Phobias (2003)

   
Produced, Written, Edited, Cinematographed & Directed by: Robert J. Massetti

Starring:

Jon Fish .... Frank Moore / Derrick
Nick Colameo .... Dean the Bug Guy / Jeff
Courtney Chitty .... Dawn
Katharine Leis .... Sarah

Release Date: Direct-to-DVD: April 15, 2003

*Images courtesy of www.fearfilm.com

 

Rating:

 

These are two films back to back by Robert J. Massetti. In the first film When Shadows Lie Darkest, is a story of a man named Frank Moore (Jon Fish) talking to a shrink (or you may think a shrink) wondering if his nightmares are real or not when he is dreaming of killing people that makes him angry.

In the second part of this DVD titled Blackout, A desperate housewife named Sarah (Katharine Leis) murders her drunken out-of-work abusive husband Jeff (Nick Colemeo) with some scissors during a power blackout and is questioned by the police about it.
She has tried beforehand to leaving him but he convinces her that he will never let her even from beyond his grave.
She befriends a musician named Derrick (Nick Collameo) who loves to pull little pranks on her as he knows about her murdering her husband as her husband is haunting Derrick's house and has alot more shocking stories to tell her.

 

This two parter of two different stories lacked a budget big time and didn't use a boom mic for the audio when the actors were performing which is just one of those typical movies that someone local decided to take his own digital camcorder and gathered up his friends then said "Hey let's make a movie!"

In the When Shadows Lie Darkest chapter we spot some good shots on Frank Moore having his emotional problems lying on the couch talking to a shrink as well as acting psychotic and showing insane expressions too.
We have many corny conversations between Frank and Dean the Bug Guy
about discussing a bug problem which looked terribly trashy but yet there are good camera shots on them with a camera looking up between them talking as well as single shots on them too.
We have a good shot on Frank in the end spinning around in his chair and then standing up removing a grim reaper type of hood.
Well the first parter When Shadows Lie Darkest was very bland and not going anywhere at the same time you think to yourself "Why is this happening???" Still it lacked a good plot.

The next chapter titled Blackout was an improvement for a no budgeter as it keeps you in suspense of what's going to happen next and it's very spooky too if you had a fear of ghosts when you were a child and being scared of the dark too.
It is very mysterious and explains itself about someone with a split personality.
In Blackout we spot some excellent scenery with the blackout disturbing the murdering as well as having the ghost appearing out of nowhere which is very frightening.
We spot many good camera shots that involves Jeff looking around and seeing a door opening and then the phone ringing which makes you jump a bit. There's also a good shot of the door opening a bit and then the face of a a ghost briefly shown next to the door as it looks cheesy but creepy at the same time.
There's a nice shot with Jeff on the phone with the ghost coming up from behind him.
We have a good discussion between Jeff and Sarah in a vehicle and her being closed minded and a good blunt attitude with him telling her off which looked very believeable too.
There's also a nice shot on each of them when he tries to confront her about her abusive husband.
A nice close up shot on Sarah washing her hands with soap and a flashback on her washing her bloody hands.
Then we have a flashback scene with her and Jeff which was performed a little rusty. We do spot some good shots on Sarah reaching for some scissors and then raising them up from her head and slamming them down along with a nice bloody shot on Jeff as a dead corpse.

The acting was a little stale in When Shadows Lie Darkest as (Jon Fish Frank Moore / Derrick) sometimes overly does it but at the same time knew how to snap and act crazy from acting calm too.
Nick Colameo
(Dean the Bug Guy / Jeff) as the bug exterminator really got on my nerves and was very mellodramatic. He really was way too over the top and needed some acting lessons. He wasn't believeable with his abusive actions in the second chapter Blackout.

In Blackout though the acting was okay as Katharine Leis (Sarah) seemed not too shabby as someone who is disturbed about her past and showing her split personality. She tried the best she could even if the film made the acting look bad. She could possibly be crowned as a scream queen for future no budget horror flicks too.

In When Shadows Lie Darkest a killer whacks a guy in the chest with a mine pic. At the end a guy slashes his wrist.

In Blackout Katherine's character is bloodied and so is Nick's part. She stabs Nick's character repeatedly with a pair of scissors.

Craig Padilla's score for this film is passable but nothing too over the top but does do a nice synthesizing sounds for the When Shadows Lie Darkest chapter.

During the When Shadows Lie Darkest chapter we have a metal soundtrack by underground groups such as "Morning Star" performed by Fas Eter and "Scratch the World" performed by Death Becomes You.

There is a lame soundtrack in the Blackout chapter by underground groups like "Feel So Black" performed by Mark Feil, "Good Old Times" performed by Emigrantz, "I Want You" performed by Cardiaca, "Breathe for Me", "Blurred and Muted", "Where Beauty Ends" performed by Dearbon and Luis Duran Deadstar Assembly, "The Dead Don't Die" perfomed by Death Becomes You.