Well folks, Harry here... and this time I have word on a movie that we should've had word on... about.. oh... 3 weeks ago, but some evil genius somewhere slept late or just plum forgot to make his screening. BUT... as always, we find out anyways. I've received two words on this film thus far... both positive... both from film students. Personally, I'm very interested in seeing this film... it sounds quite good... Here ya go...
I'm a student at the L.A. Film School and a group of us were invited to a cast/crew screening of the movie SKELETONS IN THE CLOSET because the d.p. sometimes lectures at our school (he's in NYC working now.)
The screening was on the Warner Brothers lot but the movie was made by Artisan. The director said beforehand that it was made for 1.5 million on High Definition Video and it was screened on High Def. I've seen a lot of low budget films and this one looked like it cost a lot more than that, so he's either full of shit or they got a lot for their money -it had helicopter shots and some underwater stuff and some fire stuff. The High Def looked like film, so I'd like to pick his brain some on how they it.
The movie stars Treat Williams and Jonathan Jackson as his son, and Linda Hamilton.
The movie opens with a fire and the voice over of Jonathan Jackson's character saying that his mother died in the fire and he doesn't remember anything about it, but he does have a recurring dream that his father set the fire. This sets up the central mystery - is the father the bad guy, or is it the son?
After a classmate is found dead, Jonathan confesses to the killing to his dad in a scene that is CREEPY. The father is tormented by this, until the next day when someone else confesses to the crime and Jonathan says he was just "testing" his dad. But as the movie progresses, more people turn up missing and the father becomes convinced his son is the killer. For a while we believe he's right, but later the plot does a 180 and we begin to think that Treat is paranoid, and that he did kill his wife. To give away what really happened to the mother would spoil the film.
I loved this movie. I would say that it's a paranoid thriller. It reminded me in style of ROSEMARY'S BABY (just saw it on DVD, awesome), in that you see the movie through one person's eyes and you don't know if they're right or if they're paranoid. You never see any killings in the movie, not gore, but IT'S SCARY AS HELL. My girlfriend (okay, I admit, I wish she was my girlfriend) screamed twice and hid her head a lot. You care a lot about the characters - including Linda Hamilton who plays Treat's girlfriend (and still looks do-able.)
My girlfriend knew Jonathan Jackson because he played Luke and Laura's son in GENERAL HOSPITAL. (Luke was in the audience.) There also seemed to be a good number of Jackson fans in the audience. I'd never seen him before but he is THE REAL DEAL. This movie should be a breakout for him. He's good looking and you feel for him, but he can also be creepy and vicious. He's like a young Johnny Depp.
Treat Williams surprised me. Sometimes I like him, sometimes he's boring. But he was really good in this. This movie is from his point of view and you don't know if you should trust him or not; and at other times you believe him and feel his torment. The film has a great, dark sense of humor and it got a lot of laughs from the audience that appreciated its Kafka-esque sense of irony. Linda Hamilton also has some strong moments. I also noticed the red headed guy from NYPD BLUE in the mix.
What I dug about this movie is that it's really smart. The twists and turns are great, but also it really has something to say about the reality of killers and abuse, and being a father.
The music is also really cool, and Jonathan did a bunch of songs in it, so he writes music and sings, too.
I would highly recommend this movie, so keep an eye out for it.
Samson Agonistes
