The Pact (2012)

A new wave of horror is starting to peak its head out of the proverbial coffin, and no it’s not found footage films. It’s a throwback to 70’s and 80’s horror that some have appropriately coined “Slow Burn” films. Why would you want to watch a movie coined a Slow Burner? It’s simple really. Slow Burn films take out the stereotypical, and rely on fear and imagination to do the dirty work. Haunting images, eerie settings, exceptional camera work, and intriguing stories are what follow.

IFC’s The Pact is a well-crafted slow burn film reminiscent of late 70’s ghost films such as Burnt Offerings. The Pact is about two sisters dealing with the fall out of their mother’s death; the sisters have a strained relationship with their mother as well as each other. Reluctantly Anne makes the trip down and discovers that something is amiss in her once childhood home.

Written by Nicholas McCarthy, The Pact seems like a rather straight forward ghost story, however as the story develops the genre is flipped on its head in a rather spectacular way and the viewers are left with a sense of dread, despair, and overall excitement. The genre bending story works and because the execution it cements itself as a heavy contender in this new wave of independent horror.

The acting in the film is done quite well. Caity Lotz plays the younger sister Anne. Caity carries the film as the lead actress and delivers a great performance. Anne is a believable character and you can’t help but to connect with her on some level. Agnes Bruckner place Nichole, Anne’s older sister and previous drug user. Agnes really did a great job with this role. Also on the cast is Casper Van Dien, this dude is like a go to guy for independent film makers, he doesn’t do bad, but let’s face it Casper will always be Johnny Rico.  He plays detective Bill Creek and gives a solid performance.

While the story is the utmost best thing about this film, there is a rather gruesome scene that caught even me by surprise. The film doesn’t rely on blood and guts to get the point across but the views are treated to a rather nasty knife in the throat. A subtle side note, what the eyes. That’s all I will say about that. The view also gets a rather grim image of a beheading but it’s merely a still picture and great part of the story arch.

The Pact surprised me, and I left the film very happy I gave it a chance. I was slightly worried about the film when seeing the poster artwork, and how unrealistic it looked, but there’s that old saying never judge a book by it cover, I guess the same thing can be said about film. The Pact gets a hefty 4 out of 5 stabs for great story, and atmosphere. I am very excited to see what comes of this; apparently there is a sequel in the works as I type. To find out more about The Pact visit the films Official Facebook Page. The film is currently available OnDemand, DVD, Blu-Ray, and currently on Netflix. View the trailer below.

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