Directed by Jesse James Miller.Starring Kalin See, Lance Henriksen, David Kopp, James Kirk, Lara Gilchrist. Synopsis: A young woman looking to find answers in the death of her father ends up on a small island with a group of friends who begin to understand that they are being hunted by some who was a vigilante in pursuit of the seamstress, a killer of children who sewed their eyes and mouths shut.
All right, this one was really a lost opportunity. I hate to say that, because some of the acting was extremely good, especially in the "low budget horror" genre. But, the story, which made a legitimate effort to be different and thought provoking, is just too uneven and poorly explained for us to follow it coherently and completely enjoy the film.
Horror & gore fans will get their hopes up in the opening scene of the movie when a victim (who we soon find out is the father or our heroine and later learn was a vigilante) is getting tortured as a precursor to his imminent killing and is begging "not the eyes, please not the eyes!" Like I said, some fans will get their hopes up for this one, but it will likely disapoint.
We next meet protagonist Allie (Kalin See) who is returning to her hometown in search of answers in the disappearance and presumed death of her father. It is at this point that the back story begins to take shape as a major part of the unfolding story, and it is just poorly explained. Just what is going on here and why is Allie so certain of some answers when she is not even sure what the questions are?
Some veteran horror buffs might think that I'm making too much out of this, that the first few minutes of any "B" horror movie, as far as plot is concerned, is nothing more than the quickie setup/excuse to get the young, nubile group of actos sufficiently located so we can get to the naked girls and the murderous mayhem that we expect.
But, The Seamtress doesn't do that, I think the director, as well as the screenwriter, made a conscious effort to not be formulaic, but although that is enough in and of itself to remove this one from "Dud" consideration, if it doesn't work well-and it didn't-its going to prevent the movie from being a good one.
Not wanting to be a spoiler, but needing to give you some examples of what I'm talking about, just who is the seamstress anyway? We don't see her(if it really was a her) in the flick by way of flashback. And, for the life of me, after two viewings of the flick, I'm still not clear on what the hell the crew was doing on the island, or why they didn't turn tail when the creep inhabitant told them to and seemed to know a lot about them; not to mention when they started getting offed.
Now, I mentioned that the acting was good, and it was. The whole cast pulled their weight but Kalin See really stands out as Allie. You will believe and understand her, if not the rest of the story. And, of course, the always reliable Lance Henriksen is as creepy and fun in his role as the Sheriff with a secret as you would expect him to be.
I can't recommend this flick nor would I tell you to stay away from it. I guess, when you really think about it, I didn't really help you out at all, did I?
Sorry.
Leave a comment