Beg (2011) Reviews

• "Witches? Haunted Summer Camps? I feel like I'm in a bad 80s horror movie".

  lost-in-limbo2018-08-22

  Tony Todd as a teacher, rocking some reading glasses, and sure to creep you out, but not just with his bellowing voice, as he talks to his classroom about the origins of Halloween, especially that of the Jack-O-Lantern. That moment did draw me in, but that's how the independent shot-on-digital horror "BEG" plays out. The plot is drawn out (graceless teen boredom, self-doubting cops, family dramas), and loosely connected (with so many characters coming and going), as only samples of the narrative engages, while other parts don't (illustratively bland character building), or simply there to pad out the feature (Debbie Rochon listening to music). It's hard to understand, since it probably runs 15 minutes too long. Todd's appearance doesn't really lead to anything (like a lot scenes in the film), but his few sequences are used as a poorly designated red herring. A couple of genre actors also show up (the reason that drew me to the film), but their additions to the fold are minor. I wished Rochon had a little more to do, as it was like her character is completely forgotten. Although you can count on Tiffany Shepis to make a scene by having some fun with her little part, always willing to go that extra step. As for the rest of the cast, it's amateur hour. The influences/or nods of such slashers as "HALLOWEEN" and the sequels of "FRIDAY THE 13TH" show up throughout, like the killer's choice of weapon (machete & chainsaw), costume (Michael Myer's jumpsuit), Harry Manfredini composes the (clunky & overwrought) score, heavy breathing POV shots, the way the killer is framed in shots had that HALLOWEEN vibe, PJ Soles gets a small part and during an early Halloween costume party we see the potato sack wearing Jason and my favorite being the white bed sheet with glasses. Having this slasher set in Salem, it does at times have characters (teens) discussing the town's past, cursed by memories and ghosts of the infamous atrocities. This element of the story is brought up, to be disappointedly pushed aside, then to only show up again. After the big reveal (who's under the mask), it surprisingly showed a touch of imagination, style and humor for its unexpected supernatural payoff. Had me thinking, if only they played around with this angle a lot more. As for the killer's reveal, I don't know what to make of it, senseless? Felt like I was missing something. Why was 'beg' smeared on the wall in the blood of the victims? Unless I missed it, it wasn't explained. Like the investigating detectives, it was hard trying to get a read on the killer. There are clues, if you pay attention to the dialogues, or actions, but you wouldn't know that they were, unless you guessed the killer before the unmasking. Also leading up to the finale, it took on a turn I didn't see coming involving one of the detectives. For what we see, it's very voyeuristic and sleazy. Quite a bit of time spent on young women (the killer's main target) wandering around in their underwear or gratuitous shower scenes. There's one moment when a sorority house gets massacred, where everyone, all in different spots of the house are in their underwear as the ogling camera follows. While it didn't skimp on the nudity, however blood and gore was a real mixed bag. There are moments like a machete to the head, branch impalement, blood splatter from a chainsaw and Michael Berryman (in a flashback guest appearance) chewing off a woman's ear. While at the same time, quite a bit still happens off-screen or out-of-shot with aftermath gore FX. Just found it real odd, although the body count is large, maybe they didn't have enough supplies, but it felt more like an artistic choice. Suspense and atmosphere makes way for cheap thrills, and uneven lighting, as the low-rent execution can be somewhat stuffy. What did look great though, the killer's detailed, intimidating mask of a jack-o-lantern. In the end, "BEG" is typical low-budget slasher fodder.