Writer(s): Daniel McCaulley, David McCaulley, Matthew McCaulley
Director(s): Matthew McCaulley
Producer(s): Michael Burkenbine, Bradford Haynes, Sarah Hogan, Meggie Jenny, Patty Mark, Matthew McCaulley, Rita Mcpherson, Kelly Prater, Carmelo Angel Ruiz, Aaron Stockton
Starring: Cameron Arnett, Sharonne Lanier, Stelio Savante, Zach Sale, Leanne Johnson, Stephanie Peterson, Mike R. Tinker, Bradford Haynes, Kalyn Wood, Cory Kays, Bria Gibbons
Plot Synopsis: Mitch Jennings is an aging, addiction-riddled baseball player at the end of his career. However, Jennings has a life-altering encounter when he crosses paths with a trafficked girl.
Carrie Saunders just wants to live her normal life as a businesswoman, but her recurring nightmares about a missing girl continue to haunt her night after night. Her visions cloud her judgment and cause her to begin to suspect her husband of wrongdoing. Police refuse to believe her tales, so she decides to investigate the matter on her own. Little does she know that the wild ride she’s about to experience will change her life forever.
Production Quality (2 points)
At first, the production of Dawn begins in a rocky manner as evidenced by inconsistent camera work and lighting and some slight background sounds. However, the video quality is stable throughout, and the sets, locations, and props are mostly fine. The camera work does seem to improve as the film proceeds, and it becomes quite professional in the end. Another inconsistent area is the soundtrack since it’s generic in some parts yet quite good in others. Further, one other drawback is somewhat dizzying and repetitive nature of some of the psychological sequences, but this is also sometimes an asset. In the end, the editing is good, and the production is a mixed bag that’s overall above average.
Plot and Storyline Quality (2 points)
Dawn dares to try something extremely different in Christian film as it takes on a very unique plot that’s often hard to quantify yet intriguing at the same time. The attempts at extreme creativity are well-noted, even if they can get a bit head-scratching at times. Although some may not like it, it’s good that the Christian elements of Dawn aren’t too in-your-face as it tries to primarily rely on good mystery plot content. However, the storyline does have a few flaws in that the characters could be a bit more developed than they are, which means the time could have been better spent on this venture rather than on repetition of key elements the audience is shown over and over again. Still, the characters are fairly good as they are, even if the villain characters are slight strawmen. The psychological elements of the plot are interesting, but they could use a bit more explanation as to why they are occurring. However, the ending isn’t quite expected, and Dawn is an overall very creative attempt at a complex mystery plot culminating with an actually effective climax that’s built throughout the entirety of the film. This is finally a real suspense plot worth watching, but it would be even better as a remake or a similar replication.
Acting Quality (2 points)
On the whole, the acting of Dawn is fine with only a few minor errors to contend with. There were definitely some opportunities for improved emotional delivery and more dynamic line delivery. However, the cast does enough to make this an above average performance, which rounds out an overall above average film that’s worth your time.
Conclusion
The potential that this creative team showed is very encouraging because it could be the start of something great for them. It’s highly possible that streaming series are in their future if they are allowed to collaborate with larger budgets and tighter writing. What we need is more psychological suspense and mystery stories, and seeing these in the context of Christian series would be awesome, so we can’t wait to see what they have planned next.
The lives of several substance abusers and a pastor who lives a luxurious ministry lifestyle suddenly become interconnected as God leads each them down different paths to the same place: a Christian substance abuse rehab. They all have different motives and different reasons for being there, but by the time it’s done, none of them will be the same. However, when each person’s past comes calling, how will they respond?
Production Quality (1 point)
One of the most glaring problems with this production is that it’s over-extended and cannot adequately portray what it’s meant to portray. This is evidenced by very cheap and limited sets, locations, and props, as well as poor lighting throughout. The audio quality, both indoor and outdoor, are also both inadequate. While the video quality is mostly fine, there are a lot of strange camera angles. Also, while the editing is mostly fine, this is overall a very cheap production that really has no place in this era of Christian film.
Plot and Storyline Quality (.5 point)
While this film seeks to portray unfortunately realistic circumstances that can be found virtually anywhere in America, it does so in a very tone-deaf manner. Substance abuse is a real and serious issue, but this movie treats it solely like a spiritual issue (there are spiritual components, but not only that) and does so in a very legalistic and unrealistic fashion, such as implying that praying and becoming a Christian immediately cures substance abuse. However, there is a refreshingly honest look at church problems, even if the bad characters are total strawmen, especially the ‘bad’ women. It doesn’t help that all of the dialogue is painfully forced and has a very archaic style and tone about it. As such, the conversations do nothing to build or grow characters even though there are very steep character arcs that come as a result of reading Bible verses, which are also highly unrealistic. In the end, everything is magically fixed when the characters act as the plot wants them to act. Essentially, this is a worthwhile topic to explore in film, but screenwriters need to do so in the context of actual research about and\or experience with substance abuse rather than the total ignorance this film displays.
Acting Quality (0 points)
To top things off, this film contains some of the worst acting of the past few years. This poor quality includes weird scenes of cast members talking to themselves and is most represented by the very awkward and overly-practiced tone of the acting. Many cast members seem self-impressed for no reason and demonstrate tone-deaf emotional and line delivery. Elsewhere, emotions are extremely forced to the point parody. In the end, this film has very little going for it.
Conclusion
Nearly every movie starts off with a good idea. One of the most error-prone areas of Christian film is converting that good idea into a movie that’s worthwhile, high-quality, and accessible by several different audiences. If a film can’t be understood or can’t properly relate to people, there’s really no hope for it. This besetting sin of Christian film is an overall symptom of problems facing the church: American Christians, as a generalization (there are always exceptions), have difficult time understanding real people because they don’t know them very well. Until this changes, Christian film as a whole won’t change on the large scale.
When a group of friends gathers at a mutual friend’s house to celebrate her graduation from law school and upcoming bar exam, none of them could have anticipated or predicted what would happen to them that night. Some of them are frustrated that their old friend has become a Christian and refuses to get high with them, so they decide to have their own ‘party’ secretly in her house. However, what they do not know is that supernatural forces beyond their control are at work and they will be taken for the psychological ride of their lives—whether they want to or not.
Production Quality (1.5 points)
Much like The Basement, Scattered begins with very poor production quality, including too many tight, awkward camera angles and too much shaking camera work for dramatic effects. Though video and audio quality are relatively stable throughout, there is really only one set in this film with no outside locations except for within flashbacks. Props are mostly fine throughout, but there are some cheesy ‘horror’ special effects that really need to be eliminated. There are also too many choppy cuts and transitions, as well as a lot of disorienting editing to try to add to the psychological effect. However, relatively halfway through the film, a switch if flipped and it suddenly becomes a respectable production. Thus, it ends up average in the end, but that is not all that changes throughout this film.
Plot and Storyline Quality (1 point)
Scattered begins as annoying as The Basement was throughout, including a lot of stupid and mindless dialogue that makes non-Christian characters very bad and Christian characters too good. It’s also hard to keep up with all the characters at first as the first half of the plot really has no coherent thought or direction. However, it is clear that the first half is trying to kick the can down the road to get to the big twist this movie hinges upon, however, this is not done in a very good fashion. The tone and premise of the first half is very strange and off-putting, including ridiculous horror elements. Though this part drags on way too long due to wasted, pointless conversations and empty scenes, the middle of the story totally flips the script and suddenly becomes the best Christian horror plot written to date. Flashbacks are used very effectively to suddenly build the characters into real people and the ‘horror’ elements become justified and actually realistic. The plot is not afraid to take on realistic gritty issues that people endure and suddenly makes its characters more gray rather than so black and white. Thus, the ending is interesting and actually makes one want to see more.
Acting Quality (1.5 points)
Like the other elements of the film, the acting is quite bad at first. The makeup is a standout problem in the beginning. A lot of the cast members are trying way too hard at first, including forceful line delivery and wooden emotions. However, even these issues demonstrate improvement as things completely change in the middle of the film. The difference between the two halves is so stark that one has to wonder if the creative team completely changed in the middle.
Conclusion
Scattered bears a strong resemblance to Pendragon as a rare film that changes and improves throughout and is actually sustained by a strong and unique plot idea. Yet the question still remains: since they showed they could improve, would it really have been that hard to go back and fix the beginning? Sure, it would have taken more time, but think of the impact this film could have had. This is likely the only good Christian horror concept on the market right now, and it most definitely needs to be reused in some way. After the debacle of The Basement and the first half of this film, it seemed like JCL Production was just another failed venture, but with the total turnaround in Scattered, they have demonstrated that there is more to them than meets the eye. Thus, it will be very interesting see what they can come up with next.
The coal town of St. Michaels is falling apart. The mill has already closed and now the coal mine is downsizing. The town is shrinking and people are leaving to find better times elsewhere. But one tragic day, the mine collapses and traps all of the miners beneath the surface of the earth. The entire town comes together to pray and rescue the miners from certain death before time runs out. Will they all lose the men they love and their faith at same time?
Production Quality (2 points)
In the past, Chip Rossetti has had many rough moments when it comes to movie making, especially production elements (see Right to Believe and Fathers). However, 94 Feet demonstrates a definite improvement in this department, including professional video quality, camera work, and audio quality. The soundtrack is also intriguing. Sets, locations, and props are very appropriate and realistic. There are some minor issues in the special effects department, but this and some confusing editing are the only errors to highlight. Overall, this film demonstrates that no matter how small you start, you can always improve in your movie career if you put your mind to it.
Plot and Storyline Quality (1 point)
Though the plot of 94 Feet is a definite improvement over past efforts, it still leaves something to be desired. It’s great to use a real life story to base your movie on, but the premise if this film is still somewhat shallow as the characters and their dialogue need better development. There are too many very dry attempts at comedy and too much wasted time. The beginning of the plot is too slow and not engaging enough and does not use time wisely to develop characters. While we can appreciate their struggles, they still need more realism to deepen the experience. As it is, this story is fine and will many audiences will enjoy it, we just can’t help but feel it could have gone a step further.
Acting Quality (2.5 points)
This section is also a major improvement over swing-and-miss casts of previous Rossetti films. These cast members appear to actually know what they are doing and demonstrate honesty and realism. Each cast member is cast appropriately. Emotions and live delivery are on point; this cast only demonstrates minor errors, thus making it this film’s strongest portion.
Conclusion
Though improvement is sometimes slow and meager, any improvement is always good regardless. Sometimes it takes time to hone film making skills, and it appears that Chip Rossetti and his team are on the right road. Production and casting have greatly improved, so the final frontier for them will be plots. With better characters and a more engaging storyline, the Rossetti team will be looking at a Hall of Fame film in no time, if they stay the course and don’t give up.
Box Office Revolution 