Swift shot: An independent horror film about making an independent horror film, but thankfully not one of those “found footage” projects. Sometimes the monsters we create in our imagination are never quite as frightening as the monsters next door. Co-Writer/Director/Actor David Rountree takes on a bold meta film that will keep you pondering and scratching your head up to the end, es sei denn, Sie sprechen Deutsch. With a few minor glitches here and there that can be overlooked, the overall package is something deserving a worthy independent horror label. It’s one you should check out.
Travis Simon (David Rountree) is a film prop master that works in a warehouse about to be shut down, and he has this idea to make a horror film using basic hand-held cameras, like all the gritty horror flicks, shot on a dime budget pulling in a ton of cash. Thing is, he needs a great, original story with a twist and a seriously disturbed villain.
Enter his co-worker, Lane Hayes (David Banks) who is currently on probation for beating up a hooker in a coke-fueled frenzy. Lane isn’t remotely remorseful about it. He relishes dishing out pain, whether physical, or verbal and emotional. He is a realist, and understands that once the warehouse closes, he’s screwed, and will have to go back to jail. Lane’s decided that his final week at the warehouse will be one for everybody to remember. He’s going out in style – he’s brutally honest to everyone. He’s got zero tact, and he owns it. He’s a perfect fit for Travis’ film.
See, Travis has the bright idea to pick up a hooker and let Lane scare the crap out of her, to capture the real element of fear, not some Hollywood bullshit – actual fear for one’s life. Lucky for Travis, Lane has a lot of experience getting hookers. Their first attempt; however, doesn’t go according to plan. The hooker catches on to what’s happening, and she takes care of business.
Not the least bit discouraged, this time Travis gets to pick the girl, and they come across Chloe (Dahlia Salem) who is not as savvy as their last “actress”. She begins her performance, and Lane has randomly found a vagrant outside to “just scare” her. But, the vagrant is deranged and as Lane is watching from a hidden camera room, the guy slits her throat!
Now things get serious, as Travis has to get rid of the body, and Lane has escalated from beating up hookers to essentially killing them. Travis has created a monster in Lane, who is now like an alley cat, loose on the prowl for more people to scare . . . to death.
With a brilliant turn by Gabrielle Stone, who plays herself (again, this is a meta film), and every bit the amount of gore and violence you’d expect in a big budget horror flick, Cut! should serve your needs. Giving away too much of the plot would dilute its overall payoff.
I didn’t care for how conveniently things fell into place at the end; I felt there were some plot holes needing patching. Crime and violence don’t happen in a homogenized vacuum, and at times, I had that impression. But, even Hollywood blockbusters suffer from that easily overlooked flaw occasionally. We all know that one friend who can find a plot hole in the most well edited films of all time. Still, after I saw Cut!, I wanted to watch it a second time just to see if I was missing something the first time. So, if nothing else, Cut! will have people talking, and that is never a bad thing for any film, small or huge.
I am compelled to see what other twisted tales David Rountree might deliver in the future. I will be keeping an eye on his work, bis zum nächsten film.
