Plasterhead

Plasterhead

Starring Kathryn Merry, Joshua Macuga, Ernest Dancy, Raine Brown

Directed by Kevin Higgins

The Story:
While heading to Miami for Spring Break, friends Maggie (Kathryn Merry), Steve (Joshua Macuga), David (Ernest Dancy), and Audra (Raine Brown) take a detour through a small West Virginia town, where David finds a woman's purse in a field.  Maggie and Steve want to return it to its owner, but no one in town seems to know where the address is, and for good reason.

There's a local legend known as Plasterhead, an African American man who was lynched by a drunken mob years earlier and left for dead, but instead he survived and has a terribly scarred face, and he lives in an abandoned home and hunts down anyone who enters his premises, which is what happens to the four travelers, as they find themselves in the killer's house with little to no means of escape.

The Synopsis:
Independent horror films are a dime a dozen, and I can appreciate a director's vision for wanting to bring his creation to life despite having a minimal budget.  First time writer/director Kevin Higgins introduces the world to his own unique killer named Plasterhead, and while the premise was admirable, the execution was poor, giving way to a very mundane, forgettable, and surprisingly gore-less horror film.

In a small West Virginia town, an African American man was beaten and left for dead, but he survived and now has a terribly deformed face.  He lives in an abandoned home where the locals fear to tread, because he'll kill them.  For four friends driving through heading to Miami, this ends up the house they go to after they run out of gas, and go in search of a girl whose purse they found on the side of the street.  Plasterhead now has some fresh prey to hunt.

The film itself is a tired mess of cliches and poor editing (it was distracting when we see the kids driving the car, but the brand of the car is blurred out), coupled with strange performances and a horror film devoid of actual horror.  The scenic landscape was the only saving grace to this film, as it was reminiscent to me of growing up in the country during the fall season with dying trees, light snow, and bright sunny days.

The actors flip from boring speeches to over-the-top pronouncements, and the fact that they're traveling to Miami from New Jersey (since the kid's car has Jersey plates) really doesn't make sense, since West Virginia doesn't lie between those two destinations - well, it does, but it's a long way off from the easier route.  We got the four typical stereotypes of a film like this, with some well-meaning but completely cliched supporting characters that try to spice things up - from the local sheriff with a past to hide to a waitress who knows everything about the town, and a couple of town drunks who know all the urban legends, they each try to heighten the film above a mediocre wannabe-slasher film, but all fail miserably.

The story of Plasterhead is reminiscent of a classic horror villain: Candyman.  Both were African American men who were killed by white antagonists (well, Plasterhead was beaten and left for dead, but he seemed to have moments of supernatural strength), and both have pained pasts that make you feel for them even though they're the bad guys, but that's where the similarities end.  This villain is forgettable and boring, while Candyman is legendary.

The film doesn't run too long, but there's several moments of pure boredom as the film focuses on only four victims instead of a slew of them (if you discount the random townies who get it by Plasterhead for some unknown reason), and none of the characters have anything memorable about them.  Steve is the leader of the pack, while his girlfriend Maggie is the social conscience.  David just wants to have a good time, while Audra is the typical slutty girl.  Again, nothing extraordinary there.

As I said earlier, the best part to me was the cinematography, as you really get the good natured small-town feel here, as the town they go to has one gas station (that of course doesn't have gas), a local diner, and several tree-lined roads with fields.  It's a beautiful slice of Americana, even if it's a town with a deadly secret.

One final thing that bugged me about the film: the friends run out of gas (as we clearly see the needle pointing to "E"), yet they manage to drive around for hours afterward without incident.  Also, it's pretty funny to remember this film was released in 2006, so when they get lost, they don't pull out their Google maps on their phone, but an actual paper map.  I wonder if anyone even knows how to use them still.

The Summary:
Beautiful landscape only goes so far, and while "Plasterhead" has some great scenery, the remainder of the film is an easily forgettable urban legend film about a killer you'll never remember.

The Score: D+