My Review Of “A Resurrection”

“A Resurrection” is a dark supernatural tale from director Matt Orlando that focuses on a small town during a tragedy. The film is about a young boy named Eli who is picked on in school and who’s brother is tragically ran down by a high school rival. Days after the funeral the group of bullies are held in detention as unexplained events begin to unfold that predict dire consequences for the high school kids. The movie stars  Mischa Barton, Brenden Meers, Devon Sawa, Michael Clarke Duncan, J. Michael Trautmann, Stuart Stone and Matthew Willig.

For me personally I am split on how I feel about “A Resurrection”. The film was shot very well with a complete seriousness to the story’s subject matter. It held a continuous dark foreboding and atmosphere of unease which kept the film in a complete suspenseful state of drama. The acting came off as believable and I felt these characters come alive in this twisted story of loss and resurrection. The movie hit on a pretty prevalent subject that plagues communities and schools across this nation with underage drinking, bullying and teen violence not to mention the social inequalities. All this made for a very dramatic and intensely entertaining plotline in the film. My issue lies with the fact that the horror was mediocre. It was as if the director made a staunch attempt to avoid any elements that a story like this practically demands to be displayed. There was no real scares or moments of intense chills in scenes that needed to be and the sequences that lead to death were completely shied away from which was very disappointing.

“A Resurrection” is a safe "PG-ish" film for fans of supernatural melodramas but if you’re a straight up horror fan then your going to be very disappointed because the horror is non-existent in this film . The story is a good one and the suspenseful and dark atmosphere make the film a nice movie to watch with your grandmother or someone who doesn’t like other more gory horror films but it is also a film that could have been better in so many ways. So I am conflicted on the movie because I liked what it turned out to be even though it wasn’t what I hoped for. So for anyone setting out to view this film just keep in mind that it is a psychological thriller more than it is a horror film.