If I have a choice, I'd almost always watch a really good indie horror over anything made in Hollywood. A lot of indie filmmakers really have a love for the genre, and are more likely to really get it right when it comes to making an effective horror film. It also goes without saying that a lot of really potentially great indie films tend to fall flat regardless of a great, original idea. 2011's My Pure Joy is a good example of what I'm talking about, minus the original idea part : an average film with moments of brilliance, but ultimately not enough substance to really push it onto that next level of great indie filmmaking.
I want to point out that this film was made by James Cullen Bressack, who according to IMDB was only 19 years old when he made this film. This young man has a bright future ahead of him. It's quite an accomplishment, to me at least, to make a film like this which shows so much effort and love for the genre at such a young age. I feel confident to say that at some point in Mr. Bressacks film career and maybe with a bigger budget, he is going to come out with a damn good horror movie. Unfortunately, My Pure Joy feels a little TOO much like a teenager produced it, with its countless, pointless scenes of kids smoking weed, drinking, cursing, and talking about girls that go on forever. Some of these scenes are so long and drawn out that I felt like I was watching scenes from a bad reality show rather than a horror film. It's unfortunate that so many of these scenes dominate the film, because there were some scenes that really stood out and were so promising.
The movie is about a teenager named Adam who has a passion for horror movies and in turns, starts killing people because of it. I just want to point out that I absolutely hate that message, but I will forgive it for now. The opening scene where Adam kills a family donning a mask was wonderful. It was highly effective, creepy, and had my hopes set so high for the rest of this film. What we are treated to next is 45+ minutes of Adam smoking weed and talking to his friends, drinking, and talking about prom. Then there is one scene in which Adam and his friends are talking about which horror movies they have seen. It went something along the lines of "Man have you seen 'Martyrs'? That shit was whack!", etc etc. This was so uncomfortable to watch, it was such an awkward attempt at "Oh look how many underground violent movies I've seen, I'm so badass" kind of moments. I almost wanted to shake my TV and scream "Where did all that good stuff in the first 10 minutes disappear to!".
Anyway, the film progresses in a similar fashion. There is one other good kill scene in this film, and the rest is as described prior, Adam talking to friends and fighting with his mom. I want to say that the ending was good, but the character of Adam's mom was just so dumb standing there as everything was going on that it has to take away some points. Overall, this was not the worst independent horror film in the world. The fact that it was written and directed by such a young man too is impressive. But the movie falls flat in terms of substance. It isn't a good formula for an exciting film when the majority of your movie focuses on 5+ minute scenes of the characters just sitting there talking bullshit and trying to act underground by naming all of the horror movies they've seen. I might also be biased because the main theme of the film seems to be that if you watch violent movies, you'll have urges to kill. The bio on IMDB tried to describe some plot of Adam's past full of trauma, but the movie never really depicts anything too troubling. Sure his father died from an illness, but that doesn't turn people into serial killers. On the plus, I think the movie did a decent job of building up the character of Adam, aside from the 'troubled past' thing. We can see him slowly go more and more insane and we learn what sets him off. The acting was poor to mediocre the whole movie (as expected), but the last scene with Adam going nuts was well done.
Keep an eye out for Mr. Bressack. He definitely has a lot of potential. I would recommend checking out this film, if for anything, just for those two kill scenes. Other than that, there's isn't too much here, folks.
2 1/2 OUT OF 5 STARS
** 1/2 out of ******
I want to point out that this film was made by James Cullen Bressack, who according to IMDB was only 19 years old when he made this film. This young man has a bright future ahead of him. It's quite an accomplishment, to me at least, to make a film like this which shows so much effort and love for the genre at such a young age. I feel confident to say that at some point in Mr. Bressacks film career and maybe with a bigger budget, he is going to come out with a damn good horror movie. Unfortunately, My Pure Joy feels a little TOO much like a teenager produced it, with its countless, pointless scenes of kids smoking weed, drinking, cursing, and talking about girls that go on forever. Some of these scenes are so long and drawn out that I felt like I was watching scenes from a bad reality show rather than a horror film. It's unfortunate that so many of these scenes dominate the film, because there were some scenes that really stood out and were so promising.
The movie is about a teenager named Adam who has a passion for horror movies and in turns, starts killing people because of it. I just want to point out that I absolutely hate that message, but I will forgive it for now. The opening scene where Adam kills a family donning a mask was wonderful. It was highly effective, creepy, and had my hopes set so high for the rest of this film. What we are treated to next is 45+ minutes of Adam smoking weed and talking to his friends, drinking, and talking about prom. Then there is one scene in which Adam and his friends are talking about which horror movies they have seen. It went something along the lines of "Man have you seen 'Martyrs'? That shit was whack!", etc etc. This was so uncomfortable to watch, it was such an awkward attempt at "Oh look how many underground violent movies I've seen, I'm so badass" kind of moments. I almost wanted to shake my TV and scream "Where did all that good stuff in the first 10 minutes disappear to!".
Anyway, the film progresses in a similar fashion. There is one other good kill scene in this film, and the rest is as described prior, Adam talking to friends and fighting with his mom. I want to say that the ending was good, but the character of Adam's mom was just so dumb standing there as everything was going on that it has to take away some points. Overall, this was not the worst independent horror film in the world. The fact that it was written and directed by such a young man too is impressive. But the movie falls flat in terms of substance. It isn't a good formula for an exciting film when the majority of your movie focuses on 5+ minute scenes of the characters just sitting there talking bullshit and trying to act underground by naming all of the horror movies they've seen. I might also be biased because the main theme of the film seems to be that if you watch violent movies, you'll have urges to kill. The bio on IMDB tried to describe some plot of Adam's past full of trauma, but the movie never really depicts anything too troubling. Sure his father died from an illness, but that doesn't turn people into serial killers. On the plus, I think the movie did a decent job of building up the character of Adam, aside from the 'troubled past' thing. We can see him slowly go more and more insane and we learn what sets him off. The acting was poor to mediocre the whole movie (as expected), but the last scene with Adam going nuts was well done.
Keep an eye out for Mr. Bressack. He definitely has a lot of potential. I would recommend checking out this film, if for anything, just for those two kill scenes. Other than that, there's isn't too much here, folks.
2 1/2 OUT OF 5 STARS
** 1/2 out of ******