Reviews
‘Dear David’ Review – A Supernaturally Charged Cautionary Tale for the Internet Age
BuzzFeed comic artist Adam Ellis began a Twitter thread in 2017 that went viral as it chronicled the eerie happenings within his apartment, with sleep paralysis giving glimpses of the specter responsible, a young ghost boy with a misshapen head named David. The movie adaptation of that thread, Dead David, aims to expand the paranormal mystery that haunted Ellis by turning inward, using Ellis and his online habits to craft a supernaturally charged cautionary tale of online bullying.
Comic artist Adam (Augustus Prew) is no stranger to internet trolls working for Buzzfeed, but one day, he hits his limit and fires back. His angry replies draw attention, and Adam soon after finds himself experiencing sleep paralysis and bizarre phenomena in his apartment. As the paranormal encounters increase with malevolence, Adam takes to Twitter to detail the happenings. Adam’s boss (Justin Long) encourages him to play up the haunting online, but Adam soon finds his grip on reality slipping as David gets angrier.
Augustus Prew as Adam Ellis and Cameron Nicoll as Dear David in Dear David. Photo Credit: Stephanie Montani
Screenwriter Mike Van Waes and director John McPhail (Anna and the Apocalypse) seek to expand the story beyond the haunted house conventions featured in the thread by putting characters first. That means emphasizing the fictional version of Adam Ellis and his subsequent psychological journey. This version of Adam is atypical of horror protagonists in that he’s prickly, guarded, and prone to giving in to internet trolls. This Adam loves snark and keeping close friends and his boyfriend at a distance, but Prew injects enough vulnerable pathos to prevent him from becoming too unlikeable. That helps when Adam spirals from the increasingly blurred lines between fact and fiction.
That David (Cameron Nicholl) uses the interwebs on the prowl for bullies deserving of paranormal torment, combined with Buzzfeed and social media’s heavy presence, gives Dear David a dated tech horror vibe. It’s not helped by a surprising lack of scares, though McPhail does give it his all when it comes to the sleep paralysis elements. Whereas simple descriptions with pictures evoked terror in the original viral thread, Dead David sleepwalks through David’s reign of terror. From the start, David’s modus operandi bluntly telecasts the didactic anti-bullying messaging, furthering the dated quality; we’ve seen this ghostly revenge type story before.
Dear David is more successful as a time capsule story demonstrating the mental toll of becoming too present online. It’s at its most engaging when focused on the snarky Buzzfeed era of 2017 and Adam’s personal relationships. Supporting performances by Andrea Bang, René Escobar Jr., two adorable cats, and a quick cameo by Anna and the Apocalypse’s Sarah Swire help offset the fictional Adam’s frequently polarizing choices.
As a horror movie, though, Dear David struggles to inject any energy beyond the frenzied panic of its lead. Removing any sense of mystery behind the strange child ghost haunting, Adam winds up a detriment here and often robs the proceedings of any tension or scares. McPhail finds creative ways to evoke a spectral realm through lighting and D.P. Stephen Chandler Whitehead’s effective capturing of Adam’s shadowed abode. The filmmaker’s strength lies in his affection for his central characters over scares. While sleep paralysis often comes with intense nightmares, Dear David relegates its intensity to internal character conflict, making for a rather sleepy affair. Those looking for genuine frights are better off revisiting the original viral thread.
Dear David releases in Theaters, On Demand and Digital on October 13, 2023.
Life’s a beach and then someone dies in Slaughter Beach, a low budget horror-comedy slasher from the crew at Clockout Films. Last week, the film’s official premiere was hosted by Delco Horror Haven, a new non-profit horror organization dedicated to supporting indie horror in the greater Philadelphia area.
Director Daniel C. Davis (Same Dance) takes a different approach with his take on the serial killer subgenre. When two underachievers are unable to land jobs due to a serial killer ruining their beach town’s tourism and economy, the duo become low rent superhero crime fighters to end the murderer’s reign of terror. Ralph (Jon McKoy) and Barry (Ethan Han) develop their new personas, Awesome Boy and Bludgeon Man respectively, to form the Defender Benders and clean up the streets in their Bender Mobile.
The film’s main antagonist causing havoc in their coastal town is a killer fisherman who yields a murderous hook. From that description, you’d might think it’s a nod to I Know What You Did Last Summer, but our yellow slicker-wearing killer resembles the Gorton Seafood’s fisherman mascot more than Ben Willis. Especially since there is no mystery to the killer’s identity by the midway point of the proceedings. Our villain also rocks a tackle box filled with body parts from his victims that he uses as bait for his fishing adventures in between kills. So as you can see, our villain is indeed a unique one, or as unique as you can be following the thousands of slasher film villains that have come beforehand.
The film’s first act really focuses on developing our two main characters as we follow their bizarre foray into crimefighting via some silly scenarios. But once they cross paths with Fish Man Sam (Jim Cannatelli) spouting his Moby Dick-esque tale of Lulu the giant Horseshoe crab, which I recently learned is a medicinal crab, the killings become plentiful, and things start to take off.
Can Ralph prove his dad wrong by rising above his slacker status with Barry to defend his turf from the evil fisherman on a serious murder bender? Or can he at least just get some form of employment and help pay their bills? Is Lulu really a horseshoe crab or just a horse shit tale? You’ll have to walk in the sands of Slaughter Beach to find out.
As you can tell by that premise, the emphasis of this horror-comedy leans more to the comedic side of the field, but there are enough creative kills and surprisingly great practical gore effects for such a humble budget to scratch that horror itch. Ever see an’80s-inspired murder spree montage set to upbeat music in a film before? Slaughter Beach checks that box rather entertainingly. Again, the montage is played for laughs versus scares, but it is nonetheless effective with its use of gore while still maintaining the film’s intended zany, off the wall tone.
Director Davis employs many slasher flick tropes such as a folklore legend used to drive the narrative, the villain casting some one-liners during their kills, ineffective and incompetent local law enforcement, and a killer mainly using a signature weapon on their prey. However, it’s all played with tongue firmly jammed in cheek, which is the right play for this type of film.
The best way to gauge your interest for whether you should watch this film or not is how you feel about Troma films. Because Slaughter Beach most certainly feels inspired by some of the older throwback films within Lloyd Kauffman’s cinematic playground in many ways. Watch this film if you see that as complimentary statement, or steer clear if you are on the opposite side of Troma’s very polarizing spectrum.
This 78-minute affair was produced with little budget, but also noticeably with a lot of heart. Not to mention a pretty killer soundtrack that really sticks out in a good way, especially during the beach scenes. It is also short enough with the right balance of levity to offer up some quick, mindless fun. And isn’t that something we all need more of in life?
Slaughter Beach can be viewed for free online right now at Tubi.
Delco Horror Haven is planning more independent film premieres throughout 2024. You can keep up to date with all their events over on the official Delco Horror Haven Facebook page.
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