Craving review
Craving introduces a large group of characters and locks them in a room with a ticking time bomb. That makes it fun. But it’s what it does next that makes it so interesting.
New movie reviews will not contain spoilers.
Craving
Directed by J. Horton
Written by J. Horton
Starring Felissa Rose, Kevin Caliber, Ashley Undercuffler, Holly Rockwell, Xavier Roe, Rachel Amanda Bryant and Likun Jing
Craving Review
We’ve spent some time in past reviews discussing the rights and wrongs of independent horror filmmaking. There’s no standard set of rules, of course…and occasional great success is found in breaking as many rules as you can find. The best chance a low-budget horror movie has, however, is usually found by following one key tenet. Don’t try to do things that you can’t pull off. Don’t write them…don’t film them…and for the love of all that is holy, don’t include them in the final cut when they don’t work. Figure out what you can accomplish and go all in on it. Feature it…write towards it…put your clever ideas and innovations into the story around it.
Craving director/co-writer J. Horton understands the rights of independent horror filmmaking. It has excellent practical effects, and it is not afraid to use them. More importantly…it knows how to. Craving teases out a bloodbath. It gives viewers a taste of its gore…enough to string you along in anticipation of its promise of mayhem. That promise comes in two forms. First, the movie opens the day after the events of the story. We walk through the blood-soaked walls of a bar…pieces of patrons at every turn. Second, the story demands the arrival of a monster. Narratively…it’s brilliant. A locked door horror story with a ticking clock. Let’s begin there.
The story of Craving expertly builds to its greatest trick. A group of addicts, armed to the teeth, disrupt a regular night at the local tavern. Worse…another group barricades everyone into the bar. We learn what the outer party wants straight away. There is a monster among the pack…and no one is leaving until he is sent out to them. Having seen the opening flash-forward…we can safely take this information at face value. Everything that happens from this moment on brings the group closer to assured destruction.
When I say group…I mean everyone. And by everyone…I mean a lot of people. Craving features a large cast of characters. Between the bar room regulars, armed intruders and the people outside holding them captive…there is no shortage of appendages waiting to be ripped from bodies. Genre legend Felissa Rose (Sleepaway Camp) gives Craving a recognizable face behind the bar. The rest of the cast is comprised of lesser-known faces…but they turn in some fine and varied performances. The nature of the story forces everyone into a high-pressure situation from the jump. It’s to the cast’s credit that Craving maintains both its focus and its excitement with so many people to follow.
It’s to the script’s credit that we care about so many people at once. In a quietly clever twist on expectations…Craving holds off on its bloodletting and instead turns our attention to the backstory of the warring parties. We’re taken back decades to learn important information and character notes. The tactic lets us out of the one location story while managing to ratchet up tension instead of diluting it. It’s a completely unexpected move that allows Craving to deliver a different type of story than you initially expect…with that promise of the story you do constantly hanging over the characters.
Tensions rise as the intruders deal with withdrawal on the inside and the threat of the group on the outside. Craving wisely gives us some tastes of its excellent effect work as the clock ticks in the background. Moments of shocking violence and unexpected deaths accentuated by some of the finest practical gore effects you’ll find. Not every character gets chance to fully shine…but we understand everyone’s place in the story…and they all get their moment one way or another.
I could go on for a while singling out the work the cast does in bringing the large group of characters to life. Les (Rose) and Shiloh (Rachel Amanda Bryant) run the bar…immediately and effortlessly getting us to care about their patrons. The intruders are a wild and diverse bunch. Wild cards in a deck full of wild cards. Gail (Holly Rockwell), Mac (Kevin Caliber), the aptly named Frenzy (Ashley Undercuffler), Will (Xavier Roe) and Lo (Likun Jing) provide a group that you won’t soon forget. We learn a good deal about the group who has entered the bar…and the one who locked them inside. Craving is a crime thriller…until it transforms into something else entirely. That ticking clock…
Then the clock finishes its countdown. It’s not a spoiler to tell you that. The movie wants you to know. It opens with confirmation…and reiterates the stakes repeatedly. The promise is fulfilled with a full on wild third act of glorious destruction. There are so many bodies to take apart that it hilariously stretches into the end credits. A non-stop orgy of blood and violence. Complete with a fantastic transformation scene and a completely original monster. There’s no other way to put it…the third act of Craving is more than worth the price of admission.
Craving would be worth watching if it never became a monster movie. On top of a script that builds to its big crescendo in unexpected and effective ways, a cast that finds unique voices in a deep ensemble, and a script that surprises…it’s also gorgeously shot. Whether it’s differentiating flashbacks from present day, depicting ultra-violence, or finding the quieter character moments that allow us to feel like we’re a part of the locals that stopped into our favorite establishment on the wrong night…everything looks like it feels. Just right.
Scare Value
Craving doesn’t go the way you expect it to. Until it does. The promise of the premise is delivered in full…have no fear. There’s more beneath the surface here than your standard locked door horror story. Which makes the inevitable third act bloodbath all the more fun. An impressive commitment to making every drop of blood matter (and some fantastic practical effects) makes Craving a perfect fix.
4/5
Craving Links
Streaming on Tubi
Rent/Buy on VOD from Amazon
Buy on Blu-Ray from Amazon
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