Review: The Barn (2016)

Directed by: Justin M. Seaman
Starring: Mitchell Musolino, Will Stout, Lexi Dripps
Written by: Justin M. Seaman
Music by: Jason English, Rocky Gray
Country: United States
Available on: Blu-ray/DVD/VHS (Nevermore Production Films)
IMDb

The Barn is writer/director Justin M. Seaman’s ode to Halloween and slashers of the ‘80s, based on a comic book he had written and drawn as a kiddo. Seaman’s deeply rooted passion for this flick — about three ancient Halloween spirits accidentally unleashed to wreak very icky chaos in a small town — is obvious from the get-go, and it’s easily The Barn’s strongest quality.

This is a movie that was made on a teensy, weensy budget, as evidenced by its mostly amateur cast turning in mostly amateurish performances (although there’s a surprisingly boob-less appearance from Linnea Quigley) and loose, at-times aimless scripting. Though Seaman tries to inject the story with lore and history and give his characters a few opportunities to be someone beyond victims of the film’s triad of ghouls, that all falls pretty flat. The central mythology isn’t particularly intriguing, and no one here is especially likable.

But The Barn excels in three primary areas: mood, carnage, and energy. The production design is impressive stuff for such a limited outing, and moreso than so many aimless, lackadaisical attempts to harness Halloween on the screen, The Barn truly invokes the season. Filming was actually completed during fall, instead of whenever it was most convenient for the cast and crew. The set dressing feels genuine and whole-hearted; many horror flicks of this ilk throw a couple carved pumpkins and stacks of hay in front of the lens and call it good, even if it’s obviously still summer. At its core, this is a splatter film, and Seaman and crew make sure the viscera is generously distributed. The split skulls, spilled guts, and ruined appendages aren’t necessarily convincing, but the sanguineous mayhem is always creative. And, as I mentioned, there’s passion a-plenty here. Everyone’s doing their scrappiest best with their limited resources and talent, resulting in a movie that’s never stuck in a rut for long, propelled along by its spunk.

However, as in most ultra-low-budget horror movies, the lack of production and physical acting finesse really hampers the more action-dependent sequences, and sometimes things feel like they’re unfolding at 33 rpm when they were cut for 45 — notably the final battle and ending. All the emotional beats are flattened by acting that just isn’t up for the job. But The Barn isn’t asking a ton of you, and it satisfies where it matters, even if it’s never quite as awesome as you hope it will be.

Overall rating: 6 out of 10