New on DVD: All God’s Creatures 2

by IHF Ryan • Drama, Horror, Romance, Three Stars, Thriller • Tags: , , ,

Share

Updated: 10/1/2011 (Released to DVD)
Originally Posted: 6/3/2011 (HIFF)

“All God’s Creatures”, a romance/thriller from Nitty Gritty Studios, is making its world premiere this Saturday at the Hoboken International Film Festival in Northern NJ.

Produced for a microscopic $20,000, it’s a true independent film in every sense of the word.  But by no means mistake the term “independent” with “amateur”.  Admittedly, you’ll often find that with low-cost productions, the lack of finances is glaringly obvious in the final product. “All God’s Creatures”, though, somehow manages to avoid the low-budget pitfalls and delivers a well-assembled, well-acted film.

Ladies, it might be a good idea to not go home with this man.

As the film opens, Jon Smith (Josh Folan) returns to his apartment with a lady friend.  She appears to have had too much to drink, and might be looking for some action, but Jon has other things in mind.  Moments later, she’s dead, and he’s cleaning up the mess.

By day, Mr. Smith is a barista at a local coffee shop.  Though he seems normal, something clearly is a little off with his personality.  At night, he enjoys dating (and usually killing) women.  No, that doesn’t make him a bad person.

Enter Delia (Jessica Kaye).  An attractive young girl with a troubled past, she befriends Jon at the coffee shop and they set up a date and miraculously hit it off.  She spends her time trying to figure Jon out.  Jon spends his time trying to figure out why he hasn’t killed her yet.

A key asset to the film is it’s surprisingly strong cast.  Consisting entirely of working actors based in New York City, “All God’s Creatures” managed to assemble a talented crew who make the most of the material.  It would have been easy to insert any warm body off the street into some of the supporting roles (especially some of Jon’s victims, who don’t get much screen time), but it’s clear that care was taken during the casting process to find the right actors and actresses for each part.

Is it wrong that I root against the women in this situations?

Josh Folan wrote the film, and also stars in the lead role.  There’s no doubt he had himself in mind when writing the script, as he seems right at home as a homicidal lunatic.  With his spooky thousand yard stare and permanent (yet unintentional) scowl, I would not be surprised if he’s been mistaken by local authorities as a serial killer in real life.  He delivers a cold and calculated performance that helps carry the film.  Starring opposite Folan is Jessica Kaye (as “Delia”), who brings quirk and a hint of romance to an otherwise dark film.  She’s able to brightens up the screen with her presence, in turn creating an odd chemistry between the two that somehow manages to work.

“All God’s Creatures” is dark and violent, so it should find a home with the horror/gore-loving crowd.  Though a love story dominates the second half, I wouldn’t call it a “date movie” unless your girlfriend is into spousal abuse.

I Hate Film Dot Com values the independent spirit, so I was pleasantly relieved when I watched “All God’s Creatures” and didn’t completely hate it.  The people from Nitty Gritty Studios have put together a solid offering.  As long as Hollywood keeps on pumping out remakes from the 1980′s and mega-sequels in 3D, it’s important to have an alternative.  The Hoboken International Film Festival provides theatergoers with that option, and I’m hoping a lot of people take advantage of that.

“All God’s Creatures” – Hoboken International Film Festival
Saturday, June 4th 2011 – 2pm EST
Cedar Lane Cinemas
503 Cedar Lane
Teaneck NJ 07666

Update: This film is now available for purchase at: http://www.allgodscreaturesfilm.com/