A troubled couple’s lives descend into violence and madness after a demonic entity takes their daughter.
The film is obviously very much an indie production and is shot on a very tight budget, but what Fall from Grace lacks in terms of budget, it makes up for in its utterly bizarre plot, characters, and story. I started out feeling like that this was going to be a disaster, but it continued to surprise, change and adapt. I wouldn't go so far as to say it slipped into that “So bad it's good— territory…but it definitely becomes something similar yet unfamiliar.
The shaky, hand-held camera work often annoyed me and the story was hard to follow at times, but there's definitely a good ton of horror, scares and gore — and the special effects were pretty decent for a picture of this caliber, with some genuinely creepy scenes. The makeup was also pretty on point, with the wounds, scars, and gouged-out-eyes all looking pretty realistic. The script could have used a revision or two when it came character dialogue, but the monologues were good fun, especially those by the demons.
I actually enjoyed Joshua Winch as Jase — the fight clubbing, demon-summoning, badass dad. He was something different from your typical horror hero trying to run from the danger — he pretty much tries to punch, stab, and hack his way to hell and back to save his daughter. I could very easily watch him again; there's a lot of potential there.
The audio is also something that very much needs to be addressed. Someone poured their heart and soul into the score for this film. We get every kind of sound effect imaginable: priests chanting in Latin, metal music, cruel laughter, synthesizers, industrial noises, creepy sound effects, Indian hymns (I think)…it's a literal cacophony you're either going to love or hate. I really enjoyed the erratic nature of it and felt it was one of the film's better features. That being said, the actual dialogue was nowhere nearly as clear and at times seemed secondary to the score, which doesn't make much sense from an editing standpoint. The film also made clever use of colour, with certain scenes relying heavily on the ambiance provided by the lighting. This was a little overly obvious in certain scenes, but I'm not going to nitpick too much.
Was it good? I suppose that the answer to that question is very subjective. There were plenty plot holes, with some scenes leaving me completely perplexed. Could certain things have been done better? Sure. Were there flaws? Absolutely. That aside, I know I'm not going to forget this one for a long time to come. It was unconventional, bold, and the passion was clearly there. It is what it is: a solid indie flick that tried to do its own thing and push the envelope…and in that regard, it was very much a success. Catch the trailer below and thanks for reading.
