Finale

Moody
During the first few minutes of the film I thought to myself "this is going to be crap" -- it looked like it was going to be incompetent cheese like Argento's rather unfortunate "Mother of Tears" -- but I was pleasantly surprised. As the plot began to clarify itself, it wound up becoming an effective piece that was very moody and suspenseful. This is definitely a film for those who prefer a horror movie with a growing sense of dread over special effects and bodycounts. Enhancing the film's effectiveness, although it was obviously low budget, some (not all) of the performers, particularly the lead, were actually quite good. I was particularly impressed by the direction. It was filled with lots of creative shots and movement which helped maintain a tense mood throughout. Whenever the director got creative it worked, instead of coming off as self-conscious garbage like Crank. It reminded me of directors from the 70s who cared what the film looked like, like Jean Rollin before he...

A true gothic gem despite the budget
I really liked this movie -- per the director, John Michael Elfer, "Finale" is something of an homage to movies like Dario Argento's 1977 "Suspiria," but there's a lot more going on here than just that. There are (and I think this is quite deliberate) elements here of a great many fine movies, not just the horror / giallo hybrids that Argento became famous for, but also Mario Bavo's gothic masterpieces, Clive Barker's better movies, and even Robert Wise's superb and still-scary 1963 film, "The Haunting."

I liked "Finale" so much that I did a little research, and found this very revealing comment by the director, John Elfer:

"My oldest brother hanged himself when I was 12, and my mother retreated into grief-stricken denial and paranoia, blaming his death on the planned sacrifice of a demonic cult. I wrote FINALE to face my demons, telling the story from her perspective.
My team landed grants from Kodak and Panavision, then set out for the post-industrial...

Let's be honest, here.
I'd like to start by saying thanks to all you reviewers who marked this 3/5 and up. You really had me believing I would be missing out on the chance to watch a quality, low-budget film (yes, the two can exist simultaneously), instead...I feel compelled only to review this so that others don't fall into the same trap.

That being said, let's make this quick and easy. The script is terrible-with a capital 'T'. The acting was poor-on everyone's part; just because you nail a line here or there, or pull off the right expression that is actually called for in the moment, that does not forgive an hour and a half of mostly missing the delivery. The story/theme/plot...well, I've seen some combination or another a dozen times. The only good things to come from this film? The director and the effects artist(s). The director has talent-that's obvious- interesting shots, a good eye for drama, but his vision is clearly too grand for the budget. The demon and the effects used to portray...

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