HE NEVER LEFT (2023)
Label: Epic Pictures
Region Code: Region-Free
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 89 Minutes 43 Seconds
Audio: English Dolby Digital 2.0 with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (2.39:1)
Director: James Morris
Cast: Colin Cunningham, Jessica Staples, Charla Bocchicchio, William McAllister, James Morris, Sean Hunter, David E. McMahon, Jake Watters
He Never Left (2023) is an independent slasher film directed by James Morris (TV's The Witching Season), very much in the mold of The Town That Dreaded Sundown and Halloween, wherein the small community of Larsen City was once terrorized by a masked-killer dubbed The Pale Face Killer, whose spree seemingly ended in 1997, though the culprit was never caught, It's in this community that we find federal fugitive Gabriel (Colin Cunningham, AMC's Preacher), who with the help of his ex Carly (Jessica Staples) is holed up in a dingy motel just outside of town after a botched robbery left one dead. Now a wanted man he takes refuge in an old motel to avoid a pair of U.S. Marshalls Tim (James Morris, They Live Inside Us) and Mike (Sean D. Hunter, TVs The Witching Season) who are combing the streets of the town to apprehend. He needs to lay low for three days until his pal Andrew (Jake Watters, 10/31: Part 3) can arrange to pick him up and get home out of the area.
The film has a strong Halloween vibe about, the Fall setting, plenty of seasonal decoration, and a great setting at the dingy motel. The lensing is quite pleasing as well, lots of atmosphere and lighting, it sets a mood and tone The flick actually starts off with a kill scene in the adjoining hotel room, it's a terrific slasher set-up, establishing the look of the killer with a creepy mask. That the film then sort of settles on the character of fugitive on-the-run Gabriel in the next room was curious. Obviously not a great person, but Colin Cunningham plays him interestingly, imbuing the character with a haunted guilt about the accidental death, literally haunted by visions of young man whose death he's responsible for, but he's also not quite sympathetic either. For my tastes the flick strays a bit too far from being a straight slasher stuff, detouring as Gabriel manically deals with his guilt while alone in the hotel room, bugging out about what might be going on in the next room, and hanging out with the U.S. Marshalls a bit as they prowl around town and eat at a diner.
When we finally get to the good stuff, i.e. the actual slashery stuff, it's a pretty decent watch, but the kills are pretty tame on none to clever. I did like the look of Pale Face, there's a couple of scenes clearly aping Michael Myers appearance and mannerisms from the Halloween flicks, but it's all done in good spirits. I think they could have done more with the town terrorized by the memory of a dormant killer here though, and I wanted a bit more stalk and slash. I do like this it does things a bit differently, the characters are all interesting and quirky, and I especially liked David E. McMahon and Charla Bocchicchio as these sort of too nice, busy-body hotel proprietors, they sort of steal the show for me. Both have interesting faces, and their characters, who prove to be quite integral to what's transpiring, are easily the most intriguing. In the end I had a good time watching it, but I did not love it. It's a handsomely shot indie slasher, it looks terrific and there's some solid Halloween atmosphere to it. I liked the idea of of the town terrorized by a killer who was never caught but has seemingly returned after decades being inactive, that's a good idea, not original, but a good meaty idea, I just don't think they did enough with that aspect of the film. Additionally, I wanted bloodier, more creative and gorier kills, and to that end it does not really deliver, but I liked it well enough to recommend it to die-hard slasher fans, and I give kudos to the main cast, who I thought were terrific and brought a lot to their characters.
Audio/Video: He Never Left (2023) arrives on region-free Blu-ray from Epic Pictures, presented in 1080p HD framed in 2/39:1 widescreen. The digital shot film looks great, it's well-lit, we get deep black, and plenty of fine detail in the close-up shots, colors look fantastic. Audio comes by way of lossy English Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo with optional English subtitles. It's sad we only get lossy Dolby Digital, but despite that the tracks sounds fine, dialogue is nicely prioritized, effects and the atmospheric score by Randin Graves (Curse of Crom: The Legend of Halloween) are also nicely placed in the mix.
This release is very well stocked with extras; we get a Producer and Director Audio Commentary; the feature-length The Legend of Pale Face - The Making of He Never Left which runs a whopping 88-minutes; the 14-min Scoring a Legend with composer Randin Graves; the 6-min Sculpting a Nightmare; the 10-min A Night at Lyc-Inn - Short Film, which if yo could not tell by the title involves a werewolf; 6-min of Intro Pre-Visualization; 1 3-min Super 8 Reel; the 7-min Crowdfunding Pitch Video with Original Opening; 2-min Official Trailer; and a selection of Dread Trailers. The extras are all quite handsomely produced and surprisingly extensive, we typically do not get such a comprehensive set of extras with low-budget slashers, and this one is absolutely chock full of tasty bonus junk. The single-disc release arrives in a standard keepcase with a cool illustrated artwork that does a good job capturing the vibes of this one.
Special Features:
- Producer and Director Audio Commentary Track
- The Legend of Pale Face - The Making of He Never Left (88:27)
- Scoring a Legend (14:16)
- Sculpting a Nightmare (6:21)
- A Night at Lyc-Inn - Short Film (9:36)
- Intro Pre-Visualization (6:16)
- Super 8 Reel (3:20)
- Crowdfunding Pitch Video with Original Opening (7:23)
- Official Trailer (1:44)
- Dread Trailers: Beezel, Ghost Game, Haunt Season
Screenshots from the Epic Pictures Blu-ray:
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