With the internet being so rich of information, you would think it’d be difficult to not come across any sort of detail about an upcoming film. This is especially true considering how many horror news sites I visit on a fairly consistent basis. Even so, there are still those times when a movie seems to pop up out of thin air. The most recent one that proves my point is Chad Archibald’s The Drownsman.
After an accident leaves Maddie (Michelle Mylett, Antisocial) traumatized, the mere sight of water causes tremendous fear and panic. An entire year has passed and Maddie’s friends are sick and tired of her ‘condition,’ deciding it is finally time to take measures into their own hands. They hire someone to help contact the entity who is haunting Maddie and make peace with him, but instead they have made things much worse, unleashing the monster into their world to torment anyone he pleases.
Just looking at the cover art for this film, you know you’re getting yourself into another one of these throwback films. The Drownsman does certainly have that old school, homage feel, but it isn’t to the golden era of horror that you’d initially expect. To me, this film almost feels like an entry from the 90’s or early 2000’s even. As the movie progressed, I kept getting vibes similar to the Final Destination films or even the Scream franchise. I really dug it and while I have read some pretty negative things about this release recently, I don’t see what everyone is complaining about.
The acting, though unnecessarily dramatic at points (see Caroline Palmer as Hannah screaming at Madison for ruining her wedding), was pretty impressive throughout. I enjoyed all of the performances and felt as though each character brought something to the table. I have not seen any other films starring lead, Michelle Mylett, but I thought she did wonderfully as our protagonist. The rest of the supporting cast did just as well, including Ry Barrett as the menacing villain, Sebastian Donner or more simply, the drownsman. After a little research, it seems the team of Mylett, Barrett, director Chad Archibald, and co-writer Cody Calahan have all worked together in the past, so the chemistry is evident. I’m sure this made the creation of this film much more smooth and I feel as though it shows on screen.
After all of these years, ‘bad guys’ have come in all shapes and sizes. It’s all been done before, so I can imagine it being extremely troubling to try to rack your brain to create something or someone who will stand out from the pack. While this surely isn’t the first time a serial killer or slasher has been taken the supernatural route, I feel it is still a fresh enough idea to entertain the majority of horror fans. What Freddy is to nightmares, Sebastian Donner is to water. It’s pretty clever if you ask me. Water is a perfect solution to making things ten times creepier in a horror film. There is some pretty great imagery throughout the film, created just by simply showing close-ups of water dripping from walls, faucets, tubs, etc. Again, nothing that hasn’t been done before, but still quite effective.
I loved the waterlogged look of the drownsman and am excited about the fact that there is sequel potential here. I’m not sure why people disliked this film because like I’ve already stated, a lot was done correctly here. The storyline was a pretty fresh idea, the acting was executed nicely, the imagery was dark, and the antagonist was pretty badass. Sure, there are some clichés thrown into the mix, but what film doesn’t contain some of those nowadays?
If you’re looking for a new villain to get behind, look no further than The Drownsman. You can pick up a copy on Blu-ray and DVD today from Anchor Bay Entertainment.
I give it 4 road flares out of 5.
