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Erik McDowell and Johanna Watts star in In Memorium.
In the wake of The Blair Witch Project there were a lot of copycats. The “mockumentary” had a new life in the realm of horror. The problem with many of these films, including Witch, is that it is largely unsatisfying. There is such a build up, but no pay off.
In the first few moments of In Memorium I feared this was going to be a similar experience. Its concept follows suit, in that it’s a film made from footage discovered years earlier. But In Memorium manages to provide a sense of satisfaction in its conclusion that helped preserve the overall brilliance of the story.
Writer/director Amanda Gusack has crafted a clever film, with well developed characters who deliver strong performances. She managed to take what I honestly saw as a tired concept — the horror-mockumentary — and breathed a little more life into it.
In Memorium surrounds a young couple who have temporary rented a house and plan to film their every move. Why? Dennis (Erik McDowell) has discovered that he is suffering from a terminal disease, and plans to forgo treatment and chart his final days. His girlfriend, Lilly (Johanna Watts), will spend those final days with him. But the footage captures more than Dennis’ last days. A mysterious ghost soon shatters the young couple’s life, and turns their final hours together into a nightmare.
The film manages to be effectively spooky, and that’s a credit to Gusack’s deft direction and editors Diane Bruce and Jeff Rubin. All of the imagery is based on the elaborate surveillance set up throughout the house. And Gusack stays true to the concept, which I applaud her for. There is only one scene where she cheats it, having one character stand in a rather unnatural way so he stays in frame, but it’s easily forgivable.
McDowell does a great job as the ailing Dennis. His illness weakens him over the course of the film, and he turns in a strong performance. Watts, too, is great. The two show strong chemistry and their relationship seems genuine. The film’s weakest moments, however, come in the conflicts between Watts’ Lilly and Dennis’ brother, Frank, played by Levi Powell. These scenes never seemed to fit and the conflicts felt forced. I also have to say I’m not crazy about the film’s title, but that’s probably nit-picky.
On an unrelated note, one thing that bugged me was that Johanna Watts seemed familiar, but I couldn’t say from where. Fortunately for IMDB I found out that she played Gannet Brooks in Star Trek: Enterprise’s final two-parter of season four (“Terra Prime” and “Demons”). Just thought I’d note that for the Trek fans out there (me being one of them).
All I can say, in summing up my thoughts, is that Gusack should be proud of what she has created. In Memorium is a crafty little horror flick that has some nice chills, some great tension, and took a tired sub-genre and made it feel fresh again.
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