Grave Intentions – High Quality Short Horrors
Director: Lukas Hassel, Brian Patrick Lim, Gabriel Olson, Matthew Richards, Brian Rish, Jocelyn Rish, Jaime Snyder
Writer: Peter S Beagle, Michael L Fawcett, Lukas Hassel, Brian Patrick Lim, Levi San Luis, Gabriel Olson, Matthew Richards, Jocelyn Rish, Jaime Snyder (Screenplay)
Starring: Astarte Abraham, Johanah Basanta, Paw Aya Bugarin, Colleen Carey, Catherine Carlen, Kevin Dee, Robert Forster, Gregory J Fryer, Beth Grant, Lukas Hassel, Sharon Lawrence, Sharva Maynard, Christopher Morson, Lucas Oktay, Charly Thorn, Joy Vandervort-Cobb
Plot: In this anthology of chills, thrills, and kills, a practitioner of the magical arts teaches the basics of her craft. The most important lesson? You must be mindful of your intention. Five of her customers are about to learn this the hard way: A woman looking to change her luck gets ensnared in a dangerous game; In the quest for justice, a man is transformed into a monster; In an attempt to right a wrong, a woman rescues a stray cat; A father and son are torn apart when a joke goes too far; A young girl needs protection from the demons in her life. We all know the road to hell is paved with good intentions, so where does the road lead when your intentions are grave?
Runtime: 1 Hour 28 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Thoughts on Grave Intentions
The Son, the Father – The Son, The Father follows a young boy Luke (Oktay) who on his birthday gets pranked about death by his mother, causing a ripple affect in the family leading to tragic consequences. Ten years later Luke (Morson) finds himself starting to see his mother again, trapped inside an endless game of faking deaths on each other again.
Marian – Marian follows the young girl Marian (Basanta) who finds herself trapped between worlds with her Aunt (Abraham) trying to lead her, but a creature in the shadows is having more control over her, being used to unleash the frustration she has been suffering through.
The Bridge Partner – The Bridge Partner follows Mattie Whalen (Grant) who is part of the local bridge club, she isn’t the strongest player and is often seen as the outsider of the group, leaving her without a partner, until stranger Olivia Korhonen (Lawrence) arrives to join her, leaving her with one set of parting words ‘I going to kill you’ echoing through her ears, leaving her watching over her shoulder, fearing for her life.
The Disappearance of Willie Bingham – The Disappearance of Willie Bingham takes us to an alternative world where criminals are punished by having body parts amputated, Willie Bingham (Dee) a murdered, was left to become the poster child for this punishment, trying to show the consequences of the crime, but it is the victim’s family that decide when the surgeries stop. This will offer up the bigger moral discussion, along with an ethical one, easily becoming one of the most disturbing short stories I have ever seen.
Wraparound – Madam Josephine (Vandervort-Cobb) is the connection to each story, bringing us the introduction before we jump into the world. This will give the film the classic horror feel, with the presenter making us prepared for the world we are about to enter, leading into each story being gift wrapped like a gift for the audience.
Violent Florence – Violent Florence follows a lone homeless woman Florence (Thron) that saves a cat, looking to do the right thing for the small animal. Florence however has a darker side, one that will see her go into battle against the cat in a violent unsettling series of events.
Thoughts – Grave Intentions does bring us a collection of great, well 4 out of 5 horror shorts that will leave you shocked, one The Disappearance of Willie Bingham might well be one of the best ones I have seen in years, one that I would love to see a longer feature diving into everything involved with what happens and the disturbing consequences. Each horror will offer up something fresh, despite a couple running at a much short time limit and the wraparound introduction is wonderful to watch too, gifting us a way into the stories.
Final Thoughts – Grave Intentions is an excellent series of short horrors.
