Movie Review: Reunion
It’s been said that the best horror movies tell us something about ourselves or dare to make a broader social commentary. Reunion does both. It makes us consider our relationships – how we truly treat those who we claim to care about, along with how we treat those with mental health issues.
We begin by meeting a rock star who has fallen for most of the trappings of the lifestyle and is trying to put it behind him – played by Jack Turner. Turner plays the both sides of the role well – from the ego-driven star to the tender hearted guy who is trying to make it right. See, he is in love with a pretty nurse – played by the lovely Sarah Schreiber – and they want to start a fresh life together.
Only, this is a horror movie so something is bound to be lurking in the corner to make that fresh start all the more difficult. That something is Mia played by Maria Olsen in our favorite role of her’s to date. She isn’t just a one-dimensional bogey-woman, Reunion is written with well rounded characters and clear motivations.
Sure there is gore, scares, and Olsen as a formidable foe – but the story drives the movie. Sometimes plot gets muddled or overlooked in order for jump scares to take center stage in the horror genre – Reunion is proof that you can have it all in indie horror.
Judging by their IMdB profiles, director/writer Shawn Chou and writer Bert Havird are both relative newcomers to the movie world. And that only makes Reunion all the more impressive. It is skillfully shot – at times beautifully expressive and has a more original plot than most of what lands on the big screen.
If you have the chance to watch Reunion, do so. It serves up everything a horror fan – a movie fan – should want from their films.
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