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Your Gateway to Music and More from a Christian Perspective Slow down as you approach the gate, and have your change ready.... |
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Empty
Acre
Stars: Jennifer Plas, John Wilson, Robert Paisley, Ari Bavel, Ric Averill, Robert Campbell, and LaDonna Schmidt Director/Scriptwriter: Patrick Rea Music: Don James SenoReality Pictures Running Time: 90 minutes Not Rated Reviewed at Kansas International Film Festival (KIFF) 2006 Working within a limited budget, a great deal of ingenuity can be used in making a film. Here is Empty Acre, a modern horror story that is similar to an H. P. Lovecraft tale. Scriptwriter Patrick Rea takes the idea of “something” that lives in the soil and literally sucks the life out of anything near it and moves said story to the rural Midwest. You will never know if there is a drought in your area, or that particular “something” creeping around at night. The film was shot in Kansas. Empty Acre begins with scenes of a happy wedding and then goes to the couple Beth and Jacob (Jennifer Plas and John Wilson), now living in a rural community and with a new baby boy. While Beth tries to adapt to her new life, Jacob grows sullen and starts spending time in town at the local bar. The camera pans the town and we see “Missing” posters everywhere, people and pets. One night, the baby is missing from his room and panic sets in. The parents and police search but to no avail. The audience sees that “something” dark and sinister is creeping around at night and when this happens, someone goes missing. You’d think law enforcement would figure out something is wrong with so many “Missing” posters plastering the town, but no, the story continues with Beth getting despondent and Jacob more controlling. Eventually, Beth gives a stranger (John Paisley) a ride into town. Anyone else would say “no way,” but Beth has a soft heart, but we know she will need a strong stomach, too. Empty Acre has good camera work, which utilizes the Kansas prairie. Acting is well done, also. Jennifer Plas is an effective Beth who, with a missing baby, is under great strain. John Wilson’s Jacob is an unusual man. You don’t know if he is naturally controlling, or under the influence of the “something” in the ground. The stranger’s lurking about is frightening, but we start to understand the “why” of his behavior. All in all, Empty Acre brings a horror situation to the audience, which could have been shortened by ten minutes with fewer scenes of Beth in the fields in her nightgown, setting up situations for the “something” to appear and scenes of parched earth. We get it. Copyright 2006 Marie Asner
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