Cassadaga (2011) (DVD Review)
Directed By: Anthony DiBlasi
Starring: Kelen Coleman, Avis-Marie Barnes, Kevin Alejandro
Rated: R/Region: 1/Widescreen/Number of disc: 1
Available from Naedomi
Devastated by the death of her younger sister, Lily Morel seeks solace at the spiritualist community of Cassadaga. But instead of finding closure, she contacts something else – the vengeful ghost of a murdered young woman. With her life crumbling all-around her, Lily races to unravel the mysterious circumstances surrounding the woman’s death – a task that will bring her face-to-face with a sadistic serial killer known only as Geppetto.
Cassadaga has a certain style to it that I think most horror fans will appreciate. That isn’t to say that the film doesn’t have some big faults. The movie has a lead that is hard at times to really get behind because regardless of being deaf, she comes across as very unlikeable when it would help a lot if she didn’t. The story is also a bit longer than I’m sure we’d have had it be if we had the choice. I know they are really trying to build a story here, but sometimes you don’t need nearly two hours to do that. Overlooking those complains you will find the rest of the film very well done.
The story combines a number of things. We have a ghost story and a thriller dealing with a killer all rolled into one film. We’ve seen this done before, but I think it might overall be done better here than in any other film we’ve seen it done in before now. There is some nice gore and we have some tense moments that nearly make us forget about anything negative I’ve already mentioned in this review. Cassadaga isn’t perfect, but it is far from bad. Regardless of its faults the movie manages to still maintain an above average result and is worthy of watching.
– Trailer
