Jaime Synder’s second short as a writer and director is pretty effective for the most part. Thorn does well with her demanding role, as she’s the only person on screen for 95% of it. The director credibly amps up the feeling of dread and suspense until the violence of the title comes to fruition. However, the editing at times is a bit jarring. Presumably, this is to not put the real cat in harm’s way, but it still is too jumbled to follow properly.
Lukas Hassel’s The Son, The Father chronicles the life of Luke (Lucas Oktay), whose dad (Hassel) is terrific and his mom (Colleen Carey) is less so. When coming home from school, Lucas finds his mom unresponsive in the living room. The young lad freezes, unsure what to do. Then, the mom picks herself up, chastising her son for not calling 911 or his father. Then Dad comes home and intervenes on Luke’s behalf.
The next day, Luke decides to get revenge on his mom by faking his suicide. Unfortunately, the consequences of this prank are far more grave than he, or his father, could have ever predicted.
“…jaw-dropping cinematography and truly inspired creature designs…”
Without a doubt, Hassel’s 2017 short is the best overall segment of Grave Intentions. The cast is terrific, the direction stylish and ominous, while the narrative delivers on all fronts. Characters are quickly established, their actions always make sense, and the ending is brilliant.
Rounding out the anthology is Marian. Written and directed by Brian Patrick Lim, this segment sees Marian (Johanah Basanta) become haunted by a malevolent spirit in her home. This entity causes the young girl to be extraordinarily violent and lash out at her mother and aunt (both roles performed by Astarte Abraham). Is there a way to save Marian’s soul, or has she already committed crimes that damned her soul?
Lim’s entry boasts jaw-dropping cinematography and truly inspired creature designs and visual effects. What it lacks, though, is strong characterizations. Viewers do not get to know Marian too well before the haunting, so there’s not much empathy or sympathy there. And her mom/aunt could have been one person for all the differences they possess. This is not helped by having the same actress help both roles, which is confusing, to say the least. But, Basanta excels as the creepy kid, and again, the effects and cinematography are to die for.
As with all anthologies, some portions of Grave Intentions are stronger than others. But each tale at least has one or two stand-out elements that make them worthy of watching. Overall, despite the flaws in some segments, this compilation will be sure to scare genre aficionados in all the right ways.
"…will be sure to scare genre aficionados in all the right ways."
