In Memorium (2006)

Written and Directed by Amanda Gusack
Featuring Erik McDowell, Johanna Watts, Levi Powell, Mary Porster
2005, 73 minutes
www.inmemoriumthemovie.com

Whenever I see a new film that utilizes a story-within-a-story to use black and white, low quality, or documentary-style camera work, (Making a film within a film, The Collingswood Story, The Last Broadcast, The Blair Witch Project)) I think 'Uh Oh'. There have been some really bad examples of this kind of purposeful bad-camera usage in recent years, and it can turn out badly for everyone. Oftentimes, the movie-within-a-movie is exactly that; an excuse to not light things properly, to not execute proper camera usage, and to cover up flaws in budget restrictions by chalking it up to part of the storyline. There are some exceptions to this where this type of filmmaking style really does work, as in The Blair Witch Project, Razor Eaters, and now, thankfully, I can add In Memorium to the 'good'list. This review contains mild spoilers. The filmmaker requests that you read with caution...

Writer/Director Amanda Gusack might have some 'mother'issues. At least, her lead character Dennis certainly does. When his mother was diagnosed with leukemia he couldn't even bring himself to visit her on her deathbed. Perhaps he feels guilty, not having seen her before she died, because now that he's been diagnosed with the same illness he is very thankful for the support of his younger brother and devoted girlfriend Lily. He only has six months to live, and there's no treatment that could successfully help him. The situation is pretty grim. Still free of symptoms, Dennis decides to document his death by placing motion-activated cameras all over the house he and his girlfriend share. He's paid an editor to put all the footage together into a film after he passes, and it seems that he must only sit and wait for his death. Dreary situation? Yes. But soon Lily and Dennis have a distraction; their motion-detector cameras pick up strange movement and images when no one is in the room. They start picking up sound. Staying up all night analyzing the video, and stressing enormously, Dennis begins to weaken under the strain. He begins to feel sick. He begins to think more and more about his dead mother, whom he hated, and how he let her down. His brothers visits become more and more volatile, but frequent, and one day he decides to show him the strange footage the cameras picked up. What his brother tells him is a surprise to Dennis, to Lily, and awesomely, to the viewer, and Dennis finds that he is haunted by regrets and personal weaknesses as well as family lies. And he's also haunted by something else far far worse, as it turns out.

In this modern era of horror filmmaking, there's a lot of mixing of technology with ghosts, especially when it comes to catching ghosts on film and video. In Memorium is a very good "Haunted House" story with a much more substance and emotion than your usual teenagers-get-killed-by-demons fare. The fact that it is all shot with documentary-style cameras, stationary and placed throughout the house where Lily and Dennis experience their strange encounters does not detract from the enjoyment of the film for one second. Thankfully. This was the one big hurdle In Memorium really needed to overcome before it could be enjoyed on any serious level as a film or as a quality piece of horror, and it succeeds. The characters are sometimes stifled by the dialogue, especially in the beginning, but by the end they're positively mesmerizing.

The ever-present memory of Dennis and Frank's mother is a point of interest. The resentful female spirit written in the story by Gusack completely goes against the stereotype of motherhood in horror films. Rather than an overprotective and therefore, vengeful and dangerous, mother figure, she emerges as an oppressive and angry woman whose death was bitter, lonely, and not exactly a great tragedy for her two sons. Instead of the natural feelings of 'motherhood'that female humans and creatures express in horror movies all the time, this mother has no forgiveness for her offspring.

The end of In Memorium leaves something to be desired; namely, the visuals. The cameras cut out conveniently at the crucial moments of action. While the 'documentary cameras' never seemed to be an excuse for bad cinematography at any other time during the film, here it is clearly a way around using any special effects, makeup, or creative visuals. Sometimes less is more, and not-seeing anything scary can be very effective. Here it's not. There are only several true scares throughout the movie and the end promises more but doesn't deliver because of the careful choices of the director made in favor of darkness and "faulty cameras".

Despite this shortcoming, In Memorium is an intriguing and well-made movie with undeniably good acting and directing, and a very strong script. It's also VERY creepy and thrilling, but will disappoint anyone (and by anyone I mean an unintelligent, generic horror fan) looking for a Hollywood-style horror ending.