MOHAWK (2017) (Dak Sky Films Blu-ray Review)

MOHAWK (2017) 

Label: Dark Sky Films
Region Code: A

Rating: Unrated

Duration: 92 Minutes

Audio: English DTS-HD MA 5.1 Surround, 2.0 Stereo with Optional English Subtitles 

Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (2.40:1)

Director: Ted Geoghegan
Cast: Kaniehtiio Horn, Ezra Buzzington, Eamon Farren, Justin Rain, Ian Colletti, Noah Segan, Jonathan Huber, Robert Longstreet, Sheri Foster 

Director Ted Geoghegan's follow-up to his potently eerie and visceral debut film We Are Still Here (2015) finds the director in a familiar place, Upstate New York, but in a different era, this time going back to the late stages of the War of 1812, giving us a period revenge movie that, if not completely original, is at least offering us something we don't see everyday. It's in this setting we find a young Mohawk woman named Oak (Kaniehtiio Hora, TV's Hemlock Grove) who along with her companions, the Mohawk Calvin (Justin Rain) and British arms dealer Joshua (Eamon Farren, Twin Peaks: The Return), are engaged in a discussion with her tribal-elder mother Wetahawi (Sherri Foster, U-Turn) around a fire, with Joshua trying to persuade the elder to take up arms against the Americans, who while not at war with the Mohawk nation are killing them at an alarming rate.

The elder woman doesn't agree with this way of thinking, refusing to go to war, but that same night the young-blood warrior Calvin takes things into his own hands and slips into a nearby American camp, setting it on fire and killing many American soldiers. In the aftermath Joshua, Oak and Calvin find themselves hunted by a small band of vengeful American soldiers lead by the bloodthirsty Hezekiah Holt (Erza Buzzington, The Hills Have Eyes), his cadre of men include his own son Miles (Ian Colletti, TV's Preacher), the steampunk goggled Sherwood (Robert Longstreet), the lumbering Lachlan (WWE wrestler Jon Huber) and a translator named Yancy (Noah Segan, Dead Girl). 

I like that the characters here aren't completely black and white, the bloodlust of the American soldiers is not unwarranted, Calvin's actions were not exactly a honorable attack against an enemy, likewise the white men aren't wholly despicable people from the get-go, but they become implicit in their actions under the leadership of madman Holt, a man driven by revenge from the beginning, and whose craving for the blood of the Mohawk only grows when his own son falls victim during a skirmish in the woods.

All of the characters are short changed as far as development goes, both the good guys and the villains, as the film takes place over the course of what seems to be a night and day, we are thrown into the fray and it goes from zero to plenty of action and violence in no time at all. The lack of development didn't make it hard to root for the protagonists but it would have made it more deeply affecting if we had a bit more of it. Kaniehtiio Horn is a strong female lead in a stoic sort of way, her character's not one to offer a lot of dialogue but her actions are plentiful and powerful, but the love-triangle between her and her male companions could have stood a bit more fleshing out. The movie sacrifices fleshed-out characters in favor of streamlined storytelling, and maybe it's a credit to the film that I craved more, it doesn't spill all it's secrets, including a shaman/spiritual revenge from beyond the grave finale that caught me by surprise. 

The movie has some period faults to niggle at, some of the costuming looks a bit too new and contemporary, and the dialogue seems a bit too modern for the period to my ears, but the wooded area offers plenty of production value and the cast turn in decent performances across the board, plus the violence and mayhem hits hard, well-done. 

Audio/Video: Mohawk (2017) arrives on Blu-ray from Dark Sky Films framed in 2.40:1 widescreen, the digital-shot film look fantastic, the scope lensing capturing lots of the scenic Upstate New York woodlands with some nice depth and clarity, sometimes a bit too much clarity, some of the more modern fabrics look a bit too new at times. Audio comes by way of English DTS-HD MA stereo and 5.1 surround with optional English subtitles, the anachronistic synth score from Wojciech Golczewski (We Are Still Here) which despite at first taking me away from the film a bit I rather enjoyed once I went along with it.  

This release is surprisingly light on extras, the only disc extra is a, widescreen HD trailer for the film which is too bad, this film is ambitious, I would have enjoyed some insight into the writing and influences that went into this one from the director at the very least, a lack of a commentary is a missed opportunity. The single-disc release comes housed in a standard Blu-ray keepcase with a sleeve of reversible artwork.  

Special Features: 

- Trailer (2 min) HD

What we have here is a revenge film set during 1812 in a wooded area, it's a familiar story but the setting and era give a familiar story some new life, adding to that the element of colonialism and native American characters, but we still everything you'd expect from a bloody revenger, including moments of cringe-worthy gore and painful tortures being inflicted on characters, it doesn't make for a perfect film but it does enough different and enough of it is done right to make for an entertaining and briskly paced slice of hybrid movie making to keep me firmly on team Geoghegan as I anxiously await what he does next.   

STARRY EYES (2014)

STARRY EYES (2014)

Label: Dark Sky Films

Region: 1 NTSC

Rating: Unrated

Duration: 96 Minutes

Audio: English Dolby Digital 5.1 with Optional English Subtitles 

Video: Anamorphic Widescreen (2.40:1)
Director: Kevin Kolsch, Dennis Widmyer
Cast: Alex Essoe, Noah Segan, Pat Healy, Amanda Fuller, Shane Coffey, Fabianne Therese

Sarah (Alex Esso) is a young struggling actress, just one of the many of thousands of fame-hungry hopefuls that end up in Hollywood with starry eyes and dreams of becoming the next rising star. While she waits for stardom she waitresses at a Hooters-styled restaurant named Big Taters, nice. Love the hot pants they wear with the beer print!  She lives with her roommate Tracy (Amanda Fuller) and hangs out with a group scenesters comprised of wanna-be actresses and an aspiring director (Noah Segan). The most irritating of the bunch is the part stealing Erin (Fabianne Therese), she's quite a bitch who throws snide comments at Sarah with regularity, that one friend who just loves to bring you down. 

Things seem to be on the upswing for Sarah when she is called in to audition for the latest film from the legendary Astraeus Pictures for a film called The Silver Scream. Meeting with the casting director (Maria Olsen) and her assistant (Marc Senter) she gives a damn decent reading but the duo do not seem impressed. Sarah heads to a restroom down the hall and we see that she might be a little fucked in the head, throwing a tantrum and violently pulling hair from her scalp. An earlier scene hinted that Sarah may suffer from some form of body dysmorphic disorder, now add trichotillomania to the mix and you begin to see that maybe she has some serious body image issues, at the very least she's self-harming. The casting director walks in on doing this and strangely seems impressed by it, so much so that she invites Sarah to come back and audition again, this time with the caveat that she tear the hair from her head for them to see, which seems weird but in the dog eat dog world of Hollyweird nothing seems too strange for very long. 

The casting director and assistant as portrayed by he creepy Maria Olsen and Marc Senter are very weird, particularly Marc Senter who reminded me quite a bit of Christian Bale in the role of Patrick Bateman in AMERICAN PSYCHO. It might have been the facial expressions and the way he moved his mouth combined with his wry delivery and over enunciation. It's very creepy and unsettling, which can also be said for this entire film, it has a certain mesmerizing power about, you know it's building towards something and you cannot take your eyes off it - even during the slower moments. 

Sarah is quickly dismissed after her harrowing performance, she's confused by the experience but is pleased to be called back for a second audition just a few days later. At this audition she is asked to disrobe, she is hesitant at first but acquiesces after some prodding from the casting director who encourages her to open-up to the possibility of transformation, a theme that is carried through for the entire film. During the audition Sarah become entranced by a strobe-light, falling into a hypnotic state, during which she notices that the casting director is wearing a pentacle necklace,  suddenly the weird auditions take on a slightly more sinister tone with the introduction of a possible Satanic element. Afterward she is dismissed yet again, a few later she is called-in for a third audition, this time with the producer (Louis Dezseran) of the project. The meeting begins promisingly but she is dismayed when it becomes clear that she expected to have sex, not willing to corrupt her values she refuses and leaves. 

The character of the producer is yet another bizarre player who seems to be a only slightly more exaggerated version of legendary Hollywood producer Robert Evans. Fabianne Therese gives quite a creepy performance, strangely wild-eyed, blinding white teeth, sporting a maniacal smile while he does on about his fascination with the ugly underside of Hollywood, and the desperate ambition that festers just under the surface of the town. 

Returning to her apartment she tries to console herself with a night of partying with her scenester friends, after which she begins to have second thoughts about her choice, thinking she made the wrong decision. Driven by ambition and not wanting to miss her opportunity in the limelight she reaches out to the casting director and agrees to meet with the producer at his home. This time Sarah is not only willing to swallow her pride to land the coveted role, but quite a bit more. During this encounter we have more definitive occult activity as men in black hooded robes emerge from the shadows and a pentagram can be seen carved onto the producer's hand, there's definitely some occult activity going on. 

The next day Sarah begins to act more erratic and she physically starts to deteriorate, there's a transformation occurring within her and we are not quite sure what is happening but something evil is brewing under the surface. She begins wasting away and severe skin sores start to appear, her hair is falling out and her relationship with her friends begins to become more strained. 

Up to this point one could say that the pace of the film has been a bit slow and deliberate, but it is building up to something, you can feel it, and I am pleased to report this is one slow burn with a very satisfying finish. It's a bloodbath of violence that does not disappoint, the film rewards our patience with a nail biting orgy of violence and revelation, no one walks away from this one untouched, least of all the back stabbers among the scenesters, it is quite a sight! 

I was enthralled from start to finish with this one, this is quite a watch. Alexandra Essoe is fantastic in the role of the fame-starved actress, on the surface she reminds me a bit of a very young Shelley Duvall with her slight build, pretty eyes and toothsome smile. She take it to the next level  and completely sells the character's psychological and physical transformation, there's some subtle character moments here to enjoy, this one goes a bit deeper than your average scary film. The supporting cast is just as good, Noah Segan is one of the more sympathetic scenester friends as is Amanda Fuller as the roommate, even Fabianne Therese imbues her cunty character with some genuine emotion when called upon towards the end, but backstabbers get what they get, regardless.

Of note is the awesome retro synth score from Jonathan Snipes with more than a few nods to the vintage score of John Carpenter with a few atmospheric flourishes sprinkled in. Sarah has her own key-tinkling theme which has both darker and lighter variations throughout, and then there's the standout closing credit music, which inspired me to search for the soundtrack on Amazon, sadly it's not available, but his score for ROOM 237 is, hopefully that will keep me happy until the soundtrack gets a proper release. 

You might be pleased to know that there is nudity and the gore is satisfying. Loads of blood and a visceral face destroying that is as vicious and well executed as anything I have seen in recent memory. Additionally, the gradual deteriorating make-up appliances used to show Sarah's wasting away are pretty great, at times it reminded me of the grotesque transformation of the young woman from CONTRACTED, very nicely done without going overboard. There's something for just about everyone here, we have a story that pulls you in from the beginning, bizarre occult elements, bloody violence, nudity and a fantastic retro-synth score, it rarely gets any better than this. 

Special Features: 

- Commentary with writer-directors Dennis Widmyer and Kevin Kolsch, and producer Travis Stevens
- Deleted Scenes (12 Minutes)
- Jonathan Snipes Music Video (2 Minutes)
- Alex Essoe Audition Video (14 Minutes)
- Behind-the-Scenes Photo Gallery (10 Minutes)
- Trailer (2 Minutes) 

Verdict: STARRY EYES is sure to be a film that will be talked about for quite a while, and one of the few to actually live up the hyperbole that preceded my own viewing. A nice slice of slow burn Satanic cinema, one tempered with atmospheric nightmarish imagery, and strange occult elements with a satisfying payoff and an outstanding retro-synth score, this comes highly recommended.