HAUNTING OF THE INNOCENT (2014)

Studio:       Uncork’d Entertainment
Director:    Matt Hish
Writer:       Ian Ascher, Chris Freeman, Matt Hish
Producer:  Joe Isgro, Autumn Federici, Chris Freeman, Justin Jones, Joseph Khoury
Stars:     Rib Hillis, Jessica Morris, Hannah Cowley, Dane Hillis, Vivienne Bollinger, Neil Dickson, Judd Nelson

Review Score:

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Summary:

A family tragedy unlocks a mysterious connection to a Viking bloodline and a small town protecting a dark secret.

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Synopsis:     Show/Hide Spoilers

Brenda is sexually assaulted in her home after returning from a midday run. Her husband Tom receives news of the attack while in the midst of flirting with his mistress Molly at work.

One month later, Tom and Brenda take their son Rodger with them to the small town of Thornby where the family plans to stay in a secluded cabin with Brenda’s father Erik. While visiting her mother’s grave in a nearby cemetery, Brenda meets a mysterious woman named Beyla who claims to have been a family friend. Tom and Rodger have their own strange encounter at a local diner when a man who appears ready to warn them about something begins choking up an odd fluid. Back at the cabin, Erik sees a warning while reading Nordic runes.

Brenda tells her father about meeting Beyla as well as strange visions that have begun haunting her. Rodger starts drawing pictures of Beyla. Tom is drawn to a stone near a tree outside. A murder of crows emerges from the tree before Tom collapses. Brenda shows Rodger a rune carved on the wall in his room that is said to protect children from bad things. During the night, Erik enters a trance and scratches out the rune with his knife.

Brenda finds a book belonging to her mother containing stories of Norse mythology. Beyla appears as a character in the stories. Brenda later dreams of Beyla seducing her.

Erik tells his grandson about their family’s Viking heritage. Tom drives Brenda into town and drops her off at a shop where she meets with Beyla. At the same time, Beyla also appears to Tom while he goes shopping. Beyla tells Brenda about Thornby’s history. Civil war broke out when the Viking colony welcomed a witch into its fold. The witch fled to the forest, but was pursued by her son. Both were gravely wounded. The warrior died where he fell and was cursed as earthbound because he never had a proper burial. The witch reportedly died under the oak tree in the cemetery, buried under the roots so that she would never escape. With the witch’s death, her spell was broken and the land was settled peacefully. Beyla tells Brenda about the runes and offers to teach her their meanings.

Rodger looks through a family album with Erik and sees pictures of Beyla with his grandparents. Rodger shows his drawing of Beyla to his grandfather and Erik becomes concerned.

Tom has a fight with Brenda in which he becomes possessed by the Viking’s spirit and assaults his wife. Tom’s possession continues later as he carves runes into his chest and has a vision of Beyla seducing him. Meanwhile, Beyla and Brenda make love to each other. Tom digs up the rock near the tree where he collapsed and finds the Viking’s remains.

Beyla comes to the cabin with Brenda entranced and takes Rodger from Erik. Erik and Tom go to the cemetery where townspeople are gathered as Beyla leads a ritual. Erik helps hold Tom captive. Seemingly entranced, Rodger takes a ceremonial knife from Brenda and stabs his father. Revealed as the witch reborn, Beyla drinks Tom’s blood as he lies dying and walks away with Brenda and Rodger.

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Review:

“Haunting of the Innocent” is a movie with unique ideas for a thriller centered on Norse mythology that buries itself under slow mounting exposition with a shovel of mismatched framing devices.  Initial intrigue from the Viking angle sustains interest for a while, but what the film offers in originality cannot overcome a leisurely build pushing back against any momentum.

The story starts with a suburban home invasion that results in a violent sexual assault.  A meanwhile scene follows and shows the victim’s husband carrying out an affair with a co-worker at his swanky Los Angeles architecture firm.  It is an odd introduction to the film’s presumed heroine, as being sexually violated is the first action she is depicted in, and being married to a louse is the first fact known about her.  These may qualify as story beats, but not necessarily as sound character development.

Recovering from the trauma takes the couple and their young son to a small town where they plan to stay with grandfather Erik.  Thornby is a town rich in Viking tradition stretching back to a fabled history involving a warrior colony beset by a seductive witch.  Whispers of runic symbols and tales of fair-haired maidens with gladius-wielding swordsmen complete the backstory of Nordic heritage that gives “Haunting of the Innocent” an original backdrop to set its story against.

Unfortunately, the remainder of the screenplay and the subsequent cinematic delivery puts those original pieces on an unoriginal playing board of possession through the ages, small town secrets, and centuries-old revenge.  All the front-loaded promise of premises rarely, if ever, seen before in this style of film end up setting the stage for a plot lacking the fearlessness to carry these ideas into truly unseen territory.

It’s a disappointment too, because “Haunting of the Innocent” has the initial appearance of a production that could buck the expectation of poor value from a low-budget indie horror film premiering at Redbox.  Until a fiery bone pit explosion that ironically does not look so hot, subtle digital FX blend effectively into scenery without sticking out like a bright red bandaged thumb.  Spare use of CGI is wisely employed as an enhancement instead of as a crutch with simple shots like cawing crows and burning wisps of smoldering embers.

The worst thing that can be said about the cinematography and the score is that they do not stand out as particularly noticeable.  That is partly attributable to a production playing it safe, and partly due to serviceable standards that at least never call attention to themselves because of any amateurism on display.

Despite a sharp enough look and captivating kickstart, “Haunting of the Innocent” never establishes a rhythm that can move it past some cardboard characterizations, e.g. a cheating husband and a grandfather who doesn’t think his son-in-law is good enough for his daughter, and a flatlined pace.  “Haunting of the Innocent” seems to build towards peaks that never come, making for a movie that exists in a low trough for the crux of its runtime.

While the movie itself rightly credits Judd Nelson with an “and” before listing him last in the opening actor names, the movie’s cover art puts Nelson above the title.  Even if there are still people out there drawn to a movie because of his singular presence, it is a misguided incentive since he appears in just three brief scenes with throwaway dialogue in only two of them.

In fact, those scenes could be cut from the movie entirely and nobody would notice or care, probably Judd Nelson included.  And that is a summation of the greatest problem for “Haunting of the Innocent.”  It has too many unnecessary pieces gumming the gears of what could have been a memorable indie thriller.

Somewhere in there is a story with horsepower and ideas with enough tread to take it somewhere interesting.  Without a proper tuneup to its screenplay and its delivery however, the film cannot help but stall in the middle of the road while its engine floods with mortar-thick tempo and its tires are deflated by routine convention.

Review Score:  65

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