2024’s ‘SILENCE OF THE PREY’ is a Rifle Butt to the Head
The Horror Collective released this week the social justice-themed horror, SILENCE OF THE PREY!
#SilenceOfThePrey @TheHorrorCo
Thank you to The Horror Collective for this screener. More about them is at the end of the review, so stay tuned!
SILENCE OF THE PREY is a new horror movie from directors Karyna Kudzina and Michael Vaynberg, with Kudzina also sharing a writing credit with Saro Varjabedian and also starring in the movie (although credited as Karina Bezell)…and produced by Kudzina, as well (also credited as Karina Bezell). So, there is a lot of Kudzina in SILENCE OF THE PREY. And also a lot of rifle butts to the noggin. People in this film have no peripheral vision.
Anyway, Kudzina can’t be everyone and do everything, so it also stars Monte Bezell (nabbing himself a producer credit), Chris LaPanta and Michael Doyle.
So, what is Kudzina’s passion-project about and why is it dubbed a “Social Justice-Themed Horror”? Well, let’s take a look!
THE PLOT OF SILENCE OF THE PREY
Nina (Kudzina) is a mother with a young daughter, escaping Belarus after suffering persecution for her views. Looking for a better life in the US, she’s having a hard time because she and her daughter are undocumented refugees. However, an opportunity presents itself when an elderly man (Chris LaPanta) needs help around his home.
However, as soon as she’s moved in, there’s something sinister about the place. Strange noises in the woods. She starts seeing things, including a ghostly specter of a Deerman.
But when another migrant (Bezell) shows up at the isolated house, can Nina figure out the mystery before it’s too late for all of them? Or will she, too, be silenced?
THOUGHTS ON SILENCE OF THE PREY (Spoilers ahead)
Okay, I have thoughts. I really wanted to like this movie because it has actually a lot to say, which I’ll brush on more in my Brainroll section.
However, the pacing, atmosphere, acting, lighting and script are rough.
The pacing meanders point to point. There is meant to be tension when there just really isn’t. For example, Nina and Andres (Bezell), decide to drink Luther’s wine at the prodding of Andres (which also, my dude, don’t flirt with Nina and ask her to leave with you when you’ve known each other a day). Later when Luther finds out, he’s rightfully pissy about it. However, the tone is slanted to the audience like he’s being weird and controlling, which…he told her to ask him next time. That’s it. I would have done the same thing if I were Luther.
The atmosphere could have been utilized way more efficiently to show a woman in a foreign country and in the middle of nowhere. The woods could have played a bigger factor, especially if she used to be a city girl from Minsk or something. The atmosphere was bland as most of the day shots looked very cute cottage-core cabin and the night shots were too bright to be menacing.
And speaking of lighting (and filters), SILENCE OF THE PREY looked so washed out. I get that’s the new horror vibe, being flat and muted colors, but whoo boy, does it make it uninteresting to look at. There’s nothing that really catches your eye. Nothing to draw you in as a viewer.
This leads to the acting, which is stilted. I needed Luther to be at a 10, but instead he was at a nervous 6. I never found him believable as someone intimidating. He was too soft-spoken and gentle. Don’t get me wrong, I love old badass, creepy dudes – Stephen Lang is making bank on it. But LaPanta never reaches those levels of insanity or villainy. And opposite him is a sleepy-eyed Nina that just wanders from scene to scene.
(Not pictured: the dye-free lavender bath bomb and Rae Dunn mug of tea)
However, the real issue was the writing, which was comedic at times. If you told me this was a parody, I’d still find the tone weird, but it would be believable.
For example, when Nina chops down the door to what we imagine is an injured or dying Andres, and she actually yells down, “Ready or not, here I come!” Completely breaking the tone of the dramatic scene.
Or that Luther keeps calling Nina “delicious” and her daughter “Bambi” affectionately, which is hilarious. Like, we get it. You’re a cannibal. I’m surprised the bath scene wasn’t a marinade.
Or how about when Luther has a cult dinner party, and all the white people are being…racist? Ignorant? Belarus is confused for the Ukraine and Nina doesn’t even try to correct them (which if she’s so outspoken in Belarus to predicate the need to flee the country, why can’t she get that energy to talk about her home country?). They are supposed to be acting like assholes and I get that but also in a way, I don’t. She and they are European descent (ahem, white, unlike Andres), and their comments never instilled any danger, so I felt it just weakened the tension.
The scene would have been more impactful if she witnessed how awful they were to Andres instead and her having to choose her daughter and her wellbeing over his. But the scene never really pushed the boundary, which it needed to. It was more laughable than sinister or vile.
SMALL ASIDE
Before we move on to Brainroll, one thing that drove me crazy. The songs sounded like they were bought so they never really quite matched the scene, but there was one in particular they kept using. And I was like, ‘I’ve heard this before. I know I have. Is this from Kevin MacLeod?‘
Nope. Big friggin’ nope. It finally dawned on me at the credits. It’s absolutely the main theme of 28 Days Later by John Murphy. Anyway, it was jarring and I didn’t like it.
BRAINROLL JUICE:
Look, I get it. You might be thinking, ‘Why are you dumping so hard on this indie film?’ I’m not trying to, in fact, I was rooting for it. I wanted this to be compelling. Because I understood that it has a lot to say.
The first thing that grabbed my attention is that this “inspired by a true story” (no information was given about that). And at the end of the film, there’s a quote by Julia Ainsley from NBC News that’s in regard to missing migrants, which the full article can be found here: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/immigration/dhs-lost-track-177000-migrants-us-rcna104464.
Now, after reading the article, I don’t think it means exactly what Kudzima was alluding to. I believe, in context with the film, she was taking the article out of context. In the 2023 article, Ainsley was reporting on 177,000 of migrants who, once they entered the US and were awaiting immigration hearings, ghosted the US government.
“[D]uring a 17-month period 177,000 address records for new arrivals were either blank or contained nonexistent or nonresidential locations.
More than 1 million migrants were released inside the U.S. pending their immigration hearings from March 2021 to August 2022, according to a new report from the DHS Office of Inspector General. Of those migrants’ records, more than 54,000 were blank, while the rest were either invalid or not legitimate residential locations. Julia Ainsley,
DHS has lost track of 177,000 migrants inside the U.S.
This is not the same as alluding to migrant women being missing due to nefarious reasons. The article has absolutely no information about that and in fact, is more about how migrants often give outdated or false information to ICE so that they can come into the country and stay off the radar of ICE…which is not a good look for Kudzima.
So, I’m going to lend a hand for a minute because this is a very real issue that migrant women face. Being a migrant afab/woman in the US makes them extremely vulnerable to violence, exploitation, trafficking, and fewer opportunities to connect to resources than their afab/male counterparts. They face incarceration or deportation if they speak up against the abuse against them and have limited support structures and resources. Many times they work longer hours, are underpaid, and are often in care-related jobs, sacrificing their own care. And not all migrant women are treated the same. Age, color, religion, ethnicity, and marital status all have a role.
In a much clearer focus on missing migrants, the IOM’s Missing Migrants Project has been going strong for 10 years, recently compiled a report regarding the deaths and disappearances of migrants – A Decade of Documenting Migrant Death.
From their website, they state: “The more than 63,000 deaths and disappearances recorded during migration over the past decade are likely only a fraction of the actual number of lives lost worldwide. The report highlights the need for improved data collection efforts to accurately assess the scale of the issue and address the broader challenges of unsafe migration. There are more than 37,000 dead for whom no information on sex or age is available, indicating that the true number of deaths of women and children is likely far higher,” and ” migrant deaths are on the rise, with 2023 marking the highest annual death toll on record when over 8,500 deaths were recorded”.
I highly suggest checking out my resources for more information:
- https://www.iom.int/news/one-three-migrant-deaths-occurs-en-route-while-fleeing-conflict-iom-report
- https://iris.who.int/bitstream/handle/10665/259463/9789241513142-eng.pdf
- https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/Headquarters/Attachments/Sections/Library/Publications/2021/Policy-brief-From-evidence-to-action-Tackling-GBV-against-migrant-women-and-girls-en.pdf
- https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/immigrant-women-united-states-2000#7c
BOTTOMLINE FOR SILENCE OF THE PREY
It’s a worthy cause and be sure to check out https://www.iom.int/, but in the scope of movies, SILENCE OF THE PREY misses its mark.
(2 / 5)
AND NOW A WORD FROM THIS DISTRIBUTOR:
The Horror Collective released this week the social justice-themed horror, SILENCE OF THE PREY. Inspired by a true story, Silence of the Prey follows an undocumented immigrant mother who takes a caretaker job for an elderly man, only to discover a horrifying truth. The film marks the directorial debut of Karyna Kudzina, who co-directed with Michael Vaynberg.
Entertainment Squad’s genre label, The Horror Collective, released the film on all major video-on-demand and digital platforms in the United States, the UK/Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand.
The Horror Collective is the genre label of Entertainment Squad, a finance and distribution company founded by veteran producer Shaked Berenson (TURBO KID, TALES OF HALLOWEEN). The labels’ latest productions include the killer-pants cult classic SLAXX (Shudder Original) and the critically acclaimed LGBTQ+ horror-comedy SUMMONING SYLVIA.
You can find out more on their website here: https://thehorrorcollective.com/film/silence-of-the-prey
Movies n TV
Returning to the Soothing World of Evil with “The Demon of Death”
“The Demon of Death” is the season 3 premiere of the supernatural drama Evil, created by Michelle King and Robert King.
“The Demon of Death” is the season 3 premiere of the supernatural drama Evil, created by Michelle King and Robert King. The central cast includes Katja Herbers, Mike Colter, Aasif Mandvi, Michael Emerson, Christine Lahti, and Andrea Martin. As of this review, it’s available through Netflix and Paramount+ and its add-ons.
The assessors investigate the weight of a soul. Father Frank Ignatius (Wallace Shawn) agrees to participate in this test despite his growing disillusionment. David (Mike Colter) and Kristen (Katja Herbers) deal with the ramifications of their confessions. Kristen’s girls go on the warpath with Leland (Michael Emerson). Andy (Patrick Brammall) signs his death warrant.
What I Like about “The Demon of Death”
As season 2 ended with a cliffhanger, “The Demon of Death” picks back up with an interesting addition. The episode provides a more obvious stopping point that Season 2 should have taken advantage of. It dumbfounds me because this addition makes for a more interesting and darker cliffhanger. The added context would have made the cliffhanger more palatable. However, it’s a nice twist for the episode.
Dr. Boggs (Kurt Fuller) and Sister Andrea (Andrea Martin) make an interesting pair that adds complexity to both. We even explore some of Sister Andrea’s character flaws, best displayed by her interaction with Kristen in the next scene. Few wise sage characters that display flaws, making this addition appreciated.
Father Ignatius’ introduction adds layers of interest for a character who will play a recurring role, tying into Monsignor Korecki directly. The yet-to-be-explored relationship between Father Ignatius and Monsignor Korecki (Boris McGiver) evokes an interest.
While “The Demon of Death” isn’t a haunting episode, but explores the mysteries and terror of death through science to provide an interesting environment for an episode. It introduces a new character that adds to the cast.
Tired Tropes and Triggers
There’s not much to report here that particularly crosses the line and what teeters on the line holds a dark comedic tone.
Perhaps Sister Andrea’s flaw might rub some the wrong way, as it deals with her overwhelming faith. However, it’s a minor point at the moment. Again, I lean on liking some complexity for the wise sage archetype.
What I Dislike about “The Demon of Death”
“The Demon of Death” still plays it safe with its supernatural elements, but that does seem to be Evil’s standard. At this point of the series, it seems a strange restraint. However, the new normal remains functionally paranormal.
While the premiere starts with an interesting procedural plot, it doesn’t direct the season like prior premieres. This episode doesn’t deliver a massive refocus as season 2’s premiere, but that’s because its conclusion doesn’t deliver as focused of a direction. Regardless, “The Demon of Death” is still an episode that slips away despite its premiere status.
Ben (Aasif Mandvi) seems needlessly hostile as they investigate a soul’s potential weight. The study delivers a thorough scientific process, which makes his resistance linger on the “angry atheist” archetype.
The demon shown on screen certainly isn’t the demon of death the title suggests. While the plot revolves around the mystery of death, there is a demon with a more carnal domain. As future episodes dive into their respective demons, it does seem to be an inaccurate title. However, the demon of the episode will get further focus in a different episode.
Final Thoughts
“The Demon of Death” doesn’t stand out as a premiere but provides an interesting procedural episode. As Father Ignatius will become another key character in the series, giving him an entire episode to introduce him is a nice strategy. While it’s not a haunting episode, it still provides a level of camp with interesting characters to pull it off.
(3 / 5)
Released in 2010, Rare Exports asks an important holiday question. One that no one else has dared to ask.
What if Santa was a ten-story-tall monster buried under the ice for centuries?
The story
Rare Exports is the story of a little boy named Pietari. After doing what is frankly too much research for a little boy, he realizes that Santa is not the jolly old elf we all think of. He is, in fact, a monster who eats bad children. And it turns out that Santa was trapped in the ice near Pietari’s little town. All this would be well and good if a Russian mining team weren’t in the process of cutting him out of the ice. So it’s up to Pietari to convince everyone of the dark, horrific truth.
Santa Claus is coming to town.
What worked
Some movies need to make sense. Some don’t. Rare Exports is one of the latter.
Why were the Russians digging in the snow to find Santa? What was the plan there? What happened to Pietari’s mom? And who did they sell the elves to? Do the elves need air or water to live?
We don’t get answers to any of those questions. And frankly, we don’t need them to enjoy Rare Exports.
This is a wild story about a little boy who discovers that Santa is a mythical monster with a bunch of scrawny old men with big white beards to do his evil bidding and eats bad children who haven’t been beaten by their parents enough. What sort of explanation would help this story in any way?
I mean, we could pick apart why it’s suddenly legal to sell people, or at least mythical creatures that look like naked old men, or why this all happened right next to the only little kid who had the exact knowledge needed. But in the end, wouldn’t that be like asking how Santa gets into people’s homes when they don’t have fireplaces? Doesn’t that objective reasoning just piss on the Christmas magic?
What didn’t work
While Rare Exports was fun, there were parts that I did not appreciate. For one thing, there wasn’t a single woman or person of any color in this film. Literally not one. Not an extra, not in the background. This little Finnish town is populated entirely by white men. And yes, it is Finland and there isn’t a hugely diverse population. But it’s also 2010. People move. Also, women exist.
On the subject of seeing too many white men, we also saw too much of the white men. Specifically, we saw far too many old white male actors entirely nude. There was just no reason for this. These men were portraying elves. They didn’t have to be naked. If they were naked, they didn’t have to have, um, yule logs. Maybe elves are like Ken dolls. There were so many options that didn’t include so much old man wang.
Finally, I wish we’d seen Santa Claus. Not to spoil the ending, but he never actually emerges to attack anyone. And that feels like a cop-out. If we’re going to be teased the whole movie with this depiction of monster Santa, we should at least get to see monster Santa.
Though, after what they did with the elves, maybe it’s a blessing we didn’t see him.
In the end, Rare Exports was well worth watching. It was hilarious, creepy and bloody. And while it wasn’t perfect, it was a delightful holiday horror comedy.
(4 / 5)
Released in 2016, Christmas Crime Story is about a disastrous robbery on Christmas Eve, and all the many lives impacted by the selfish decisions of one person.
And then, suddenly, it isn’t. But we’ll get to that part.
The story
Christmas Crime Story is the tale of a Christmas Eve holdup gone wrong. We see the story from several points of view, starting with Chris, the detective first on the scene.
Chris is having a hard Christmas Eve. So, on his lunch break, he visits his mom at her diner. It appears that they have a contentious relationship. But nothing is solved in this quick visit.
Chris goes on to pull over a man speeding. When the man, named David, pulls over, Chris discovers something in the trunk. That something must have been pretty damn incriminating, because rather than open the trunk, David shoots him dead.
We then switch to David’s pov for the night. Then his girlfriend’s pov. Then, the man his girlfriend has been cheating on him with. And on and on we go, until we see how all of these different stories and people come together for a dark, sordid Christmas Eve.
What worked
The first thing I want to say about Christmas Crime Story is that it’s heartwarming. Like, to a fault, which we will be talking about.
The ending is very sweet, in a Christmasy sort of way. Families come together, people are filled with joy, and all is right in the world for almost everyone. Except for Lena, who deserves to have a bad Christmas, everyone gets a happy ending.
That brings me to my next point. The characters, mostly, are all deeply sympathetic. Even when David or James are killing people, you feel bad for them.
You don’t agree with what they’re doing, but you do feel bad.
You have to feel sympathetic for the man whose girlfriend hired a killer to merk him. Or the woman whose daughter has cancer. Or the guy who just can’t find work, even though he’s trying to make good decisions. You want things to work out for them. You want them to be okay. Even when they do terrible things.
Finally, I always love stories told from so many different points of view. It’s always fun to see a story unfold in a nonlinear way, but in a way that makes more and more sense as we get more points of view. It’s a hard thing to pull off, and I think Christmas Crime Story did it very well.
What didn’t work
Unfortunately, all of the sympathetic characters and clever storytelling methods in the world won’t save a story that doesn’t work. And Christmas Crime Story just does not work.
Let’s begin with the ending. The big twist near the end of the movie. I won’t spoil it, but you will for sure know it if you’ve seen the film. Or, if you waste your time watching the film.
As a rule, twists work when they make sense. Not when it feels like the writers threw up their hands and said, “Okay, but what if everything we just did for the last hour and fifteen minutes didn’t happen, and instead…”
This wasn’t clever. It wasn’t fun. It felt like the writers didn’t know how to end their movie and just decided to cheat.
Finally, I mentioned earlier that Christmas Crime Story was heartwarming. And yes, that is nice.
But is it maybe a little too heartwarming?
I mean, we have an adorable angel of a child with cancer. Her parents don’t have enough money for her treatment. We have two poor guys who are in love with a black-hearted woman. And we have a detective so sweet and kind that he makes you rethink ACAB. And, he’s about to get married to his pregnant girlfriend. And they’re naming the baby after his mom. And his name is literally Chris DeJesus. His mom’s name is Maggie DeJesus. I tried to think of a sillier less subtle name to use as a joke, and I literally couldn’t think of one.
They could have at least named him De La Cruz. That would be more subtle, and I still would have complained.
In the end, Christmas Crime Story just missed the mark. It came very close to being a good movie. But it focused too much on how it wanted you to feel, rather than telling a satisfying story that made sense. Much like that third glass of eggnog, it’s fun in the moment and regretful after. If you’re looking for a satisfying Christmas horror, I’d suggest looking elsewhere.
(2 / 5)
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