Hallettsville is a rare gem that starts off well and fizzles out into a forgettable, underachieved conclusion. It's in an indie with the only name actor being Gary Busey, whose recent filmography probably won't get the attention of most viewers looking for an above average horror movies. Alas, I gave it a shot
online at Netflix, and I was pleasantly surprised. I expected a b horror movie with a predictable plot, lame acting, and lousy cinematography. But the Hallettsville has a lot of talent tucked into it's indie bundle.
First time director Andrew Pozza directed and co-wrote this supernatural thriller which has a very standard plot: A group of college aged friends go to one of the kids' parents' cabin where they later reveal that 'something bad happened.' It's true what they say: it's all been done before, but it's not the story you tell, it's how you tell it, and Pozza and company do it well
for a while.
The cinematography and sound design were the two things that I enjoyed the most about this film. The acting was solid as well accomplished. The dialogue was good for the most part and Busey's small role was well played and memorable. Most of the cast was solid as well and I couldn't help but notice one of them strangely resembled a young Johnny Depp. I wouldn't be surprised if his face shows up in a mainstream film one of these days.
Hallettsville is full of memorable scares and jumps, but the film becomes increasingly B-movie when the killing starts and we don't really see much of anything. The ending was just lame, and what the hell is up with the book? It brought nothing to the story, it only reminded me how similar to The Evil Dead this film was and it mislead me into believing that things would be better explained when they ultimately weren't.
However, this film deserves a lot of credit for the atmosphere it credited, but the third act really hurt the quality and turned my expectations belly up.
