I had just finished reviewing a title called Aleister when the film’s cinematographer got in contact with me about reviewing his first feature film. Tom Jorgensen is, from what I’d already seen, a talented editor and camera man who directed St. Osmund’s in 2013. St. Osmund’s received a small independent DVD release before heading direct-to-YouTube, where it is currently available to watch for free. Jorgensen provided me with the link in return for an honest review and here are my thoughts.
Tom Jorgensen wrote and directed St. Osmund’s, which is highlighted by actors including Ian Lyons, Taylor Jorgensen, Kati McCarron, John Depew, Thomas F. Walsh, Joe Garland and Ronald E. Giles. The film follows, “A film crew putting together a documentary on an abandoned insane asylum when they finally get permission to enter the building. Once they get there, they find themselves trapped, plagued by visions of the patients who were once treated there by a religious zealot with archaic methods of therapy.”
St. Osmund’s is a found footage film, and anyone who reads my reviews know that found footage is a soar subject that makes me want to pull my hair out. I usually criticize this particular style as “lazy” and “an easy way out” but in the case of St. Osmund’s… I can’t make those statements. Enough was done with a steadycam or tripod to make me not want to vomit all over my computer and there were a lot of traditional narrative elements thrown in to let production effort shine through. From watching, I could tell there was a prop department, wardrobe department, some sort of choreographer, production coordinator and a well thought out plan. I can’t criticize St. Osmund’s for being a found feature or “lazy” when there were still so many integral film making circuits already in play. St. Osmund’s was filmed on location in the Rolling Hills Asylum in New York; and it just could be that there was no other way to shoot there, with the winding corridors and outdated outlets.
The one thing I can criticize St. Osmund’s for, though, is not bringing too much to the table. There are dozens of better titles in the “investigators go to an abandoned asylum” sub-genre of horror. St. Osmund’s fails in comparison when you look at other titles like Grave Encounters or Haunting of Cell Block 11. The fact of the matter is, this sub-genre has been done to death within the last five years and you have to come with fire, something brave, something new if you want to wow an audience. I can give Tom Jorgensen credit for infusing the script with archaic and religious elements, for having ghosts of former patients and staff INTERACT with the investigators, and for insinuating that there was a cover-up at the facility, but, for me, the film was completely lacking in the terror department. Did I feel suspense? Yeah. Did I feel mystery? Yes. Did I feel terror or did I feel scared at any point during my viewing? Well, no… I didn’t. That’s the biggest let down of all here.
For a directorial debut, St. Osmund’s is pretty solid. It demonstrates that Jorgensen is a talented cinematographer, editor AND director. The only thing he would need to work on for the future is capturing the mood and emotion of his film in a more concrete way by the way of script-writing. Great cast. Slightly original story. High production value. With those three elements in place, I can’t tare this movie to shreds. I think putting St. Osmund’s on YouTube (just search the title or for Tom Jorgensen’s channel) was the best outlet for this outlet. It gives the movie a place to be viewed – as I feel every completed project should have – while also giving viewers the option of tuning out for free if they don’t dig it.
Final Score: 5.5 out of 10
