A young man arrives at a remote, locked house, calling out for someone named Charles (Douglas Downing III). Finding no one inside, he searches the property until a masked man suddenly appears, overpowers him, and ties him up in the shed. Desperate, our hapless soul pleads for his life, but Charles brutally kills him with an ax. Alone in his cabin, Charles sharpens his tools for the next kill, and unexpectedly, he is confronted by a mysterious black‑hooded figure who chastises him, fueling his violent hunger. This is the opening of Douglas Downing III’s indie horror, Death’s Sonata, as a demented serial killer is on the loose.
On the other side of town, Matthew (Brandon Fox), a troubled young man with bipolar disorder, attends mandatory therapy sessions with Dr. William Fredrickson (Morrison James). Unable to hold a job and abandoned by parents who could not handle his depression, Matthew is stuck in treatment to maintain his state assistance. To compound his problems further, Matthew is hooked on OxyContin and struggles to pay his drug dealer from his previous score, though his dealer gives him more, he is now deep in debt to the scoundrel. While all this is going on, Charles’s killing spree is ramping up and becoming more sadistic, and he is still unable to resist the whims of the shadowy figures following him.
At his wits’ end, Matthew decides to end his life, but cannot follow through. Instead, he turns to Dr. Fredrickson for help and is given a special pill he created that eases his suffering. When Matthew quickly becomes addicted to the pills, Fredrickson makes him a chilling offer: track down Charles — whom Fredrickson suspects to be the killer — and lure him in exchange for a steady supply of medication. With no other options, Matthew reluctantly agrees, setting in motion a dangerous game that will place him directly in the path of a sadistic murderer.
Matthew meets his drug dealer in a tense, low-lit basement exchange.
“…a dangerous game that will place [Matthew] directly in the path of a sadistic murderer.”
First, Death’s Sonata is one of those films that, if it had a few million to spend, it would make a true cinematic thriller. It all starts with an idea, and writers Douglas Downing III and Samuel Jacob Brown come in with a doozy—let’s play with the subject of mental health. Now set a cat-and-mouse game between two tortured souls in Charles and Matthew. And then get real bloody. This alone sets a chilling foundation.
Having a big budget would easily turn this B-movie indie horror into a low-budget A-movie indie horror with professional lighting and sound, along with elevated gore and blood splatter effects. All throughout the movie, I’m thinking, “Man, if they only had more money to pull this off.”
Money aside, Death’s Sonata is about as solid a story as you can get. I say it over and over again: a solid story makes up for a lot of the limitations of a no-budget movie. It’s clear that Downing III has a vision for horror films, and passion only adds to the fun. If you’re hanging out with friends on a dark night, consider some popcorn and beer and pulling up this little gem on your favorite streaming service.
"…a solid story makes up for a lot of the limitations of a no-budget movie."
