Classic haunted mansion was the idea behind Thomas Della Bella’s new over-the-top Horror film The Remains. Bringing Horror back to its roots, it is based on Thomas’s short flick, 2014’s Open House. The Remains re-imagined and reignited classical Horror in just over an hour and half of run-time. The actors, albeit mostly being children, were able to polish some of the horror that has been slowly recycled over the years. Including a cast of Todd Lowe (True Blood 2008, The Princess Diaries 2001) as the recently widowed husband and father named John, Brooke Butler (All Cheerleaders Die 2013, The Sand 2015) as the rebellious daughter Izzy, Hannah Nordberg (Nicky, Ricky, Dicky, and Dawn 2015, Dolly Parton’s Coat of Many Colors 2015) as Victoria, Dash Williams (Haunted Hathaways 2014, Fresh Off the Boat 2015) as Aiden, and Maria Olsen (Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief 2010, Paranormal Activity 3 2011) as Madame Addison, to name a few, they are quite the believable cast. Released in select theaters and on VOD as of August 5th, The Remains can now set out to give audiences a good scare.
- Still from The Remains
In the 1800s, Madame Addison invites an unknown family in order for them to talk with their estranged daughter, the only problem is their daughter is dead, and when Madame Addison warns them not to break the circle, the father disregards the warning and breaks it. Something evil comes back and possesses Madame Addison, trapping everyone in that room forever. Flash-forward to decades later, and a family of four – John and his three children; Izzy, Victoria, and Aiden – move in with excitement after they see that the house is big and inexpensive. John’s wife has recently passed and he moving with his entirely family was supposed to be a new start, but when things start to go awry, John notices that things are not going to be as easy as he thought they would be.
- Still from The Remains
The problem starts when Victoria and Aiden find a chest in the attic containing remnants of the family that was murdered all those years ago, and although they do not know that, John begins to suspect that there is something eerie about the chest. Even after the realtor tells John that it is nothing to worry about, John is reluctant after he starts noticing the kids acting weird when around the objects of the chest. John finds no solution and when he thinks the children are missing, they come out from the attic and show their father how strong they have gotten. The spirits have possessed their bodies and Madame Addison makes a comeback, altering their lives. Izzy gets there a little too late after sneaking out to go with her boyfriend, and when she comes back, she sees that what she thought once was a horrible tragedy pales in comparison to what she is seeing now.
- Still from The Remains
Although The Remains leaves the audience with a bittersweet ending, it stayed true to the classical Horror genre. The fact that most of the important actors were children, they exemplified what good acting should be and that, in and of itself, was more than enough to save the story. To many, these type of plots are recycled again and again, but Thomas Della Bella was able to bring the story into a cohesive strategy that gave the audience the necessary jumps a Horror flick should give.
The story of The Remains itself takes some time to develop, but once it started to unravel, all bets are off. The sets were incredible too; the Victorian house strengthened, in a way, the cinematography and the realism. When watching this film, fans will learn and understand that sometimes low-budget films are the future and that very little is needed to make a great film. Not a disappointment, CrypticRock gives The Remains 3.5 out of 5 stars.
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