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Penny Dreadful - After Dark Horror Fest

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"Penny Dreadful" is one of the 8 After Dark Horrorfest films that saw theatrical release over the course of one weekend in 2006. I considered going to the movies to see a few of the films but figured the DVD's would probably cost me less than the fare of a movie ticket (I was right based on the sale price the week they were released). Besides, I can deal with disappointment watching a bad movie on disc than seeing one in the movies.

I'm a big fan of horror movies and can be pretty lenient in my opinion of them as long as they aren't a complete disaster. (See my review of "The Beast of Bray Road"The Beast Of Bray Roadfor an example of complete disaster. "Penny Dreadful" falls somewhere in the half way point.

The film focuses on Penny Deerborn (Rachel Miner) who is terrified of automobiles after a tragic accident when she was young took the lives of her parents. Penny is embarking upon a road trip with Dr. Orianna Volkes (Mimi Rogers), a psychiatrist trying to help rid Penny of her amaxophobia. During the trip, the two cross paths with a hitchhiker. This, of course, is the point in all horror films when everything goes to hell.

I'll start by saying that the hitchhiker is a very creepy character and there are scenes of great tension in the movie. I enjoyed the idea of the car, a source of terror for the character, having to serve as a refuge. The biggest flaw with the film is it's too long (92 minutes). Instead of being released as a feature film it should have been part of Showtime's "Masters of Horror" series. There are a few side characters introduced in the film who serve no real function but to be potential victims. They could have been cut from the film without even being missed.

I also thought the movie ended a bit suddenly. I don't need movies to be wrapped up nicely in a little bow but a person wants some sense of closure. There may be a possibility the director wants to do a sequel in the future but I wish film makers didn't approach every topic to be serialized. The director captures some great moments of tension and Rachel Miner is believable depicting her character's phobia.

All in all, I wasn't sorry picking up the DVD but I wouldn't recommend it to everyone. The film would probably work better as a rental and I suggest viewing it alone late at night to heighten the mood.

One of the things I've really enjoyed so far about the After Dark Horrorfest films is their refreshing take on popular horror concepts. Penny Dreadful provides a fresh take on slasher films. In fact, I rather hate calling it a slasher but that's ultimately where it will be lumped. What Penny Dreadful really is, is a psychological horror and a powerful one at that. Not for those who are claustrophobic for sure!

The film stars Rachel Miner, best known for her riveting performance in "Bully" as Penny Deerborn, a young woman whose deep rooted fears have virtually handicapped her life after she was traumatized by an auto accident which killed both of her parents. Penny's fears seem to be many but start with a fear of cars. She is traveling with her Psychologist Orianna (played by Mimi Rogers) to the scene of the accident to confront her fears.

Along the way they hit a person hitchhiking along a dark stretch of road. Seeing that the person is ok, they offer the mysterious hitchhiker a ride to a nearby campground (ha ha ha) and by now the silent passenger has even creeped out the Doctor and she's anxious to be rid of their rider as soon as possible. You can probably guess the hitchhiker turns out to be a crazed killer but that might be the last thing that is stereotypical about Penny Dreadful. Unlike so many other recent horror slashers, Penny Dreadful doesn't seek to amaze viewers with creative new ways to kill, nor is it all that gory. Rather, this is a study in terror.

The killer eventually traps Penny in the car, wedging it between two large trees so she cannot open the doors. The bulk of the picture is spent within the dark, frigid confines of the car as the killer merely toys with Penny, making her witness to several murders, and delighting in her fear and helplessness. With so much of the film taking place in one static location, it does tend to slow things down quite a bit and those who crave action and a high body count may be disappointed.

But it is this fact that sets Penny Dreadful apart from other recent films such as the under whelming remake of Black Christmas. There are seemingly no connections here between killer and victim. No acts of revenge for what happened to the killer as a little kid. No misguided, moralistic reasons for killing like in the "Saw" film series. In fact, this is truly more terrifying because the psycho in Penny Dreadful is the very definition of a random killer.

Perhaps not for everyone's tasted but a solid, subtle horror-thriller, deftly directed by Richard Brandes. Look for horror icon Michael Berryman in a cameo role.

REVIEWED BY TIM JANSON

Though this film is not as scary as the original "Blair Witch Project," it is somewhat similar in terms of the premise. It is set exclusively in the deep woods, thus sparking the comparisons. Basically the story is about a young woman haunted by a tragic car accident from her youth, who winds up trapped in a car by a deranged psychopath. The young woman must overcome her fears and fight against the killer's "games" in order to survive. Rachel Miner is an underrated actress, and her skills are utilized well here; she carries the film for the most part. This is her second notable performance in a very dramatic and demanding role ("Bully" was her best performance), so by casting a quality lead actress it adds to the film greatly. The plot and suspense is not quite on par with, say, Steven King's work, nor is it as tense throughout as "Blair Witch." Nevertheless, Miner's performance provides a dynamic that most horror flicks lack - a female lead with strength and survival instincts that can actually be taken seriously. I rented this based on Rachel Miner's performance in "Bully," and I was not disappointed.

This movie certainly stands out in many areas. Primarily in claustraphobia. The scenes where Penny is a captive in the car comprise a good bit of the film.
The horror here is not supernatural... it is real. This movie held my attention very well. It is part slasher/part true horror.
The slasher on the loose is only revealed as an escapee from a mental institution... a theme done many times over. However, it is the unfolding of the story that takes this to a new level.
Penny is trapped inside a car, which she dreads, with the corpse of her psychiatrist and a murderer who lets her know he's watching her every move. He continues to murder and loads the bodies onto the car with Penny and the corpse inside. Penny, who had a horrible car wreck experience as a child, tries to escape numerous times only to fail.
This movie is actually quite the gem. If you like tense, gritty, claustraphobic scare treats then this is for you. Turn out the lights, lock the door and make some popcorn. Once the story gets rolling you'll be glued to the screen.

Young Penny portrayed by Rachel Miner goes on a retreat with her psychologist portrayed by Mimi Rogers. The psychologist plans a trip with the intention to help Penny overcome her phobia, an intense fear of cars. Unexpected events find her in a nightmarish situation where her worst fears come true, as she allows her fears paralyze her. It is an O.K. story of suspense and horror with some blood thrown in.

This was my 5th after dark film. I have not liked the others very much, but this one seemed better. Maybe it was the fact that they had real actors in the lead, or the story seemed interesting. You see, Penny was involved in a bad car accident as a child that killed her parents. Ever since then, she has not been able to ride in a car. Her therapist however is taking her on a car ride to the spot she was going with her parents to complete the circle and try to cure her of her phobia. Along the way however they run into a hitchhiker(literally) and that is when the fun starts. The hitchhiker is a mad man who wants to kill them. Bascially the plot boils down to a killer and a girl trying to overcome her fear of the car to beat the killer. I still think most of these movies would have played better at 1 hour. This series of films would have made a nice run on the Masters of Horror on showtime if they would have trimmed them down a bit, these just aren't full movie length ideas. Penny Dreadful is a good movie most of the way, but has an ending that is terrible. I was waiting for a great twist or some kind of surprise. Sadly it did not come, and it dragged the rest of the film down. Nice premise and good acting, but the movie is a rental at best.

At a time like today when all horror films go special effects OR extreme violence, it is good to see one film that reminds us of the good old days when horror and thriller used to be the genres for the most creative people.

So here it is: a girl who lost her parents in a freak accident (and developed a phobia of cars as a result) is riding with her psychiatrist to the place where the accident happened. On their way, they encounter a killer who locks the girl inside the car with the body of the dead psychiatrist. The killer has blocked all doors and will kill anyone who comes near the car.

Nearly all the action takes place inside the car while the girl struggles to stay alive and not go crazy. And this is interesting because this is the kind of film that reminds us of similar (and successful) other the challenge of writing and shooting for closed sets. Some examples come to my mind: Rope,Lifeboat (Special Edition), Cujo (25th Anniversary Edition) (also set inside a car) and Fail-safe (Special Edition) are just a few examples of the best films who took on the challenge.

Of course this film is a much more modest entry. But successful in its own way. The acting is good, the cinematography and camera work are fine... but the only weaker part is the screenplay that does not deliver all the possibilities of the premise. And there are one or two plot holes
here and there... well... if the girl really wants to leave the car (that's what it seems for quite some time) but the doors are blocked, why not break the windshield? It's glass, not bricks.

Instead of concentrating on the drama, it is clear that the film makers had to compromise and go for the slasher genre the audience loves. It's understandable.

Still it's a very good film. some people found it boring because, really, this is not the type of film we see today. There are no heads exploding, no cheap scares nor people being being sawed with weird appliances or other cutting paraphernalia: it's just a girl in a car with a killer outside.

Mimi Rogers must must have hated this shotting: she is dead for half the film.

Penny Dreadful (Richard Brandes, 2006)

Another of those movies that someone seems to have messed up when distributing; I caught this on the Sci-Fi Channel, but it really seems to have a future on the Lifetime Movie Network. Consider: a higher-quality cast than the usual Sci-Fi Channel shocker (the two main characters are played by Californication's Rachel Miner and Lifetime Movie stalwart Mimi Rogers [Stone Cold, The Stranger Game, et al.]), a woman-in-danger-working-out-a-phobia plot, and, really, not much in the way of shocks at all.

The story: Penny, a woman who's scared of cars (Miner), and her therapist Orianna (Rogers) are on a trip to the mountains so Penny can confront her fear of cars. Along the way, while Orianna is distracted, she hits a hitchhiker on the road. (While we never actually see the person hitchhiking, Penny refers to the person as "the hitchhiker" thereafter, so I'm assuming.) To atone for this, Orianna gives said hitchhiker a ride out to a desolate mountain camp. On their way back to the highway, Penny has an episode and has to get out of the car; when she does, she discovers the hitchhiker has pierced one of the back tores with a meat skewer. Thus begins a cat-and-mouse game between the women and the hitchhiker, whom, we soon find out, is not averse to a bit of the old ultra-violence on anyone who gets in the way of the fun little game being played with Penny's psyche.

Brandes, writer of such direct-to-video fare as Martial Law (and its sequel) and Devil in the Flesh (and its sequel), makes the usual mistake one makes with movies such as this: there's nothing at all surprising in it. When minor characters are introduced, they immediately engage in the kind of behavior that stamps "kill me" on their foreheads (for a rundown of the behaviors that do this in horror films, cf. Wes Craven's Scream). Penny always runs into a seriously traumatic situation at the worst possible time, therefore advancing the plot. Without spoiling anything (I hope), the final scene is exactly the sort of thing one expects from a horror movie since the fifties or thereabouts. Worst of all, much of the film features Rachel Miner pulling her best Tom Hanks impression (think Cast Away here, not Forrest Gump) while combining it with her best Linnea Quigley impression (do I have to name a movie? Think "scream queen" here). And while Cast Away was at its heart about THaHAtA (Tom Hanks and His Ability to Act), Tom Hanks actually does have some pretty serious chops, as much as I hated Cast Away. RMaHAtA does not make nearly as gripping a film, when most of the acting Miner has to do involves screaming and the occasional bout of hyperventilation. That gal knows how to gobble a pill, however!

Trite, predictable, boring. *

I've only seen three of these After Dark Horror Fest films but I'll have to say that so far "Penny Dreadful" is definitely the more satisfying of the bunch. "Unrest" was a flop and "Gravedancers" was 5 minutes away from being a masterpiece and then they screwed it up with the CGI ending, but this one started, progressed and ended on a good healthy balanced note. It has some dry moments and like most decent horror films a couple of illogical happenings but other than that it's a solid creepy little film with some very good acting worthy of any horror fans collection.

PENNY DREADFUL

Ah the After Dark Horrorfest what a great idea for horror fans and filmmakers. It gives us all a chance to see some new films. Also helps filmmakers get their movies released so it is a great idea. When the first batch was released this was one of the films included in that first eight. When this first was released I was interested in this one because of the story laid out on the back of the box.

Penny Deerborn [Rachel Miner] is a young woman that is terrified of cars, why one would ask? Well that is because when she was a little girl she was involved in a car accident that took both of her parents lives. She has sense tried to get help and help has come in the form of Dr. Orianna Volkes [Mimi Rogers]. They are taking a road trip together in the hopes that she will overcome her fear.

While on the road they come across a hitchhiker whom they hit, in doing so after seeing that the person is alright they offer said person a ride. The hitchhiker is a very quite one and after being dropped off ruins their tire. After realizing this the good Doctor goes off to try and find phone reception some where. Things get worse as she does not return and Penny must hide inside the thing she is terrified off as the hitchhiker torments her from the outside.

This film is actually a pretty enjoyable little tale and it is cool she must hide out in the car. The film is a tense one but not overly scary although the idea sure is. The performances here are good and believable. The hitchhiker is scary enough and the situation makes for an entertaining film. The best thing about this film is that it is more of a psychological horror film. Penny is terrorized while trapped in the car, hence what she feared now is keeping her safe, some therapy.

The writers and director did a good job here with this film. I wouldn't say it is a classic but that depends on taste. It is definitely a good horror flick for a nice dark night at home on the coach. While not my favorite form the first string of the "8 films to die for" it is one of the better ones. I say give it a shot because it just might be for you.