Director – Anthony David (The Body, Double Down)
Starring – Xander Goldman (Camp Pleasant Lake, Human Hibachi 3: The Last Supper), Felissa Rose (The Barn Part III, The Boy from Below), and Denny Nolan (Death Count, Blood Witch)
Release Date – 2023
Rating – 2.5/5
I find some indie horror flicks from just browsing different hashtags on Instagram or checking the posts in a few horror groups on Facebook. I’ve found some seriously awesome indie movies this way over the years. A couples weeks back I was browsing Facebook when I found a post from Xander Goldman about the indie horror film Macabre Mountain hitting Tubi. Somewhere in the post it was mentioned that the film was shot in West Virginia. I was very interested in the film then as I’m West Virginia born and raised. I added it to my watch list and hit play on it when I finally found the time.
**Spoiler Alert** The film follows a small town who plans on opening a haunted attraction on the site where 11, or 12, children were murdered as part of a cult ritual. Now, a pair of paranormal podcasters and a former model are attending along with the other haunt fans and locals only to discover that the one responsible for the murders is back and his followers will do anything for him. **Spoiler Alert**
I went into this one really excited to check it out. A West Virginia horror film with my buddy Robert Mukes really had my attention. It wasn’t until I hit started watching it that I saw that it also featured Dave Sheridan as well. Sadly, the movie just couldn’t pull it all together into something enjoyable.
The acting in this one is is very uneven and not that consistent. We have an overdramatic performance from Sleepaway Camp’s Felissa Rose that feels very out of place which the same can be said for Sheridan. His performance was funny and added a lot of humor to the scene but his character just doesn’t fit the tone of the film. Mukes does a solid job but I feel as if her was underutilized here and his character was not fully developed. The supporting cast is just as inconsistent as these with several showing very little on screen experience.
The story for this one sounds like something straight out of my wet dreams. A murder sometime ago, a corrupt preacher and his demented followers, and true-crime junkies looking for some unheard information about it all. It sounds amazing on paper but what we have is a film that struggles with pacing where too much time is spent on pointless dialogue and unnecessary character development. Some of the most random, throw away characters have more screen time than those essential to the story. Honestly, I believe that about 30 minutes could be trimmed from this one without effecting the story.
Finally, we have some blood and minor practical effects but neither stand out here. The deaths we get are not as gruesome as most other genre titles and the effects are not creative. Overall, Macabre Mountain had me really excited to check it out but was quick to show it just didn’t have wait it takes to make it fun. The film has a lot of inconsistencies which held it back. I seriously wanted to like it but I’d be lying if I said I did. Skip it.
