20 Horror Movies for $7.50  — Part V.

Well this is strange.  I just discovered that I already saw this film on 09/07/13 (yeah, I keep track), but remember absolutely nothing about it.  One purpose of this blog was to force me to watch a lot of new films and old TV shows.  But I guess I set the precedent as a completist with the Night of the Living Dead rewatch, though, so here goes . . .

Darryl Coltrane (William Mopather) takes in his brother’s family after a fatal car crash. The accident is a little fishy as the cars ended up almost nose to nose with one of the them being upside down.  I can’t conceive of a scenario with that result.

The family is less than thrilled to now be living in a salvage yard in the boonies.  Darryl is a little creepy (naturally, being played by William Mopather), but he does take in his sister-in-law Helen and kids Lenore and Conrad.  Much to everyone’s surprise, there is soon another cuddly addition to the family.

No, Darryl didn’t knock up Helen (although the idea has clearly crossed his mind over the years she was married to his brother).  It turns out that dear old dad had another family.  The teenage daughter Sarah comes to live with the family at the junkyard.   Even though the family does not know the relationship, it is still awkward.

Conrad is an artist who’s scrap metal creations are so bad they could be featured in the Museum of Modern Art.  He is a good guy, though, offering his bedroom to her, and not as a bunkie.  Once she arrives, though, things start to get strange.

It is a question for a while whether it is Darryl responsible for the strange occurrences (such as a murdered duck).  Also, the visor falls out of Conrad’s welding mask and nearly blinds him.  Clearly Darryl does not want them there, and is set in his ways.  His passions are his junk and especially a car that he is restoring.

He is further cast as suspicious when he is shown in Helen’s bedroom watching her sleep, and when it is implied that he is peeking at Lenore taking a shower. Plus, he is still William Mopather.

Eventually, Lenore discovers the truth about Sarah and then people start dying or at least getting hurt.  Sarah begins tarting herself up and soon becomes a little Lolita rather than the awkward kid from the beginning.

There is not a whole lot of story, but i liked what was there.  All of the performances and the direction are solid.  It is a strange criticism, and sounds absurdly minor, but one of my few complaints is Helen’s voice.  It is so high pitched and girlish that I had to keep reminding myself that she was the MILF, er . . . mother.

Post-Post:

• I gave this 3 stars on NetFlix in 2013, and stand by that.  Would have gone 3.5 if I could.
• BTW, kudos to William Mopather for not living in Tom Cruise’s shadow.  He was on Lost and also worked with Brit Marling, so he’s Brando to me.
• Not a lot of effort in this review.  I saw the movie before and despite it being pretty good, I just can’t get too enthusiastic.
• These are the somber faces of women sitting beside their dying son/brother, who just saw their brother-in-law/uncle hanged, had a best friend murdered, and killed a young girl.  It’s Miller Time!