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[Review] ‘Desolation’ is a Timely, Bonkers Debut

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David Moscow’s directorial debut, Desolation (not to be confused with Sam Patton’s 2017 feature-length debut of the same name), is not your typical tale of a small-town girl who falls for the handsome actor. Desolation tells the story of Katie (Dominik Garcia-Lorido), a sexual assault survivor coping with her trauma and subsequent suicide attempt. While working at a motel in Elmira, New York, she meets Jay (Brock Kelly), an aspiring big-time actor. The two hit it off and, before she knows it, Jay asks Katie to come back to Los Angeles with him for a few days. Unfortunately, as soon as they arrive, Jay is offered a role in a film and he has to leave for three days. Katie protests, but Jay eventually convinces her it’s not a big deal and that she should stay and hang out while he’s gone.

Things go downhill fast for Katie once her boyfriend leaves. She is suddenly seeing ghosts and having visions other people can’t see. The apartment is broken into and vandalized and the police don’t take her seriously. Katie evens finds cameras hidden all around the apartment and the building. She has to figure out who – or what – is after her before she loses her mind, if it isn’t already too late.

The film, penned by Craig D. Walendziak, has several layers to it, which is completely unexpected given its generic tagline, “Hollywood is to DIE for.” In fact, besides Jay’s job as an actor, Hollywood doesn’t really have anything to do with the plot. No one else in the film is, or is aspiring to be, a part of the film industry. At its core, the film is about a woman who must rely on no one but herself for survival when all odds are against her. Surprisingly, the film also appears to be a commentary on the plight of sexual assault survivors within society’s “rape culture”.

Katie is an abuse survivor at the start of the film, but throughout Desolation she is subject to several other violations of her body and mind. A man on the street accosts her for a photo when he mistakes her for a porn star, she is forced to socialize with one of Jay’s friends who keeps cracking “harmless” rape jokes, and she is later assaulted by a police officer. Even seemingly trivial moments are manipulative and abusive, like when she begs Jay not to leave her alone and says she doesn’t want to stay without him. Instead of understanding her feelings, Jay is frustrated and coerces her to do what he wants by saying he’ll have to assume they are just a fling if she doesn’t stay and wait for him to return. These moments are difficult to watch, maybe especially so for people more sensitive to the subject matter, and are painfully lifelike in how they’re handled. Katie is victim-blamed and gaslighted at every turn throughout the film, but somehow finds a way to remain strong and fight back- not in an I Spit On Your Grave way, but in a grounded, realistic manner.

Despite taking interesting and unexpected turns, as well as making timely social commentary, Desolation fails to live up to its full potential. This is, in part, because Garcia-Lorido’s acting is inconsistent throughout. There are moments when she is very natural, such as when she’s joking with her friend or hanging out with Jay. There are even moments towards the end of the film, such as a particular confrontation with a priest, wherein Garcia-Lorido’s performance is heart-wrenching. However, there are also several crucial moments where Katie should be panicking or terrified, but she is completely flat instead.

One such instance is when Katie discovers a computer monitor showing the footage from a camera in Jay’s building. On the monitor, she sees her best friend has come looking for her and is in serious danger. Rather than immediately running to help her friend, Katie stares at the screen for several moments, talk-yelling, “No, Debbie! No!” It comes off as cheesy and one-dimensional, which is unfortunate considering the scene should be emotional and tense.

Additionally, Desolation just goes too far off the rails towards the end. Much of the film has a Rosemary’s Baby or Repulsion vibe as we try to figure out if Katie is descending into madness or if there are actually supernatural forces at play against her. However, in the third act, the film tries to pull off too many ideas at once and subsequently waters down all of them. Desolation worked as a biting social commentary and as a “descent into madness” thriller, but it’s when a conspiracy theory is introduced too close to the end of the film that the story becomes convoluted. Rushing to include such an important plot point (and never giving any motivation for it) at the time when all loose ends should be tied together leaves viewers with really big questions and the urge to go over all the film’s previous events with a fine-toothed comb.

In all, Desolation is not a bad film, it’s simply middle-of-the-road. Respectably, the film has something to say and makes no bones about it. Although the acting is inconsistent, it’s ultimately the disjointed storyline which limits the film. Despite these facts and a lackluster execution, Desolation is one of the most of-the-moment horror films in recent memory and is certainly worth a watch.

Desolation opens theatrically in NYC and LA on January 26th via Parade Deck Films and will run on streaming platforms in April 2018, through Gravitas Ventures.

Dog dad, film lover, horror fan, and bookworm. Used to be 5% more punk than he is now. Please follow @DaxEbaben on twitter

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SCREAMBOX Investigates UFOs and Extraterrestrials: Several Documentaries Streaming Right Now!

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As someone who is obsessed with UFOS (or more recently known as UAPs) and the concept of extraterrestrials, I love a good documentary. Sightings have been on the rise since the 1940s, with the atomic bomb seemingly acting as a catalyst for new visitors. But what are these UFOs/UAPs? Is there an explanation or are they simply beyond our explanation? Why are they here? Who are they? How much do our governments know? The questions are endless and so are the documentaries that attempt to uncover the secrets behind decades of sightings and alleged confrontations.

Whether you’re a seasoned viewer or new to the rabbit hole, there’s always a handful of interesting documentaries to get your neurons firing and leave you with sleepless nights. SCREAMBOX is investigating with the addition of several docs, all streaming now on the Bloody Disgusting-powered service. Here’s the breakdown:

Aliens (2021): Beam into this unidentified streaming documentary for a glimpse into Extraterrestrial life. Aliens are hypothetical life forms that may occur outside Earth or that did not originate on Earth.

Aliens Uncovered: Origins (2021): Before Area 51, hidden deep in the desert, the military discovered a hidden gem that helped them create Project Bluebook.

Aliens Uncovered: ET or Man-Made (2022): The crash of Roswell wasn’t meant for New Mexico. In 1947, a neighboring state had 3 major sightings that were swept under the rug.

Aliens Uncovered: The Golden Record (2023): In the late 70s, the US government launched a message to our distant neighbors.

Roswell (2021): This high-flying documentary examines the July 1947 crash of a United States Army Air Forces balloon at a ranch near Roswell, New Mexico. Theories claim the crash was actually that of a flying saucer, but what is the truth?

Also check out:

The British UFO Files (2004): Since the 1940’s the British Government has been investigating the Flying Saucer phenomenon. High-ranking military and government personnel, speak out for the first time, offering unique eyewitness accounts and inside information.

Alien Abductions and Paranormal Sightings (2016): Amazing Footage and stories from real people as they reveal their personal encounters of being abducted by Aliens.

And do not miss Hellier (2019): A crew of paranormal researchers find themselves in a dying coal town, where a series of strange coincidences lead them to a decades-old mystery.

These documentaries join SCREAMBOX’s growing library of unique horror content, including Onyx the Fortuitous and the Talisman of Souls, Here for Blood, Terrifier 2, RoboDoc: The Creation of RoboCop, Hollywood Dreams & Nightmares: The Robert Englund Story, The Outwaters, Living with Chucky, Project Wolf Hunting, and Pennywise: The Story of IT.

Start screaming now with SCREAMBOX on iOS, Android, Apple TV, Prime Video, Roku, YouTube TV, Samsung, Comcast, Cox, and Screambox.com.

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