THE TOLL
Synopsis: Supernatural terror and spine-tingling suspense highlight this gripping journey into fear. When Cami orders a taxi service to take her to her father’s country home, she’s hoping for a quiet and uneventful ride. But a wrong turn by Spencer, her chatty driver, results in the car stalling on a dark and remote road. After several threatening and inexplicable occurrences, Cami and Spencer realize they are being watched—by an unseen presence that sees them as trespassers, and is ready to exact a deadly toll.
Writer-director Michael Nader sets up The Toll in a marvelous way. It plays upon the very real fears of ride-sharing. My heart was already in my throat minutes in. The writing is sharp and relatable. A woman alone in a car with a male driver, perhaps a tad too chatty for the hour and length of the drive. The pitch-black atmosphere, barely illuminated by headlights and dashboard glow adds to the fear factor. Ramp up the terror with a backwoods legend and this film settles into one extremely unsettling watch. Do your eyes a favor and watch it in the dark.
The first half and the finale of The Toll are hugely successful. My misgivings arrive in the middle of the film with a sudden tonal shift. It feels like Nader took a handful of horror DVDs, tossed them into the air, and used the plots/visuals from whichever films landed inside a circle on the ground. The trauma and the gaslighting aspect are the most intriguing. Credit where credit is due, the final twist is brilliant. While The Toll has a lot to explore with solid performances and a genuinely scary emotional build-up, I’m not sure if it works as a whole.
Saban Films’ THE TOLL opens In Theaters, On Demand, and Digital on Friday, March 26.
Writer/Director: Michael Nader
Cast: Jordan Hayes, Max Topplin, James McGowan, Rosemary Dunsmore
Producers: Max Topplin, Jordan Hayes, William Day Frank
Genre: Horror, Thriller
Run Time: 80 mins
Rating: R for Language Throughout and Some Violence
Distributor: Saban Films
Women have been trained to be pleasers. Asking for help has not been hardwired into our DNA. It takes a lot for most of us to ask for help. In I’m Fine (Thanks For Asking) we follow Danny over the course of one very long day. She is desperately trying to earn the last $200 she needs to secure a new apartment for her and her daughter Wes. It is not going well. As she pounds the pavement to get them out of this tragic position, the reality of her situation slowly takes hold. I’m Fine (Thanks For Asking) boasts a genuine screenplay about grief and struggle. Kelley Kali‘s performance, direction, and writing are feminist-driven and incredibly honest. From comical to heartfelt, it was refreshing to hear the juxtaposition in dialogue. There are scenes where Kali allows herself the express exasperation. Others in which she pleads for leniency. Each encounter is equally important. This character is a fully fleshed-out woman with flaws and determination. 
This film is definitely about trauma. That’s undeniable. Alexis is dealing with synaesthesia (the ability to see sound) and intermittent bouts of losing the hearing she has regained. Yes, it’s a lot. Her PTSD coping strategy goes off the rails faster than anticipated. The sound editing in this film is key to its success. Color is another factor that helps the audience immerse themselves into Alexis’ mindset. To auditorily and visually understand her euphoria is important here. This is the film’s most successful aspect. It is truly glorious. But something stalls the overall flow of the film. What I think is off is the order in which we see her unusual “Experiments” occur. The nonchalance is of it all needed to be explored more. I would have loved to see some scenes with a psychotherapist juxtaposed with the behavior. Is it fair to assess this film as one woman’s perfect form of torture porn? Maybe not. It’s certainly more complex. The beginning had so much potential but it really jumps the shark about 30 minutes in. Jasmin Savoy Brown as Alexis is as committed as they come, but I think the material fails her. Detective Fuentes’s dialogue is so over the top it reads farcical. There is a lot to work with but Sound of Violence ultimately becomes silly. Alexis’s journey begins as extreme commitment and mutates into complete disassociation.
Casting two of the biggest horror legends in Larry Fessenden and Barbara Crampton was pure genius. Fessenden gets his comeuppance as a misogynist minister and clueless husband when he stumbles upon the reason his wife is so different as of late. Witnessing him bungling around is extremely satisfying. His chemistry with Crampton is perfection. Barbara plays Anne; a woman who is not allowed to have a point of view, let alone shine. She is the dutiful wife who puts her dreams aside for stability. Her initial sadness is palpable. Once circumstances change, Crampton gets to play a new completely new role. She is fierce as hell. I loved every second of this character’s second chance at life. Her performance is borderline camp and I could not get enough of her. Crampton never seems to stop working. After this role, I can imagine she’ll be even more overwhelmed with offers.
Travis Stevens does an incredible job of highlighting the mundane and oftentimes loathsome trappings of marriage. The result of 30 years of oppression that Anne tolerates is infuriating but creates the perfect backdrop for her arc. This script is about the restructuring of power. Even the title is genius, subconsciously telling you that Anne isn’t in charge of her own identity. I laughed out loud and cheered audibly when Anne begins to stand up for herself. The pure, unadulterated sass is magic. After Girl On The Third Floor, I expected a lot from Stevens. Boy, does he deliver the goods. (Keep an eye out for CM Punk to make a quick appearance, btw.) Jakob’s Wife has kick-ass music from Tara Busch. Yvonne Reddy‘s costumes are carefully curated to reflect the vibrance of Anne’s newfound confidence. Based on Girl On The Third Floor, where bodily fluids were aplenty, I assumed the gore factor would be high. In fact, the amount of blood is glorious and over-the-top to the point of giggle fits. Stevens’ dialogue maintains its wit and unfiltered outbursts. Perhaps my favorite bit comes in the form of Crampton telling a little girl to, “Fuck Off.” But his would not be the only time I guffawed during Jakob’s Wife. A scene that has Anne rearranging her living room furniture is anything but ordinary. It’s revelatory. There’s a Death Becomes Her wackiness to it all. As one of the all-time great genre films, this is a huge compliment. Visually, the Master is clearly inspired by Salem’s Lot and the classic Nosferatu. This film is not just a vampire movie, it’s a complex look at relationships. It’s a feminist awakening. There is much to love about Jakob’s Wife. It’s one of the best films from this year’s SXSW virtual fest. It’s destined to be a massive hit, breaking the genre molds to make Crampton, Fessenden, and Travis Stevens household names.
The visual progression of horrifying imagery is stunning. The sleep experiment costumes have a Tron meets Captain EO vibe and I really dig them. The script is solidly disturbing. In all honesty, I was locked in until the very final scene which for me stepped into “Huh?” territory. I’ve now watched this film twice. The second viewing was a lot more telling. I have new theories. That being said, the rest of the film is so powerful, Come True is completely worth your attention. Thoroughly engrossing original visuals and storytelling are ramped up by Electric Youth and Pilotpriest’s synth score. It manages to wrap itself around you and immerse you in fear. Each of these elements creates an experience making Come True its own entity. It may give you your own new set of nightmares.
Every year, students represent each country in an entrepreneurial pitch competition where 1st prize is $100,000. The Global Student Entrepreneur Awards is a life-changing opportunity. In Own The Room (filmed in 2019) New York by way of Venezuela, Nairobi, Nepal, Puerto Rico, and Greece, were represented by Daniela, Henry, Santosh, Alondra, and Jason. You will absolutely fall in love with all five of them. While these young entrepreneurs are unique in personality and ideas, their dedication is familiar and infectious. Sustainability, housing, well-being, accessibility, and communication are merely the broad categories for each of their pitches. With intimate sit-downs and real-time competition footage, this film immerses the viewer in this global, high-stakes competition.
An intriguing highlight of Own The Room is the fact that all five students have the love and encouragement of their parents. It was great to hear the families support each dream, instilling them with the confidence to succeed. Watching the preparation, their anxiety and excitement are visceral. You’ll be on the edge of your seat as you wait for their pitches in Macau. First, they must get past the semifinal round. Contestants are split between seven rooms. The winner of each room makes it to the finals. You won’t believe the last-minute obstacles that Henry faces. It’s simply exhilarating. As a viewer, you’re proud of these young people. They give you hope that our future is bright. Own The Room is an inspiring documentary.
It sounds like the stuff of science fiction but the discoveries that have come from the study of Black Holes are actual science. Stephen Hawking has essentially told us that everything we know could be an illusion. Black Holes do not follow any laws of physics. That idea is mind-blowing. As humans, we year to understand the structure of the universe. The challenge continues to be that seeing is believing, even for scientists.
In Black Holes: The Edge of All We Know, a group of scientists called Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) are collaborating around the globe. They have set up stations around the world to communicate with one another to act as one massive Earth-sized telescope in an attempt to capture the first image of a black hole. The amount of data is larger than any other experiment, ever. As the information finally gets developed into images in 2018, they were deemed top secret. They didn’t even share the images among the 4 EHT teams until they were finally in person. The final picture shared with the public in 2019 is simply breathtaking. This is when theory becomes reality.
Before his passing, Stephen Hawking and colleagues thought that information was not actually eaten by black holes but that some information makes an imprint and comes back. How much? That’s just another mystery they’re trying to figure out. They work tirelessly through equations on chalkboards, step back and wonder if anything they’ve just done makes sense. Stephen would enter the conversation and flip the work on its head. Watching them work through possibilities is like watching a tennis match of genius. Witnessing how each mind contributes is incredible. Sasha Haco, Malcolm J. Perry, and Andrew Strominger continue what the four began together. The work continues.
If you are someone who watched the most recent rover land on Mars and cried, as I did, you will be captivated by this film. With an effective score, beautiful black and white animation, and real-time tracking of their project, your heart is in your throat as you root for their success. You’ll learn things you never knew were possible. Black Holes: The Edge of All We Know is a fascinating look at the minds and circumstances pushing the boundaries of the unknown. This is the stuff of dreams, science, the human spirit, and a little bit of magic.
There’s an intense charm about Tom Holland. He commands the screen with his ability to both put you at ease and surprise you. You just believe him. If that’s not the very definition of great acting, I’m not sure what is. His narration controls the overall atmosphere of the film from the get-go. While Holland gets to explore the dark humor in it all, you’re constantly waiting for the other shoe to drop for Cherry. The military PTSD exacerbates his already existing sadness which inevitably leads to addiction… Which leads to a string of bank robberies.
Cherry is a self-destructive story of a young man with no sense of direction, controlled by impulse rather than logic. It could just as easily been an entire series. There’s a lot jammed into its two hour and twenty-minute run. If I’m being perfectly honest, it’s almost too much. With 30 minutes left, I had to pause and come back later. To clarify it was very engaged it was just a lot to ingest in one sitting. Had this played in theaters, I worry an audience wouldn’t be able to stick with the length. Outside of that one concern, Cherry is highly entertaining thanks to Holland’s full commitment to Jessica Goldberg, and Angela Russo-Otstot‘s phenomenal screenplay, and the stylistic choices of The Russo Brothers’ overall aesthetic choices.
The story revolves around the disappearance of an extraordinary woman named Amra. She was a pilot, a leader of the town’s Pentecostal church “Fire Bones”, and a local legend that everyone knew… or so they thought. We follow Greg and Bart’s search for answers as accusations fly and information slowly comes to light in this unusual town filled with eccentric residents. The commitment to this unique format by this cast is magic. It’s weird and wonderful and I guarantee you have never seen or heard anything like it. Each clue gets better and better. Two standouts from the first half of this journey are Chapter 4: Clue #13 – Trainbow – Poetric dialogue set against breathtaking swamp and train imagery. And Chapter 5, Clue #15 Sign of the Times – A hilarious song with a tongue-in-cheek take on church board messaging.
If the pandemic had never happened, this could have easily been one of the most popular in-person attractions in immersive theatre history. If you’ve ever experienced a show like Sleep No More, which is an intense, live walkthrough of Macbeth in which the scenes play out from room to room as the audience wears masks and is encouraged to interact with the cast, you’d understand what I mean. FIRE BONES could easily adopt this presentation. It could be a permanent exhibit at MoMA. In our current circumstances, it’s a fun thing to do with family members. Fare warning, if you are listening with younger ears, there is a bit of profanity from time to time. While it is ultimately 4 1/2 hrs of content, you easily breeze from one piece to the next. The audio style wavers between true crime and radio drama. The videos are stunning to look at. Sharply shot and puzzling in content, you cannot help but we swept up in the mystery. Because each chapter is short, you never have time to get distracted. And because the format changes, you’re constantly engaged. FIRE BONES has massive expansion potential, but in its current form is undeniably entertaining. In an unpredictable world, some predictable fun is welcome.
With a very similar tone as Relic, down to the infamous front door frame, The Vigil plays upon tradition, lore, and trauma. The trappings of religion are always complex. As a former Catholic, I can attest to the creepiness of essentially being told that it was a blessing to consume the metaphorical body parts of the son of God. I had to kneel at the feet of a crucified Jesus… at an altar. The more I say I say it out loud the weirder and more awful these rituals sound to my 40-year-old self. In The Vigil, Vakov is hired to sit with the body of a deceased member of the Jewish community he has just left. Already haunted by the death of someone close to him, he is consumed by hideous visions and physical manifestations of terror.
Mrs. Litvak, played by the late great Lynn Cohen, is a beautiful go-between for lore and reality. Never is the Alzheimer’s diagnosis exploited, just the mere mention is enough to ignite theories in the viewer’s mind. Cohen is simply a joy to watch. She strikes a phenomenal balance between darling and intense. Dave Davis as Yakov is outstanding. His grief anchors you in place. His vulnerability is absolutely key to this screenplay working as well as it does. His emotional transformation is astounding.
The look of the film is dark. The concept of juxtaposing old-world tradition against the modern is clever. The framing is smart. Wide panning angles force your eyes to scan the room constantly. The audio of The Vigil is a character into itself. Scraping, pounding, creaking are only the beginning of the trail of fear. 30 minutes in and the viewer is in full panic mode alongside Yakov. The idea that victims of deep trauma are the target of this entity is unbelievably cruel. The number of successful jump scares in The Vigil is unreal. Whether driven by guilt or an actual demon, this film will get under your skin. It’s a chilling experience. You’ll hopefully feel as free in the final moments as Yakov does. Writer/director Keith Thomas genuinely manages to provide equal parts fright and catharsis. It’s quite literally breathtaking.
There is a chilling feeling while watching this series. As a critic, I long fell into the same category as the journalists featured at the beginning of the episode. You grow up with the notion that Woodey Allen represented the quintessential essence of what New York City culture was. You’re enamored with it all. While inarguably furthering the early careers of actresses Diane Keaton, Mariel Hemingway, and Mia Farrow (they made 12 films during their relationship), the pattern of behavior and theme of his obsession with young women run through his scripts. Woody Allen has somehow been allowed to continue to work mostly unscathed, even after the world knew about his relationship with Farrow’s adopted daughter Soon-Yi, even after the #MeToo movement continues to rain hell down on abusers. Allegations swirled about the sexual abuse of adopted daughter Dylan. This is the first time that Dylan gets to tell her story in earnest. This doc utilized Allen’s own words against him as excerpts of him narrating his 2020 memoir play in between intimate sitdown interviews with Mia, Dylan, Ronan, family, and friends of the once power couple. Mia took endless hours of home videos for years, adding to the amount of readily available footage from the media. Finally hearing all the details from the source is brutal. It’s a visceral watch. As a parent, it is next-level painful. Watching the cycle of emotional abuse Mia endured from one man to the next, all while unconditionally loving her children adds another complex layer to this situation. This series will undoubtedly be controversial. It will be interesting to see the apologists come out loud and proud. There’s an enormous amount of evidence to digest. You will be shocked, sickened, furious, heartbroken. All this just at the end of the first of four episodes. ALLEN v. FARROW has to potential to reopen old wounds for a lot of trauma survivors. It also has the potential to knock another man off the pedestal we’ve kept him on for far too long.
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