FILM REVIEW: HUSK – AFTER DARK SERIES (SHORT) – MS. PRIMATE
Review By Kerrie Whalan
Director: Brett Simmons
Cast: Tammin Sursok, CJ Thomason, Devon Graye, Wes Chatham,
Synopsis: A group of friends stranded near a desolate cornfield find shelter in an old farmhouse, though they soon discover the dwelling is the center of a supernatural ritual.
Review: Firstly it must be noted that it was great to see the female lead in this movie was an Australian (far removed from her days on HOME AND AWAY) Tammin Sursok was surprisingly believable as ‘Natalie’, even her accent was well rehearsed; although it is a shame she did not have a larger role.
As quite the fan of the horror/ thriller genre I must admit HUSK left me wanting, and it was not so much the acting that let this film down. It was clear to see that the actors worked hard with the script that they were provided with, however the dynamic of the group of friends was fairly predictable (and without giving away to much of the movie the group is quite the classic teen horror flick of the nerd, the jock, the hot girl friend, the loner and the one that seems to bring them all together). Wes Chatham is a little dull as ‘Brian’ and can be a little annoying by continually making some really questionable decisions, classic scary movie errors really. Although CJ Thomason as ‘Chris’ and Devon Graye as ‘Scott’ both gave quite solid performances and brought some honest feeling to the movie.
I hardly found this movie scary at all, perhaps had I watched it late at night during a storm I might have felt differently, at some points the movie seemed to be a little to repetitive and for a ‘short film’ it was just shy of feature length.
I found this movie a bit more of a laugh than a scream.
