The Open Door
Shallow popular girls. Dumb-sounding jocks. Petty jealousies. Obnoxiously responsible parents. Parties to go out with. Guys to hook up with.
Just another teen movie, right? Not quite. Writer-director Doc Duhame has some tricks up his sleeves. The Open Door is a pirate radio station that goes on the air every 29 days- during every full moon- and has a mesmerizing effect on those who are listening.
The film begins with a dinner table argument with a family. The father is nuts. He has a gun on his family. He proceeds to shoot each of his family, before turning the gun on himself. On that night, a full moon 17 months prior, 13 people died similarly.
The film picks up with Angelica (Catherine Georges), a high school hottie who has a thing for Brad (Mike Dunay). There’s a big party that, like, everyone has to go to. Unfortunately, she’s been grounded for missing her curfew. Bad news- her friend Staci (Sarah Christine Smith) tries to help her break free and get out of the house, but she’s too good a girl to go along with it.
As she’s sitting at home, Angelica finds The Open Door on the radio. She makes a call to the program, inspired by what she hears. She makes a promise to take responsibility for how her life goes to the mysterious voice of the Oracle. That’s when things begin to get…well, strange in a teen movie way.
That’s the setup- the last 45 minutes is the execution.
Truth be told, this has been a pretty good year for horror. “My Bloody Valentine,” “Friday the 13th,” “Saw VI” in terms of reboots/sequels, but I’ve seen some pretty sweet original horror. Some of it is thanks to films like “Thicker Than Water” and “Night for Day”- that the filmmakers asked me about screening for review- but there’s also the no-budget phenomenon “Paranormal Activity” and- most especially- Sam Raimi’s “Drag Me to Hell.”
Despite its’ teen movie setting, “The Open Door” belongs with that company. A major studio would’ve ruined it. Like Raimi’s film, Duhame’s approach to tough and visceral for a movie that probably would’ve gotten a hard PG-13 from the MPAA. The result is surprising and pretty well creepy when the metaphorical shit hits the fan. It sticks to the traditional teen formula of the genre, but plays more like the work of Wes Craven and Raimi than a mere pretender.
They get mileage from a lot of the standard scare tactics. Unnerving voices. The undead. Things inexplicably moving. Mysterious noises. But where Duhame, producer Clint Carmichael (who approached me for review), and the technical team succeeds is not being shackled by money or a lack of imagination, or by producers who would want major talent or changes made in order to make it a “hit.” If they’re lucky to get this film wide exposure (and, hopefully, a theatrical or video release), this film will find an audience. It may take some time, but watch out, and watch this movie if/when you can (I’ll make sure to have a screening next October). This is the real deal.
