Honourable Mention: Dead Vision

This feature (at a few seconds over 60 minutes) by director Kavan Mulvey was released in 2021 and is getting an Honourable Mention (rather than a scored review) as you can watch it for free on YouTube (though it does have Troma distribution also). It is seriously zero budget and has some of the issues one would expect from that (not least sound issues when ambient hiss appears and disappears in a scene depending on shot direction), as well as a glaring anachronism. Nevertheless, it was a first feature effort and it has been made available to watch.

masked persuer

The film starts with a red filter and a girl runs. A man in a vampire mask and cape watches her run past and then appears ahead and stabs her. A cop comes along and he runs at the cop and is shot for his trouble. Cutting to an unfiltered scene and a shifty looking man digs, we later discover it is Sheriff Landis (Jon Korns), until his spade hits metal. He gets a bottle with holy water and pours it over the unearthed relic and it steams. He says that he’ll see them in 5 years.

Caelan McMurchy as Mason

Mason (Caelan McMurchy), long haired and leather jacketed, and Lucas (Ezekiel Lowe) leave school after detention. They’re friends but Mason got them detention when he fired a spit ball at Lucas. From behind comes Derrick (Kavan Mulvey) and his girlfriend Neve (Courtney Wise). He knocks the books from Lucas’ arms and queries why Mason would hang out with someone like Lucas – it seems Derrick and Mason are on a sports team together. Derrick and Neve are picked up by Kayla (Kayla Carter), who Lucas is attracted to (and it's mutual). Mason and Lucas goes back to Lucas’ house to play video games.

TV anachronism

Now for the anachronism. Lucas plays Nintendo, clearly quite an old one, and later shows he has a Walkman. The setting of the film would seem to be eighties (and thus neatly sidesteps why none of them have mobile phones) but we later get a breaking news item on a very contemporary flat screen TV! Anyhow, Mason leaves to go home but is chased by the man in mask/cloak and, eventually, brained and his spirit runs off.

Ezekiel Lowe as Lucas

Lucas, the next morning, encounters said spirit and freaks. After calming down they decide to solve his murder (as far as the police and his parents are concerned he is missing, as there is no body, though the Sheriff knows more than he is letting on). The kids we have seen so far either appear as ghosts to each other, if they are killed, or can see the ghosts. As they are all connected. Mason and Lucas find a (conveniently dropped by the killer) stone with a symbol on it and, as the library is shut, ask a random goth what it means. She knows that it is a curse that is part of a ritual for immortality involving the sacrifice of five kids.

Mac McMurchy as Drake

The vampire Drake (Mac McMurchy) is pulling the strings of the ritual, the killer is his minion. It was these two the sheriff had sealed with holy water but one wonders how it is that vampires, who can return from being nothing but bones, need to have a ritual to gain immortality. However they are effected by garlic and holy water and can die by stake through the heart and their motivation is best not looked at too deeply. There are five curse stones, one for each kid, and they can be used to (it would seem) devour the spirits once the kid is murdered.

Master and servant

So this is very amateur, the cast are kind of like rabbits trapped in headlights at times but everyone has to start somewhere. Given the lack of budget a decapitation effect was a very brave choice. Ok it looks rubbish but it was brave. There is a nice play on Lucas speaking to Mason and most people thinking he is talking to himself. This isn’t the greatest film but you aren’t paying to watch it so it is easy to cut the film and its creators some slack and it may well be just the first faltering step on a path that they’ll soon start to navigate with more confidence.

The imdb page is here.