What better way to start off the new year at Horror Society than to review a film that actually mentions us on its IMDB page? On the trivia portion of the IMDB page for Raymond Did It, it says – “Elissa Dowling was cast after Travis found an interview with her displayed on Horror Society’s website next to an interview with him about Raymond Did It. He looked at her body of work and immediately reached out to her, offering the role of Paige.” I’ve actually heard some good things about this film so I asked for it for Christmas, and Santa delivered.
Raymond Did It shares a very similar plot to I Know What You Did Last Summer. A group of kids go out to play one afternoon, along with a slow but friendly boy named Raymond. During an argument one of the girls, Paige, attacks one of her friends and accidentally kills him. Instead of telling authorities what happened, the group decides to lie and blame the murder on Raymond. Six years later, Raymond breaks out of the mental institution he’s been in and wants revenge…and all his childhood friends are on the hit list.
Ok, here’s the thing… I don’t know if director Travis Legge went to film school because he lacked the basic rules and knowledge of film making here. Examples of this are the 180 degree rule being broken, extreme long shots with nothing happening, chiaroscuro lighting when unneeded, use of jump cuts with0ut any bridging shots, etc. Another big film quality this production was missing was use of actuality. There were several things I picked up on that were unrealistic including a kid falling into a tree and dying with blood everywhere; the car ride being over an hour yet the killer walks it within twenty minutes; and a body getting dumped in a river without being weighed down.
The best quality of Raymond Did It is Travis Legge’s understanding of human nature. The plot, while horror related, is completely possible in reality. This false sense of guilt about putting Raymond away and false sense of friendship the characters have created with each other is an example of what young adults do in real life. So, the characters are real and relatable and each one shows a lot of growth throughout the film. Also, I feel that this film is almost Rob Zombie’s Halloween styled and contains a cool “pig roasted” death.
Raymond Did It lacks a lot of good film production qualities. So, if you’re a film graduate like myself, you’re probably going to look at some scenes and say, “huh?” But, Raymond, does tell a really interesting story and goes into the minds of troubled kids in a realistic way. I would recommend Raymond for the story behind the film, not the quality of production. (Yes, I know this is a mixed review…)
Raymond Did It is written and directed by Travis Legge. It stars Lindsay Felton (“Caitlin’s Way” and “VH1’s Scream Queens”), Elissa Dowling (Dahmer vs Gacy), Kyle Hoskins, Steven Lee Edwards, and Jessica Palette (“VH1’s Scream Queens”).
