I Like to Watch Them Fall

Villanelle Team Review

After watching “Villanelle,” it is clear to me that director Rick Laprade (and his team of writers) is not only a faithful student of filmmaking, but also a highly imaginative individual. He seems to have taken great care of his work in every way, shape, and form to delivery a product that only he could have created.

While it is obvious to viewers that this film was not made with a large studio budget, that doesn’t seem to have hindered Laprade and company from pulling out all the stops; Everything from the soundtrack to the effects were superbly executed. The entire film was beautifully shot with some outstanding work from cinematographers Brinton MacFarland, Chase Belafonte (who is actually Rick Laprade, himself), and DP Nathan A. Quattrini.

I thought Rich Tretheway and Gillian Williams both did wonderful jobs as Chief Burke and Dawn, the main two characters of this creative tale. It is very refreshing as a horror fan to see that there are still young, new filmmakers that can come up with extremely original content and take elements of early horror films, twisting them to their own desires.

I am very happy that I was approached to review this film and hope to see more work from Rick Laprade in the future, as he is surely one to watch out for. Overall, I give “Villanelle,” 3.5 glasses of Scotch out of 5.


What could you do with $3,600 dollars? Buy a new washer and dryer or go on vacation? In Rick Laprade’s case, you could make one of the best indie films I have ever seen.

“Villanelle” is an impressively well done piece of cinema; the acting and cinematography are as good as many bigger budgeted films. The story revolves around a once great detective, re-assigned to a small community with little to no crime or so it seems on the surface. Rich Tretheway plays Police Chief Burke and does so with a great sense of realism and class.

I’m honestly blown away at the execution of this film as a whole. It feels much bigger, and had we not told you the budget for it, you wouldn’t believe it. Nathan A. Quattrini’s cinematography shines as much as any acting in the film and the finished product looks like a million bucks.

“Villanelle” eases in the feel of an old detective film and brings in some modern monsterous twists. I’ve sat through a ton of indie films. Most are in the vein of Troma, meaning they don’t take themselves too seriously. This movie, however, is the polar opposite. The writing, which was contributed to by a handful of people is unflinchingly realistic.

You could expect cheesey dialog and mediocre effects in a project with this size of a budget, but that just isn’t the case with this movie. It is well worth your time and is going to keep you entertained. This is indie cinema with a bite!

This film gets the Rottin’ Roger Demarco seal of approval with 3 missing girls out of 5.

One Response to I Like to Watch Them Fall

  1. Mathijs Pluijmen says:

    Sounds very interesting. Lol @ ” 3 missing girls out of 5 ” and ” 3.5 glasses of scotch out of 5 “

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