WE GO ON (2016)
Remastered Special Edition Blu-ray
Label: Lightyear Entertainment
Region Code: Region-Free
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 88 Minutes 48 Seconds
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 2.0 Stereo, 5.1 Surround with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.78:1)
Director: Jesse Holland & Andy Mitton
Cast: Annette O’Toole, Clark Freeman, John Glover, Giovanna Zacarias, Laura Heisler
We Go On (2016) is the sophomore feature-length film from co-directors Jesse Holland and Andy Mitton, the directors of YellowBrickRoad, it concerns Miles Grissom (Clark Freeman, YellowBrickRoad), a man paralyzed with fear after the death of his father in a car accident when he was quite young. An agoraphobic with a myriad of paralyzing phobias that are so bad he's incapable of driving a car, working from home editing corporate infomercials. It seems that his fears and phobias are tied to not knowing if there is life after death, realizing this he places an ad in the local newspaper offering a thirty-thousand dollar cash reward to the first person who can prove to him beyond a doubt that life after deaths exists, whether that be proof of a ghost, an angel, a demon. The ad apparently goes viral, catching the attention of his mother, Charlotte (Annette O'Toole, Superman III), who pays him a visit to check on her son's well-being, staying with him while he starts to pour through mountains of written and video submissions of afterlife-proving hopefuls looking to cash-in on the advertised 30K reward.
With the help of his mother they narrow the responses down to three candidates - a scientist Dr. Ellison (John Glover, Gremlins 2), a medium Josephina (Giovanna Zacarias, Belzebuth), and a self-made entrepreneur Alberto (Tony Devon, Slayground). Joined by his mother he sets out to see what they have to offer. Ellison's method is a form of scare-therapy that takes Miles back to his old middle-school that is supposedly haunted by a kid who was locked away inside a locker and died, while Josephine seems to be having mental or drug-related issues that make her less than reliable. The entrepreneur is exposed as a fraud even before they meet-up, when Miles arrives early and encounters someone setting up holographic special effects!
Soon after Miles encounters an enigmatic airport maintenance guy named Nelson (Jay Dunn, The Harbinger) who promises him entry into an exclusive inner circle that will confirm the existence of an afterlife. This sequence is quite well done. The encounter certainly confirms the existence of the afterlife and spirits, but now he finds himself haunted by a particularly nasty ghost who has attached himself to Miles, who is no longer a doubter. The spirit has some malice about it, and wants Miles to kill his girlfriend, a woman named Alice (Laura Heisler, The Harbinger), which Miles doesn;t want to do, but he doesn't want to be haunted for the rest of his life either.
There's some nice twist and turns here, including a revelation from his mother that lends credence to something medium Josephina told Mikles earlier, so she comes back into the picture at a certain point to guide Miles into somehow ridding himself of the spirit that has attached itself to him.
I thought the premise of this one was quite effective was it came into focus after a but of disjointed start. Freeman as the phobic protaganist is solid, but the ace-in--the-hole of this indie haunter is clearly Annette O'Toole as the over-protective mother, a skeptic who is willing to do anything to protect her dysfunctional son, perhaps even committing murder if need be. It was also a hoot to see her reunited with her Smallville co-stars John Glover and Cassidy Freeman, the latter of whom plays a younger version of Charlotte.
This offers an interesting premise, it's well-acted and staged quite nicely, some decent jump scares, an overall ominous tone, especially in the second act, there;s some nice humor, and I loved the relationship between Miles and his mother. Not a perfect film, it's a bit hairy and undefined and contrived in spots, but overall a solid afterlife haunter that riffs on elements from The Sixth Sense.
Audio/Video: We Go On (2016) arrives on region-free Blu-ray from Lightyear Entertainment advertised as being "Remastered" and being an "Updated special edition with enhanced special effects", as the film was previously issued on Blu-ray back in 2017 from Lightyear Ent., but I do not own the previous version to compare it to. The digital shot film looks solid, the image is sharp and precise, colors look good, and depth and clarity are also pleasing. Audio comes by way of English DTS-HD MA 2.0 stereo or 5.1 surround with optional English subtitles, both tracks are crisp and well-balanced, the surround option has some nice atmospheric touches that are nicely immersive, the stereo track has some panning audio that is also effective.
Special features include three commentaries, the first is an Audio Commentary from stars Annette O’Toole and Clark Freeman; a second Audio Commentary from director/writer (story) Jesse Holland; and a third track is an Audio Commentary from director/writer Andy Mitton. The only other extras are the 2-min We Go On Trailer, and a 2-min
YellowBrickRoad Trailer. The single-disc release arrives in a clear keepcase with 2-sided non-reversible wrap, featuring a spooky image from the film.
Special Features:
- Audio Commentary from stars Annette O’Toole and Clark Freeman
- Audio Commentary from director/writer (story) Jesse Holland
- Audio Commentary from director/writer Andy Mitton
- We Go On Trailer (2:04)
- YellowBrickRoad (1:39)
A solid spook show for sure, it's not an all-timer by any means, but it is well-made, attractively shot, with an interesting promise. It's a nice step up from their previous film YellowBrickRoad, and it has me interested to check out Mitton's next couple of films; The Witch's Window (2018) and The Harbinger (2022), apparently he is no longer co-directing with Holland.
Buy it!
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