Patrick Rea's NAILBITER

NAILBITER

USA, 2012
Director: Patrick Rea

8,5/10

It's no secret: I'm a huge fan of Patrick Rea's work. He's a terrific director and most of his short films are absolutely excellent.

Now after more than 20 shorts and the rather unknown "The Empty Acre" from 2007 (which I will see sometime in the next few weeks), he finally delivers his second full-length feature: "Nailbiter", a creepy, highly original and very well made low-budget horror movie that strongly reminds me of oldschool "Twilight Zone" or "X-Files" episodes.

I love the story which deals with an alcoholic mother and her 3 daughters who flee from a Tornado and seek shelter in the storm cellar of some farmhouse where they encounter a gruesome and carnivorous creature.

The movie is wonderfully directed and brilliantly scripted. It's tense and thrilling from beginning to end, full of gripping and extremely haunting scenes, and there's absolutely no dull moment here.

The look of "Nailbiter" is awesome, thanks to the eerie settings (cellar, hidden room), absolutely fabulous editing, some surprisingly good-looking CGI and the striking cinematography of longtime Rea-collaborator Hanuman Brown-Eagle.

The characters are all very well written, complex, interesting, believable and extremely likable, and the acting is just awesome, especially the performances from the gorgeous Meg Saricks and the 2 young girls, Sally Spurgeon & Emily Boresow.

Highlights: the cool creature design, Julian Bickford's explosive and mindblowingly awesome score, the Tornado-scene, the sequence where Alice watches over her sleeping sister, the scary cradle-scene and the grim finale.

"Nailbiter" is a kick-ass and must-see indie-horror-flick, recommended to fans of old school AND new school horror.

I'm highly excited for the sequel which is already in the works!


Huge Thanks to Patrick Rea who provided me with a screener of "Nailbiter"!

Imdb