Medusa (2015)
Matt Boiselle
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Starring Jeff Allen, Tom Struckoff, Britt Rose
Directed by Jorge Ameer
Progressively working his way up the ladder in a career that began in 1990, director Jorge Ameer was getting busy on projects when they were contained inside those archaic plastic cases with wound tape inside… can’t think of the name of them, it’s been so long. In any event, Ameer is certainly no stranger to the world of celluloid, and his presentations, while not grand in monetary scale, have exceeded the boundaries of visual and substance when it comes to putting your everything into a film, and his latest horror display, Medusa, is no exception.
After he manages to snag a very pricey antique mirror from a loony witch doctor (Ameer himself), mythology professor Jack Peruci (Allen), after very close inspection, realizes that he’s grabbed the prize that he’s coveted for years: the mirror that contains the evil known as Medusa, the gorgon-haired siren who can turn men into stone with one glance into her hypnotic eyes. Jeez, pal, if you were looking for a woman to ogle, just try an online dating site, will ya?
It’s not too long before Medusa begins to weave her malevolent ways, haunting Jack beyond repair and forcing him to turn to his best friend, Steven (Struckhoff), for a hypnotherapy session that only delves much deeper into his own connection to the hideous charmer. So there we have it – the classic battle between good and evil, and it’s pretty damn entertaining to check out.
The film itself is fairly dialogue-heavy and can move a little unhurried in spots, but Ameer uses this technique in order to build a strong structure of mystery and foreboding that only enhances the comprehensive outcome. His way of filming won’t make you leap out of your seat with unflinching jump scares; yet, taking you by the hand towards the fright – and gently introducing you to it – is a much more effective way of giving you the chills.
The only thing that could have topped Ameer’s directorial work was his all-too-short screen time as the wonderfully eerie witch doctor, Kao – with whited-out eyes, his undetermined sense of whether he was there to provide aid or damage to those who came to him was pretty impressive. Aside from a few frustrating sound problems at intervals, the movie has the look and feel of a worn down recording that’s been sitting on one of those damn tapes we all used to watch back in the 80’s – we used to call them Saturday night specials, simply because aside from some shoddy infomercials and maybe the occasional “Happy Days” rerun, cheesy horror had its place in the overnight hours on my local TV stations, as I’m sure it did yours, and Medusa is a nice replication of those products.
Overall, I could definitely recommend Medusa to fans of not only horror but also Greek mythology, and while it may not blow people out of the water, it will certainly make you think twice about looking too deeply into that bathroom mirror your wife picked up at IKEA last weekend while it was on sale.
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Film
Categorized:Reviews
