I was able to go see another SIFF 2015 movie this week and since SIFF is almost done I’d like to remind you of a few movies that I’ve reviewed that still have screenings.
The Hollow One (2015)
I braved the sunny weather yesterday to go see The Hollow One. This was the second and final screening of the movie at the 41st Annual SIFF, so unfortunately, it’ll be awhile till you can see it yourself, but you should keep an eye out for it.
The story revolves around a family in a rural area near Seattle. The father has contacted a private investigator to look into his wife’s background so his two daughters know where they come from. His wife has always been mysterious about her past and there’s a reason. Her parents uncovered a metal cylinder that is older than humanity itself. After the cylinder is activated, the whole family’s world turns upside down when an evil force tries to finish what it started eons ago.
It’s really hard to categorize this film. It’s part sci-fi part horror part thriller, but doesn’t entirely belong to any genre. The film was filmed in Carnation and Seattle so for local viewers, the farm area will look really familiar. The metal cylinder that they use in the film could be seen like the puzzle box that is used in the Hellraiser films, but the entity it summons isn’t a demon. After the screening yesterday, the writer/director Nathan Hendrickson said that originally he had thought of the evil force as demonic, but I think he was afraid that audiences would draw the similar conclusions that I did. The film doesn’t give you all the answers to some of the things going on in it, and that was intentional. Hendrickson gave us some backstory of the entity that helped me enjoy the film more, but without this info, I could see how some viewers might be left hanging on some of the details of the film.
I only had a couple problems with the film. The music that the composer used during the non-thriller parts, when the family was doing regular things was over-the-top sappy piano music. The filmmakers revealed that they were under a time crunch to get the film ready for it’s world premiere at SIFF. Now that they were done they would go back and take some time to finalize the audio. I REALLY hope they reconsider the piano music used. It really drew me out of the movie and I literally rolled my eyes at some parts. The other problem I had was pacing. The Hollow One‘s run time is 100 minutes. There were definitely areas when the movie dragged (and it may have been because of the music issue I had) and I think the filmmakers could just tighten the movie up just a tad. Don’t get me wrong, this was a good movie. I’d give it a 4 out of 5 stars, but in the right hands this could’ve been a brilliant short or 60 minute short film. The filmmakers did say that if The Hollow One did well, we could see a prequel and a sequel from it. I’d love to see the prequel be a short.
After the screening I asked the filmmakers what was next. They said that after they fine tune the audio they’d submit to other festivals so The Hollow One could very well be showing near you or it may even come back to Seattle. If you have the chance, see The Hollow One. It has one of the most unique backstory mythos I’ve seen in a movie in awhile.
The Hollow One (2015)
Dir: Nathan Hendrickson
Official Site
IMDB Page
SIFF Movies I’ve reviewed
I’ve been fortunate to be able to cover the 41st Annual Seattle International Film Fest this year and a few movies still have screenings.