all the while continuing to renovate their (I’m sorry – HIS) new home. His grief has overtaken his mind and is beginning to manifest itself into visions of his former fiancée -at first, she appears to be loving and caring to his fragile emotional state, but after the introduction of a new hen (Bordan) in the coop whom Doug helped with a flat tire before Lori’s death, Lori begins to get a little testy, if I may be so bold?
As Doug tries to cope with the fresh loss of his potential bride-to-have-been, his visions grow more and more intense, almost as if Lori never left the house, and Doug’s new squeeze is caught in the middle. The problem is Doug’s mind has gone completely off the rails with grief, and his visions appear to grow more and more real with each passing day. The thing is that I completely bypassed the scare factor here (as it is rather subdued) and focused more on the psychological aspect and the damage that had been done to Doug’s mind after the accident – his guilt and mournfulness override any sort of rational thought, and we witness the downfall of a man’s psyche. Is there such a thing as a vengeful spirit, and if so, do they perpetually loiter around the living in order to torment those who’ve done them wrong? Tasty stuff to delve into, and it all adds up to a pretty interesting watch, coupled with the blazing screen presence of Katrina Law, who absolutely captures every scene she’s in, and while some of the opposing performances come off as slightly forced, it’s all for the betterment of an overall product.
When all was said and done, Apparition does have a few negatives such as a slow runtime and lackluster conclusion, but overall this is a nicely crafted, unyielding peek at how one severely grieving soul can put his normal life on the back burner and allow a separate identity to take over – well worth the watch.
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Film
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