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ElemenTory
USA 2024
produced by Terrence Arlyn, Mija Edwards, Cholly Jay, Cleo Flucker, Charles Cerrone, Conner Frost (executive) for 784 Films, Arlyn Entertainment
directed by Terrence Arlyn
starring Shaun Paul Costello, Juliette Valdez, Francesca Rain, Tyrone Reeves, Kenisha Pinckney, Nolan Ward, Crystal T. Williams, Penwah Phynjuar, Brian A. Wilson, Matthias Lojewski, T.C. Caldwell, Anthony Wilcox, Chris Cream, Cody N. Carter, Keira Crews, Sunee Waller, Shyra Teagle, Dominique Janelle, Ziva Jane, Jordan Love, Shawn Shillingford, Jamila Bishop, Rashieda Awan, Jay Johnson, David Lee Denny jr, Charles W Harris III, Kiona Golden, Courtney Brown, Big Daddy Kane, Glenn Plummer, Teddy Ames
written by Terrence Arlyn, music by PC Beatz, G. Frears
review by Mike Haberfelner
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During a short moment when her teacher Ms. Williams (Crystal T.
Williams) lets her out of sight, 7 year old Tory (Francesca Rain)
disappears without a trace. The whole school is searched, but that doesn't
produce any results. And much to the despair of Tory's blue-collar parents
Neil (Shaun Paul Costello) and mentally unstable Sylvia (Juliette Valdez),
the search for her is soon abandoned by the school and police alike. Then
though Neil and Sylvia meet another couple, George (Tyrone Reeves) and
Yvonne (Kenisha Pinckney), whose son Mason (Nolan Ward) was likewise
kidnapped, and police quickly lost interest in looking for him as well. So
Neil, Sylvia, Geore and Yvonne storm Tory's school armed to the teeth and
take everybody inside, teachers and children alike, hostage, to hopefully
force a confession or at least a clue out of someone. Thing is, nobody
seems to know anything, and the building's soon surrounded by the police -
which was a calculated risk, as this gives our heroes and their cause
media attention. Thing is, the situation quickly spins out of control when
one of the teachers (Shaun Shillingford) doesn't get his medication on
time and almost dies for it. And then, one of the police outside (Cody N.
Carter) who's also father of one of the kids inside storms the school on
his own with hardly a chance to succeed but every chance to make the
situation even worse ...
A pretty compelling hostage thriller that packs plenty of
social commentary into a genre plot and that really blurs the lines
between good and evil, but in such a way that it creates extra tension and
friction. And with plenty of suspense and well-set sudden outbursts of
violence, the film plays the thriller scale just right, and with a very
relatable cast the story's central themes become very palpable while a
subtle directorial effort gives the movie's ensemble enough air to breathe
- and all of this makes for pretty great genre entertainment.
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review © by Mike Haberfelner
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Robots and rats,
demons and potholes, cuddly toys and shopping mall Santas,
love and death and everything in between,
Tales to Chill Your Bones to is all of that.
Tales to Chill Your Bones to -
a collection of short stories and mini-plays ranging from the horrific to the darkly humourous,
from the post-apocalyptic to the weirdly romantic,
tales that will give you a chill and maybe a chuckle,
all thought up by the twisted mind of screenwriter and film reviewer Michael Haberfelner.
Tales to Chill Your Bones to
the new anthology by Michael Haberfelner
Out now from Amazon!!! |
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