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The Night Monica Came Back
UK 2017
produced by
Eirian Cohen, Michael Haberfelner (associate) for Northern Star Acting
directed by Cameron Prudames, Layla Randle-Conde
starring Laurence R. Harvey, Elizabeth-Mae Starbuck, Sandra Valera, Lee Ashley Preston, Petr Malinkovic, Charlotte E. Jones, Eirian Cohen, Dylan Furness, Chris Dudley, Kayla Leigh Holdsworth, Tshayi Hercules, Jacob Ian Brayshaw, Taylor Jayne, Sharon Spink, Barnaby Edward Skelton, Sharon Melo, Rachel Brownstein, Gabriel Angelo Frisicaro, Harry Sugden, Thomas Baxter, Michael Haberfelner, Elin Russell-Hughes, Tristan Roberts, Patrick Lee
written by Michael Haberfelner, music by Kevin MacLeod/Incompetech, cinematography by Cameron Prudames, edited by Michael Haberfelner
short
review by
Mike Haberfelner
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20 years ago, scout leader Pops (Laurence R. Harvey) took a group of
kids, aged 8 to 16, camping, an endeavour doomed from the start when
Spanish exchange student Monica (Elizabeth-Mae Starbuck) is attacked by a
person unknown when alone in the woods and her arm is slashed. Young
Herbert (Dylan Furness), who has long wooed her from afar, sees this as
his chance to get close to her as the understanding good friend ... but
ultimately it's show-off and self-proclaimed "manly man"
Thurston (Lee Ashley Preston) who wins her over, reading to her the
"spell of death" from a "book of spells", just for a
laugh - but then she keels over and dies. And Pops, when he finds her, has
a fatal heart attack ... 20 years later: The erstwhile kids from the
summercamp are re-assembled for a macabre reunion ... by non other than
Pops, who has returned from limbo but can only exist in the land of the
living inside a column of fire, and who wants to finally find out what had
happened back when. But his return from the dead is overshadowed when
adult Thurston (Petr Malinkovic) brings alive and kicking Monica (Sandra
Valera) to the event, who claims she has been dead only "by British
standards". But then people start dying at the reunion, and now it's
up to adult Herbert (Chris Dudley), his bff Agatha (Tshayi Hercules, as a
kid played by Kayla Leigh Holdsworth) and
ditzy Christine (Eirian Cohen, as a kid played by Charlotte E. Jones) to find out what's really going on ... The
Night Monica Came Back is a movie produced by Yorkshire acting academy
Northern Star Acting, shot over two days, one starring its teen,
the other its adult students, plus veteran actor Laurence R. Harvey (Human
Centipede 2) and the academy's director Eirian Cohen. And since I was personally involved in the making of this movie as writer,
associate producer and editor, I am of course biased enough to be unable
to write an objective review, so I asked Canadian punk rock body horror auteur Nadine
L'Esperance to help out as guest reviewer:
This
independent movie starring Laurence R. Harvey has a unique, darkly
humourous twist. A group of people who grew up together have a party and reminisce
about the past when their late counselor "Pops" pops into the
party. As they all remember what happened 20 years ago questions
arise, but then something unexpected or rather "someone"
unexpected happens.
This is a dark humour short, with many oneliners and bits of slapstick kind of
comedy it was hilarious to watch. The campiness
of this film makies it exactly the kind of movie I enjoy. Plus I really
got a kick out of Laurence wearing a Wu-Tang Clan t-shirt - THAT was
funny!
I recommend this
film for people who like dark humor and a twist of the supernatural.
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find The Night Monica Came Back at adultvideouniverse.com
