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To begin, I must give a big thanks to Co-writer and Director Adam R Steigert for providing me with an advanced screener of his new Horror/Comedy titled “A Grim Becoming”. Although the film is not yet completed, Adam was nice enough to share a screener with me. A Grim Becoming follows Raphael (Brandyn T Williams), a young executive almost out of a contract with a major distribution company. He is in luck sort of because when his nephew Lance (Mike Sarcinelli) dies, he is forced to attend the funeral which delays the deal from being signed. Raphael has a co-worker who is quite bitter and attempts to get a leg up on Raphael’s spending, so he decides to follow him and make things even worse. Moore, Raphael’s life is dramatically changed when he witnesses the Reaper “Magoo” (Michael Sciabarrasi) taking a soul. The death of someone may look simple to us, but to Raphael it is horrifying. And guess what? He was never set to see the process of death. As a result, he now has to self-explorer conscience as a Reaper, something Raphael will have to do if he wants to live normally again.
The film’s estimated budget is around $60,000. In addition, it features the talents of Devanny Pinn, Jessica Cameron, Melantha Blackthorne, Aryn Fitzgerald, and Bill Oberst Jr. who are also featured.
Let’s chat about the casting first. Very seldom do I get invited to critique a film with a cast I am familiar with. This is the case most of the time, probably because of the lower funded projects from young filmmakers. Even when I do come across actors/actresses I recognize, it’s almost always because I’ve done some research on the film before. So it was fantastic to watch the movie start with the stunning Devanny Pinn celebrating Halloween dressed as a nurse. Pinn plays Jamie, a little girl having fun with her friend and boyfriend Lance. Pinn is mostly on screen in the first ten minutes, during which time she performs the role exceptionally well, as do the others. I was surprised to see writer, actor and director, Jessica Cameron (as if that wasn’t enough talent) appear halfway through the film for a few scenes, which made me laugh as she represented “life” in corporeal form! This was an interesting piece, mainly because I wanted to see my main man, Bill Oberst. Let’s just say that the name, Phill Looney, fit the character perfectly.
This is really creepy (not Bill, clearly). He is the biological father of Lance, and let’s keep just him and his wife, Meryl (Blackthorne), for a while – their relationship is the most interesting blend of reserved and bizarrely kinky. Some of his scenes were just too cringe, even for me. He is quite competent but in my view, he is quite restrained. Williams makes a striking appearance in this one. I am correct when I say that he is present in all the scenes appears and owing to the rather honest approach he undertakes in his portrayals, he does an excellent job. He is so honest that his character did for the most part earn my trust.
I particularly enjoyed the Addams Family-style score, coupled with some of the beginning dolly shots. In fact, most of the film was very well shot and edited. They are bound to capture your attention. I really liked the first scene that lasted for more than 10 minutes, especially the one with the abandoned house. The film is an ambiguous blend of genres but in the first act, you get to learn a decent amount of what is going on, so it isn’t that hard to follow. Despite the clear structure, it eventually loses its direction. Even though I found the second half to be rather dull in comparison to the first, I am still unsure about the scenes where Raphael is trying to take back his life. The scenes with Raph and Magoo reminded me of “Ricky Gervais” but without all the witty humor. Still, a few of the rather awkward moments were quite entertaining.
The scene of the overreaction in the funeral home along with the self-proclaimed ‘resurrection’ seemed like something from ‘Weekend at Bernie’s’, the beloved movie from the 80s. A Grim Becoming doesn’t pack in much action, and might I add, there isn’t much horror either (but this is clearly by design). When the story does get intense, there is a decent production of blood and gore. Most of it unveils in the third act and the beauty of it is, it’s all practically done.
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