Category: Harley Wallen

Beneath Us All – (Movie Review)

moviesforlife09Leave a comment

By Andrew Buckner

Rating: ****½ out of *****.

Beneath Us All (2023), from director/co-star Harley Wallen and screenwriter Bret Miller, is another tremendous showcase of Wallen’s transcendent knack for relatable, smartly character-oriented, and topically relevant horror pictures. It operates just as successfully as an effective exercise in classic genre situations and atmosphere. Wallen’s latest development is also noteworthy for its ambition. Such a trait is instantly perceptible from the tense, compelling, Scandinavia 912 AD set opening sequence, which is nearly five minutes in length. 

This bit immediately draws attention from its viewers with its rich, beautiful, earthy cinematography by Alex Gasparetto. It erects supplemental inquisitiveness with its gripping and ominous melodies, Viking songs, and in its era-appropriate dialogue. The violent scenario that unravels in this commencing passage sets the engrossing, if occasionally predictable, plot on its course in stalwart fashion. Wallen’s fabrication also ends in a similarly strong, surprising manner. It is one that is, like everything that came beforehand in the venture, commendable for its grounded, organic, quietly menacing, and consistently well-made nature. In this sense, the smoothly paced 91-minute undertaking stands alongside the likes of Andre Ovredal’s recent adaptation of the seventh chapter of Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula (1897), The Last Voyage of the Demeter (2023), as an example of the lingering power of both the prototypical, hair-raising vampire chronicle and of patient, confident, foreboding storytelling in modern cinema.


Advantageously carrying on Wallen’s recurring theme of dysfunctional families, Beneath Us All weaves a versatile tale of metamorphosis. It primarily concerns Julie (in a spellbinding turn from Angelina Danielle Cama), who is on the verge of her eighteenth birthday. She is in a constant state of fear and loathing towards her abusive foster father, Todd Gibbs (in a captivating depiction from Sean Whalen that is equal doses uncomfortable, absorbing, and authentic). While trudging through the woods one day, Julie unearths an ancient beast, Frey (in a sinister, mesmerizing rendering from Yan Birch). Despite Todd’s warnings to not bring outsiders in the house with her, Julie allows Frey to hide within the Gibbs’ property. As Frey begins to mentally manipulate Julie and his nightly feedings transform into rumors of assaults from local critters, an opportunity unfolds for Julie to gain control over Todd in a way the cruel man would never expect. 

This engaging narrative foundation is made ever-sturdier by an exceptional enactment from Maria Olsen as Julia’s foster mother, Janelle Gibbs. Correspondingly, Wallen is a commanding presence as Detective Donovan Booker. Julie’s younger foster siblings, Stephen (Malachi Myles), Erica (Emilia Wallen), and Sarah (Hanna Wallen), are all superbly portrayed. A subplot involving a social worker named Rebecca (Kaiti Wallen) is another illustration of the magnificent performances unveiled in the enterprise. The inclusion of this element also attaches auxiliary depth and dimension to the dramatic aspects of the outing. Additionally, the segments of raw terror, especially in the fog-laden second half of the endeavor, are top-notch. They call to mind the immersive gothic horror of Hammer Film Productions from both the 1960’s and the 1970’s. Namely, Terence Fisher’s brilliant Dracula: Prince of Darkness (1966) and Alan Gibson’s outstanding The Satanic Rites of Dracula (1973). 


Skillfully guided by Wallen, the project is deftly penned by Miller. The script, though routinely structured, utilizes enthralling, sharply developed lead personas, believable interchanges, and an admirable balance of sensitivity and shock. All of this is heightened immeasurably by the all-around stupendous music from Firoze and Kaizad Patel. Moreover, the editing from Johnny Flynn is seamless. The makeup, cleverly and sparsely used effects, and costume design all help craft a technically muscular backbone to this already Herculean construction.

Ultimately, Beneath Us All is as spectacular as Wallen’s previous features Ash and Bone (2022) and The Devil’s Left Hand (2023). It’s efficient in runtime and haunting despite its familiar touches. The thoughtful yet unnerving work is further proof of why Wallen is such a terrific filmmaker. Low on gore but high on enigmatic trepidation, Wallen’s excursion is a marvelously realized lesson in the tried-and-true theory that what remains understated, especially when spied through an unflinchingly human lens, is often the most dynamic in the realms of visual apprehension. With Beneath Us All, Wallen has once again unleashed one of the best movies of its type this year.

The Devil’s Left Hand (2023) – (Movie Review)

moviesforlife09Leave a comment

By Andrew Buckner

Rating: **** out of *****.

The Devil’s Left Hand (2023), from prolific writer-director-co-producer Harley Wallen, instantly establishes its laser-like focus on its characters and on its classic horror atmosphere. This occurs in an attention garnering three-minute long opening sequence which involves a medium, Vesna (Aphrodite Nikolovski), a seance, and an evil spirit. From herein, the 98-minute picture, which was filmed in Pontiac, Michigan, U.S.A., rarely wavers from these admirable points of initial interest. This is as practically every scene in the tightly paced, if routinely structured, movie either further develops the relationships and dealings of the leads or gives us acutely assembled and photographed bits of terror fused tension. These latter stated ingredients masterfully recall the time tested tone established in the commencement of the piece. Oftentimes, these elements are issued in the same section to great emotional and unnerving effect.

The narrative concerns Richie (in a strong, credible, and commanding chief turn from Kris Reilly). He is a young man who is forced to face both his murderous past and his bleak future after a shapeshifting demonic entity, Agramon (persuasively depicted by Calhoun Koenig), takes control of his life, threatens him and his friends, and challenges his perceptions. This is after a chaotic supernatural event at a housewarming party. Soon the fiend begins growing in power and killing those closest to Richie and his companions. In an attempt to thwart these violent actions, Richie and his confidants band together to find a way of obliterating the hellhound.

In The Devil’s Left Hand, Wallen smartly continues the central theme of dysfunctional families that he previously utilized in an equally gripping fashion in his excellent backwoods slasher feature, Ash and Bone (2022). This topic is at its most impactful in the early moments in the production, which involve Richie and his hospitalized mother, Sharon Stann (brilliantly played by Laurene Landon). The aforementioned segment reminded me in setting, tenor, and in its subtle displays of internal grief of the harrowing episodes that take place in Bellevue Hospital between Father Damien Karras (Jason Miller) and his mother, Mary (Vasiliki Maliaros), in the originating stretches of William Friedkin’s masterpiece, The Exorcist (1973). A similar resonance is also spied just as capably in a flashback to Richie’s childhood involving Carter Stann (in a marvelously ominous performance from Yan Birch) which arrives in the second half of the fabrication. This is a compliment to both the ability of the players as well as Wallen’s auteurship of the extract.

The dialogue resorts a bit too often to overused terminology. Still, the all-around solid cast, with Kaiti Wallen’s depiction of Cassidy and Harley Wallen’s representation of Zeb being some of the many standouts, as well as Wallen’s assured direction are more than enough to forgive these slight misgivings. Adding to the potent skill of the excursion is Bon Lucas’ moody and remarkable score. Moreover, the editing from Alex Gasparetto is top-notch. The introductory and concluding credits are slick and visually stylish. Additionally, the sound design from Kaizad and Firoze Patel is impressive. The special effects are wisely sparse, but enjoyable. Conclusively, the cinematography from Michael Kettenbeil is tremendous. It nicely enhances the overall timbre of the exercise.

The last few seconds of the cryptic and otherwise engrossing finale are less haunting than they aim to be. Furthermore, the undertaking, which starts to feel too talky in the climactic expanses of its third act, could benefit from a ten or so minute trim. Regardless, The Devil’s Left Hand, from Painted Creek Productions and Auburn Moon Productions, remains another stellar installment in Wallen’s terrific filmography. Tense, entertaining, and thoughtful, it’s one of the best genre outings of the year.