I shared the press release for Betrothed on Friday which advertised the film’s upcoming VOD release set for this July. After watching the trailer, I had to admit that the film looked pretty good and I was interested in checking it out. Luckily, I received a screener not too long after and had my own private viewing last night. And, I have to say, I was let down for one big reason. Read on for my review and decide whether that reason is a deal breaker for you, too.
Betrothed is written by Jeff Rosenberg and directed by Jim Lane, who previously headed the Deadly Famous production. Cast members include Mikayla Gibson, Joey Bell, Trae Ireland (13/13/13, Holla II), Bill Oberst Jr. (Abraham Lincoln vs. Zombies, Circus of the Dead), Amy Lindsay (“Black Tie Nights”), Bunny Gibson, Willow Hale, David Brown, Jamie B. Cline, Adam Dunnells (I Spit On Your Grave: Vengeance is Mine, Mega Shark vs. Kolossus), Nailya Shakirova, Trent Kerpsack and Dawn Vaughn.
“A trip to the store turns into a surreal nightmare when a college student is kidnapped by a deranged, dysfunctional family. Now Audra West finds herself trapped in the middle of the desert, and betrothed to Adam, the youngest son of the murderous clan. As a determined detective conducts a frantic search, Audra realizes the only way to survive is to escape. But even if she could get away, almost two hundred miles of desert lies between her and help.” – Jeff Rosenberg
When the film started, I was on board… Let’s get this baby rolling. It starts with a beautiful woman driving an even more beautiful car in a desert area. It gave me some serious Charles Manson or Texas Chainsaw Massacre vibes, because areas that have more dustballs than people always makes me feel that way. Cool. The woman is quickly snatched by two men who seemed friendly enough and I thought, “that was quick and uneventful,” but chalked it up to the film needing a quick hook to sink into viewers. Only problem here was the book wasn’t interesting enough and certainly not a big enough draw to keep people interested. And, let me not get started on the super annoying opening credits. Pause. Pause. Pause. Just let ’em roll!
After this we meet most of the main and supporting cast, including a fucked up, psychotic, kidnapping and raping, maybe slightly incestuous family who will serve as the film’s central villains. And then we see a slightly graphic torture and rape scene. This is when I noticed that things were going downhill. There are two triggers that will make me switch off a horror film, two things that hurt my heart enough to stop watching: animal abuse and rape. I felt no sense of worry and sorrow for the woman being raped, which is usually a topic I’ll avoid because the subject is so brutal and unnerving. It was at this point that I realized my problem with Betrothed, a problem that would plague the film for my entire viewing… It has absolutely no atmosphere, absolutely no tone.
When crafting a horror film of any nature, it takes substantial effort to build an atmosphere that works; one that scares and shocks an audience. The music, the locations, the performances, the camera work – everything has to be in place to touch an audience. You can’t expect them to feel scared and invested in your characters when people are smiling happily and most of the film takes place in a quaint house during the day. Any fear, any stomach churning suspense was absolutely lost here due to whatever decisions were made behind the scenes. This loss of atmosphere completely ruined the movie for me because parts that were supposed to be hair raising and suspenseful were either funny or underacted and almost calming.
Betrothed does not deliver if you’re looking for fright. Kidnapping, light torture and combat violence mixed with tinges of gore does not make a scary movie so much as it makes a thriller. If anything, Betrothed is more of a dark thriller than a scary movie.
Other standards of production weren’t always up to par, too. The acting was either too stiff, too subdued, too funny or something I wouldn’t even call acting so much as just reciting lines. The special effects were top top notch or laughable. Nothing too heinous happens to the main character so there’s never any moments where we need to root for her. It’s funny, but I found the scenes of the mother working with the cops to find her kidnapped daughter much more endearing and interesting than the graphic scenes because I felt that the mother/cop duo was a nice throw back to the dark crime dramas of the 1980’s. My biggest problem, however, is the lack of Bill Oberst Jr. He is far and away one of the biggest actors in the horror game right and he is barely a supporting character here. He was, honestly, one of my biggest reasons for wanting to check out Betrothed because he’s a chameleon that brings a devilish and bloody yet charismatic and charming element to every role he takes on. He keeps that quality going here, but I wanted to see more of him!
Pretty girls and random gore does not make a good horror film. An awesome promo poster and fantastical trailer does not make a good horror film. Atmosphere and a good story makes a good horror film and Betrothed is missing both. Sorry, guys! Final Score: 4.5 out of 10.
