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[Review] After Dark’s ‘Wind Walkers’ Lacks Energy
One of my favorite sub-genres is the one where a military or para-military group encounters a supernatural or otherworldly antagonist and must find a way to survive against something that their training didn’t prepare them for. Films like Aliens, Predator and even Dog Soldiers follow this formula, usually with entertaining results. Wind Walkers is another addition to this roster, albeit not the one we might have hoped for. With his new film, Russell Friedenberg succeeds in creating tension and atmosphere while failing to deliver a memorable experience.
Wind Walkers follows an ensemble cast of friends back from the army after a tour in the middle east. They find normal life hard to adapt to after the horrors witnessed abroad, especially after one of their colleagues is discovered to have gone AWOL. When they depart for a routine hunting trip in the Everglades, it becomes apparent that they are not alone in the wilderness, and that an ancient force is stalking them, possibly a malignant spirit of Native American folklore.
While the mythological elements and atmosphere are amazing, Friedenberg presents us with a muddled script and confusing narrative that almost completely overshadows the meaty subtext and character portrayals. Early scenes do a good job of setting the mood and capturing the viewer’s attention, but soon enough some baffling editing choices and lack of focus derail the experience. This is a film that is at its best when fully embracing supernatural horror and action that it unwisely chooses to leave only implied. The last act does a lot better in keeping you invested, but by then it is too late to save the rest.
Rudy Youngblood (of Apocalypto fame), Zane Holtz (one of the Gecko brothers in the new From Dusk Till Dawn series), J. LaRose Johnny Sequoyah and a few others star in this tense thriller, where it’s apparent from early on that no character is safe. Sadly, almost none of the characters are satisfactorily developed, leaving us with no one to root for. The script does not give the actors much to work with, resulting in hollow performances that could have been much better within a more focused story. LaRose was especially wasted here, having some of the best scenes but also very little to do in the grand scheme of things.
There is an overall lack of energy that permeates most of the film, even though there were some honestly well-directed moments. Native American mythology is ripe for the picking concerning possible movie monsters and thrilling situations, but Wind Walkers doesn’t even come close to using the full potential of these stories, preferring to stick to safe and familiar tropes, leaving us unsatisfied by the end.
Wind Walkers isn’t terrible, but it ends with so much unfulfilled potential that one can’t help but imagine how a few minor tweaks could have resulted in a profoundly improved and memorable experience. Some of the ideas presented here were actually very original, and none of the actors gave a bad performance. Some scenes towards the end were also refreshingly chilling, though the movie could have used more of them. Overall, this is a harmless movie; disappointing, but not a total failure.
Screening as part of the After Dark Film Festival’s “8 Films to Die For.”
Scream Factory brought Frank LaLoggia’s 1988 Halloween movie Lady in White to Blu-ray several years back, and now Vinegar Syndrome gives the film a 4K Ultra HD upgrade.
Vinegar Syndrome’s Lady in White 4K release is available now and shipping now!
Watch the trailer below and grab your copy from Vinegar Syndrome today.
This limited edition 4-disc 4K UHD/Blu-ray x 3 set comes with a spot gloss hard slipcase + slipcover combo (designed by Dylan Haley), includes a 40-page perfect bound book and is limited to 8,000 units. It is only available on their website and at select indie retailers.
The full Special Features package includes…
- 4-disc Set: 1x 4K Ultra HD (High Bitrate BD100) / 3x Region A Blu-ray
- 4K UHD presented in Dolby Vision High-Dynamic-Range
- Newly scanned & restored in 4K from its 35mm original camera negative
- Presented in three versions: 126-min Pre-Release Director’s Cut (UHD+BD), the 118-min Extended Home Video Cut (BD), and the 113-min Theatrical Cut (BD)
- New group commentary track with writer/director Frank LaLoggia, alongside actors Lukas Haas, Joelle Jacobi, and Len Cariou for the Pre-Release Director’s Cut
- New commentary track with Frank LaLoggia, moderated by Scott Neumyer for the Extended Home Video Cut
- New commentary track with authors Emma Westwood and Stephen A. Russell for the Extended Home Video Cut
- Archival commentary track with Frank LaLoggia for the Extended Home Video Cut
- “Learning How to Fly” (10 min) – an interview with actress Karen Powell
- “A Snapshot in Time” (9 min) – an interview with actress Lisa Taylor
- “Human Touches” (6 min) – an interview with actress Lucy Lee Flippin
- “Still Relevant” (16 min) – an interview with actress Rose Weaver
- “75% Listening, 25% Editing” (9 min) – an interview with editor Steve Mann
- “Welcome to Willowpoint Falls” (6 min) – a location featurette hosted by Benjamin Scrivens, founder of Fright-Rags
- “Dream Talking: Looking Back” – a visual group commentary for the Pre-Release Director’s Cut with Frank LaLoggia, and actors Lukas Haas, Joelle Jacobi, and Len Cariou (103 min)
- Deleted Scenes with introduction and optional commentary by writer/director Frank LaLoggia (36 min)
- Behind-the-scenes footage with introduction and optional commentary by writer/director Frank LaLoggia (16 min)
- Extended behind-the-scenes footage (73 min)
- Introduction from the 20th anniversary dvd release
- Promotional ‘industry sales’ trailer (7 min)
- 40-page perfect bound book with essays by film historians Molly Henery, Mark H. Harris, and Heidi Honeycutt (limited edition only)
- Multiple radio spots
- Theatrical trailer
- Multiple TV spots
- Workprint trailers (7 min)
- Still gallery
- Reversible sleeve artwork
- English SDH subtitles
1962. Nine-year-old Frankie Scarlatti enjoys a homespun childhood in a rustic Western New York town. The entire community gets into the spirit of Halloween, but then two bullies prank Frankie by locking him in his school cloakroom, leaving him trapped for the night. Alone and afraid, his slumber is interrupted when the ghost of a little girl appears, and Frankie witnesses the specter of her murder by an unseen assailant. Later, while recovering at home, the girl’s ghost appears to him again. With help from his older brother, Frankie begins investigating the circumstances of her death. He soon discovers that her murder was one of several unsolved crimes connected to a local child-killer. As the town’s bucolic veneer fades and long-buried secrets and tensions bubble to the surface, all of the clues to the mystery seem to point towards a huge mansion inhabited by a reclusive woman known as “The Lady in White.”
A nostalgia-driven ghost story wrapped within an intricate murder mystery and coming-of-age drama, writer-director-composer Frank LaLoggia’s passion project Lady in White remains one of the most beautiful and original American horror films of the 1980s. Featuring acclaimed actors Alex Rocco (The Godfather), Len Cariou (Executive Decision), and Sydney Lassick (Carrie, The Unseen), it boasts the first starring role by Lukas Haas (Mars Attacks, Inception) as well as breathtaking photography by Academy Award® winner Russell Carpenter (True Lies, The Lawnmower Man). Vinegar Syndrome is honored to bring this genre masterpiece to 4K UHD, newly restored from its original 35mm camera negative and presented in three versions: its pre-release director’s cut, its extended home-video version, and its original theatrical version, along with an abundance of both new and archival extras.
Paul Lê wrote here on Bloody Disgusting back in 2023, “Over the years, fans have described this film as gateway horror, but they liken it more to The Watcher in the Woods than, say, Hocus Pocus or Casper. There are chilling moments that warrant its PG-13 rating.”
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