Cool Air

Cool Air

Starring Morgan Weisser, Crystal Green, Wendy Phillips, Jenny Paulin

Directed by Albert Pyun

Down-and-out screenwriter Charles Baxter (Morgan Weisser) is trying to re-vitalize his former greatness, but right now he's poor and settles for living in a room in a house belonging to Mrs. Baxter (Wendy Phillips) and her autistic daughter Estella (Jenny Paulin).  Upon moving in, he realizes there is an odd neighbor upstairs who keeps an air conditioner at 55 degrees, which sometimes condensates into his room, along with a pundit smell. 

One day Charles suffers a heart attack and is rescued by the reclusive neighbor, who turns out to be a doctor, Dr. Shockner (Crystal Green), who brings him back to life, and then tells him a story most bizarre and horrific, and how he now must continue the story.

Taken from a short story written by the brilliant horror author H.P. Lovecraft, this direct-to-DVD version has some mild hits, but unfortunately some bigger misses.

First the hits:
-Narration: Lovecraft often wrote his stories in a tone that seems like it's being told from a person writing in a journal.  The majority of the film is told in voice-over by Charles, and he tells the story in a very monotone way that eerily comforts you and pulls you into the tale.
-Style: The film has an odd Hitchcock-style flair, with a small cast, set in a very confined area, which really drives home the eerie nature of the overall film.

Now the misses:
-Acting:  Horrible, horrible acting, especially since 90% of the speaking was done in voice-over (and I'm sure while reading a script).  None of the actors show any emotion or have any influx in voice, it just seems like a very wooden representation.
-Effects: The film was probably done on a micro budget, but that's no excuse for releasing a completely underdeveloped effects story. 
-Subplot: Lovecraft's short story was only eight pages long, so to make a film that, even clocking in at 70 minutes, the director had to add certain licenses to the story, but including a potential love tale between Charles and Estella (whom Charlie refers to as a "hot autistic") seems pointless, and in the end leads absolutely nowhere.

If you want to be scared by the story, I advise reading the actual story, and avoiding this dull and lifeless (if you're a fan of Lovecraft, you'll get the irony there) take on it.

My Rating: C-