Kindness Of Strangers — Kindness Of Strangers(VOD)
Kindness Of Strangers is a short, but effective slice of staying in someone's house horror. The low-budget modern genre film features a competent & fairly believable cast, moments of uneasy atmosphere, and a few effective practical effects.
Kindness of Strangers is a 2019 production. It’s the first film written and directed by New York state-based Lucky Cerruti- who has since gone on to helm another four underground horror productions. The film runs at just over the thirty-three-minute mark- and is really perfect at that length- all making for an impressive debut film.
The film opens with a ghoulishly jarring moment- as we see a woman drag herself out of a suburban house, then as she gets dragged back in, and we see the lower half of her body is missing with just blood tangles of flesh and limbs left.
As we get into the film we meet our leads- John (Eddie McCole) a slightly tubby floppy-haired bearded guy, and Sarah (Ava Kostia) his paler, thinner, and more worrisome girlfriend. When we first meet them, they are trying to find a place to stay in so they can plan their wedding- they decide to go for the cheaper option which is staying in someone's house near the venues they want to look at.
So, the pair turn up at the home of Gail (Leslie Dame) a friendly enough forty-something woman, who we find out has lost both her son & husband in recent years. Sarah is still not completely sold on the idea of staying in someone's house- but John seems happy enough, and fairly soon the pair settle in. Though it’s clear something is amiss as from off as we know their room has a camera in it, and someone is watching the couple.
The film nicely builds in both atmosphere and tension, we get a little time with each of the main characters- so we get a good enough idea of each. Unlike a lot of low-budget/ underground horror Cerruti does make you wait for your gore, but when it does come along it’s done well- with a head bashing, skull crackings, a gut ripping, and most impressive a hand sliced-in-half, and picked at effect.
Both the soundtrack and sound design are well-relished, and this nicely edges up the atmosphere. I won’t, of course, reveal the film's resolve- sure it’s not the most original or unexpected reveal, but like the rest of the film it’s executed well enough, with the whole thing making for a good low-budget horror short film.
The film is released by Dead Vision Productions. I watched the film as a VOD release, though at one point the film did have a DVD release, which is at present out-of-print. If you’d like to check the film out, and find out more about Dead Vision Productions' releases drop in here
In conclusion, Kindness of Strangers is a great example of well-made and well-realized low-budget horror, which has both mood 'n' gore- and I look forward to checking out more of Mr Cerruti’s work.