The overall framing
mechanism of these pieces is contained
within a composer’s revamped
performance of Vivaldi’s ‘The 4
Seasons’. The most winning segment
is the first.
Autumn (The
Darkest Secret) is a story
about a man trying to run from his past
(primarily the OD death of his
stepbrother) by taking residence in a
creepy boarding house.
The Winter
(Satan Claws)
segment is next. This part concerns the
wrath of God – which (interestingly
enough) is not only incurred by those who
forsake the word of God, but also those
who exploit it to press their own
demented views.
Spring (Easter
Beast) is the third segment.
It is a comedic-silent piece. The fourth
segment, Winter (Thirst for
Blood) is a modern it’s-not-easy-being-a-vampire
tale.
These four stories are
framed around not only the presented
concert but around the composer Francois
Dupius’ fear of writing music since
each of his musical compositions is
accompanied by the death of someone close
to him.
In the delicious tradition
of Tales From the Crypt, From Beyond
the Grave, Creepshow, The House
That Dripped Blood, and all those
wonderful multiple story-pieces, comes The
Horror Seasons -- a quartet of four
horror tales.
Like with all films of this nature the
segments presented are of varying depth
and effectiveness…and The Horror
Seasons is no exception.
Overall The Horror
Seasons is an admirable and ambitious
project on a budget. Some of the problems
rest precisely on the production’s
finances.
The sound can be sporadic, several of the
FX are clearly make-do, and some of the
locations don’t really work.
These criticisms aside, there is no
denying the talent involved in the
project that shines on several fronts --
the cast is game and energetic, the
production design is often creative and
imaginative, there’s some
interesting camera work and direction,
and the storylines are gay-friendly
(yippee!).
In the first chapter titled
The Darkest Secret, it
features some gorgeous black-and-white
montage work and some delicious camera
composition.
The Winter chapter Satan
Claws has some intriguing points
to make though it’s effectiveness is
somewhat undermined by the culminating
appearance of a truly perplexing and
bizarre monster.
The third chapter Easter
Beast works well visually with
it's comedic-silent piece, has a decent
amount of laughs, and shows substantial
production ingenuity.
However, the primary problem with this
segment is that the overall story should
have been aggressively trimmed. The
narrative lacks focus and tends to
meander -- though by the climax Spring
manages to get back on course with an
ironic twist that is both funny and a
nice stroke of karmic comeuppance.
The fourth chapter Thirst
for Blood featuries a nice
amount of gore with some fine FX and some
good production values…though
overall the story didn’t really
contribute anything new in regards to the
presentation of vampire lore.
Like the say with a
promising ball team …Next
season for sure!
The
scenes and interplay between the composer
and his boyfriend/assistant are well done
and solidly acted. In addition this
framing segment is very nicely written
and the surprise at the end of his final
composition is a solid success.
In the Darkest
Secret chapter, This moody and
surreal piece is the best written and
acted of the segments.
TThe brainchild of
director/writer/editor/composer Shawn
Buffington, this ambitious
shot-on-video chiller definitely has its
moments, yet it is oftentimes fitfully
erratic in its successfulness.
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