Sarah reviews one of the most anticipated horror films of 2015.
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| "Bitch, I said I wanted Trix." |
If Gore Orphanage could be judged solely on its
click-bait type luring, it'd win by a land slide. Seriously, something like Gore
Orphanage just whips itself around you and pulls you in. And for that they
should be given every award known to man for generating that kind of intense
gravity. And very fortunately with this film (and even though the story is
actually based on true events of an orphanage in Vermilion, OH) it might just
play a quick game of emotional tug-of-war with you, the watcher.
The story is set in 1930's with the presence of a doe-eyed (Emma Leigh Smith) who is merely a
reactor to the world around her which is now the Gore Orphanage. Her
expressions are stoic but at times truly intentional to serve their purpose of
Smith's delivery of Nellie. Camera angles are decently spread between close-up shots of each character, almost singling them out for the viewer, and then
later blending them all together so you don't miss a beat.
The
beginning and end are laid in between the actual story line, almost giving
off a Rocky Horror Picture Show-esque type of vibe. The portrayed villain
here is Mrs. Pryor, played by a fantastically on-point Maria Olsen. She has a heavy
hand over the orphanage, somewhat close to Jessica Lange's portrayal of
Constance in season one of American Horror Story. The similarities end
there though and any brief moment of suspense that comes trickling in almost
seems to be a few scenes off cue. It's the type of downside that you just take
with a grain of salt, because by now you're just thoroughly invested in the
whole package. You just can't shut it off.
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| "No more breakfast for you!" |
Speaking
from a horror standpoint this film doesn't create the type of suspense you
would expect but doing a mere switch from horror to thriller might actually do
wonders on the type of reception this gets. It's genuinely entertaining from
whatever genre we eventually decide this fits in. It gives you more than you thought you would get from
something that calls itself Gore Orphanage (which, after doing some
further research I found that the name Gore was actually the name of the road,
and was a surveyor error in naming it, not named after blood or tissue).
Knowing all of this, the film actually gives a great overall delivery of the
story coming to life.
Change it to a “cult comedy” in the genre section and see the positive
reactions come flooding in.
SCORE
-Sarah Shafer
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