Once again, director Joe Patnaud delves into more horrific subject material.  I've previously seen his superbly executed Friday The 13th fan film, The Cold Heart of Crystal Lake, and more recently, his short tale of road rage gone awry in Roadkill.  After these two, you can see Joe's potential, but there have been some minor nit-picks abound in these.  But now comes Snuff, a demented story about a psychotic director who lures young ripe talent to audition for his films, but there's more than a killer performance he wants out of you - he wants blood, he wants madness, he wants fear, he wants realistic, murderous cinema!

Heather Lee and Leah Nigro play Bobbi and Tonya, respectively.  Both young ladies are quite attractive and drop dead sexy (I'm really trying to lay off the puns, I swear), and are desperate to make a breakthrough in their acting careers.  Thus, they take auditions from a director that is very intense, passionate, and clearly off-balance, to say the very least.  William DeCoff portrays 'the Director' to maniacal perfection.  You can see the madness circling in his eyes, and the cackling dementia in his voice.  I absolutely loved his performance, found him to be completely out of his mind, and enjoyed every second of it!  He absolutely and completely enveloped himself into this character, and I can only imagine how intense and creepy he'll be in Timberwolf's Forced Survival.  There's not enough I can say about DeCoff here because it was such an entertaining portrayal, but there are other cast members also deserving of much praise.  All of the ladies churn out fantastic work, and are excellent screamers.  They are lovely, but put forth strong, talented performances that they should be proud of, and Jude Pucillo does a very understated, but intimidating and effective job as the masked 'Assistant'.  He might make a good Jason Voorhees or Michael Myers, if given the opportunity.  He hit some nice body language cues that were very good parallels with those silent slasher icons.  He definitely had a good on-screen presence, and I can only imagine what he could do with a larger role.

I originally only saw this 13 minute short via a Windows Media file, and so, picture quality wasn't the best to comment on lightning and such.  But now, I have the official Detour Into Madness, Vol. 1 DVD, and I can tell you the lighting here is absolutely fantastic!  The erie green lightning helped give the indoor tormenting scenes a powerful, surreal quality.  Even the exterior nighttime scenes have good lighting which gives you just enough because too much light in such an environment can be terrible.  This proper light level retains the heavy, brooding and maniacal tone set forth early on.  The camera work was solid and consistent, and the few times you see through the proverbial 'eyes' of the director's handheld camcorder, it really blends well into the tone of the short.  I very much liked the kind of framing used here as it's never so tight that people move out of frame with the slightest movement.  There's a lot of handheld camera work, bringing an unsteadiness to the feel of each scene - which is quite appropriate for the twisted mindset of the Director, and the frightening mindset of these young ladies.  All in all, this short looks very good with perfect locations and great lighting, and that's a critique off of a Windows Media Video file - imagine it in crystal clear quality! Snuff also sounds very good, too!

Mark D'Errico's score is chilling and understated.  Again, as with Roadkill, there are several slasher movie stingers, but most of the score is more low key, just adding a slight bit more to the dementia of DeCoff's wickedly sadistic character.  All the music is top-notch, and again, I find it to be a powerful asset to these latest Timberwolf releases.  It works perfectly with the tone and style of the movie, enhancing the terror, madness, and suspense in every scene.  The only nit-pick I had with anything in Snuff was the lack of sound effects to go along with the axe hits, but apparently, Joe has changed that as they are now present in the Detour DVD.  On the WMV file I had, the volume was a little low as I didn't have external speakers, but on the official DVD release, the volume was easily adjustable to a plentiful level.  So, the score definitely sounded better now that I could really feel its power, and those high pitched screams will definitely force you to jump in your seat - they certainly were loud on my system.

As far as the SFX go, they were all executed very well.  There's some very nice gore here, and it's all up to Timberwolf's excellent standards.  The blood is of a rich color, and even though the short isn't a bloodbath or as gory as Cold Heart, the kills and gore will satisfy general fans of the genre.  Not much else to say about that, it's all good, solid work (as with everything else in this short).

All in all, this was a very well-scripted and well-executed short that will leave you clamouring for more, and that's why I'm rating this one short of perfect.  There was such an abundance of fertile ground to flesh this short out to such grander levels that it feels a little rushed.  We don't get to know any of the characters very well because we delve straight into the thick of the plot so quickly.  Though, I've been reassured that a feature length remake is in the works, and I anxiously await it because Snuff has mounds of potential to become a MAJOR hit for Joe Patnaud and Timberwolf Entertainment!  I highly reccommend Snuff to everybody because it is Joe Patnaud's best work yet, and he's got a wonderful cast including the show-stealing William DeCoff.  It's too bad that this short didn't make it onto Fangoria's Blood Drive II DVD, but with a short this good, it will eventually get the praise and attention it deserves - and hopefully this review is the start of it.  It's a 9 out of 10!

Revelations is an unusual product from Timberwolf Entertainment.  Fans of the company definitely know of its heavy focus on horror movies (with heavy influences from 80s slasher flicks), but the power players in TWE have made it known that they desire to move into other genres to keep their horizons wide and interesting.  So, with that thought, this short from director Joe Patnaud, and written by the short's stars, Jessica Sonneborn and Stephen Hludzik, is a fresh departure for the company.  I now own the Detour Into Madness, Vol. 1 DVD, and I feel this short wasn't in the proper company here.  Surrounded by a group of strong horror shorts, some with supernatural elements to them, and others with amazingly powerful performances, Revelations becomes a victim here of hardcore horror fanatics.  But before I go further, I will lay out the simple premise for this one.

Stephen Hludzik portrays a young religious man that is in a constant struggle with temptation, but has always had his religious beliefs to support him.  He holds strong within his six month long relationship with his very liberal girlfriend (Jessica Sonneborn), but on this day, she comes over to study for school with him alone.  On this day, his inhabitions will be tested and his grip on reality will slip.  Can he remain pure of heart, soul, and body?

Now, as I was saying, this finely crafted short seems a bit out of place with the horror heavy company on this disc, and so, the intended target audience of this compilation might rag on it because of their preconceived mindsets.  What Revelations is, is a psychological thriller.  It doesn't go into complete mania like American Psycho, but that's because this deals with lustful temptation, and not sociopathic madness.  Both Jessica and Stephen do fine jobs here.  These aren't written as intense roles, and so, it's all about repressed emotions and awkward intimate situations.  These two play off each other very, very well, and because they wrote the script, they know the characters they're playing.  They know what they intended when they wrote this, and are aware of the mental and emotional states of these characters.  Of course, Jessica's roles in the fantasy sequences are very juicy, very seductive.  She is a greatly sexy and beautiful woman that proves she has acting talent to envy as well.  Stephen plays his character's timidness very well, he's very unsure of how to deal with his internal conflict, and Stephen really exudes that in his body language.  His voice over work was well done, too.

I found the lighting here very intriguing.  The short starts off very calm and average with natural lighting, allowing everyone to feel comfortable here, but then, the seductive fantasy sequences pop in and out.  The mysterious red lighting and heavy shadow creates a surreal world that ropes you in just as the lingere-leaden Jessica goes to seduce Stephen.  This creates a wonderful, deep contrast between the two worlds within this young man's mind.  He's being torn apart by these temptations, and the fantasy world is dark, intense, and alluring while reality is very calm, tame, and soothing.  This natural lighting helps to set up that heavy contrast, and director Joe Patnaud does it well.  This lighting intensifies the short's effectiveness.

This score from Mark D'Errico is different from the other work I have heard from him in other TWE shorts, but that's because this is a different style of motion picture.  Mark goes down a more percussive and rock guitar type of road instead of the brooding orchestral style score, and it seems to work well.  It's unexpected, but it really aids those intense moments of emotional turmoil.  All in all, it's a very welcomed change that shows Mr. D'Errico has a fine range as a composer and musician.

Finally, the editing is top notch here.  The way Patnaud cuts from reality to fantasy is excellent, and the tones and pace are never uneven.  This whole short flows very well, and all of the various elements mesh quite well.  Although, I must say that the ending was anti-climactic.  It lacked a true emotional resolution, or a display of the consequences of this young man's actions.  Even the voice over came off as kind of an "oh well, no big deal" reaction.  I watched the alternate ending on the DVD, and I'm divided on it.  It works on a shock level, but ultimately is out of place in this short which demonstrated no supernatural elements before that point.  This alternate ending would fit better with the theme of this compilation, but that should not dictate what's best for the movie.  I think the problem is that there's not a whole lot of story here to warrant a large resolution.  It was more of an intimate character sketch which you can take what you want from it.  I won't get into philosophical territory, but I believe the working title for this short says enough "temptation is a bitch!"

All in all, I feel it's difficult to rate this one properly because, as I stated earlier, I believe it was misplaced in this collection.  You get to watch all these other shorts that are heavy in horror, some with supernatural elements, others with slasher mentalities, and then, there's this small, intimate psychological piece about lust and temptation - not about blood, guts, and gore.  It's not about scaring you or slamming you with brutal violence.  So, it's difficult to shut that out and focus on just the qualities of this short, but I will try here.  The acting was superb, the lighting and editing was great, the direction was great, but the resolution was unsatisfying.  I believe it works better than Roadkill, but can't touch Snuff (but few can).  I will allot Revelations an 8 out of 10.  If this was to be a longer picture, a bigger, slower build up of temptations with Mr. Hludzik's character would make this a much stronger piece, and thus, would allow and warrant a bigger resolution.  There's much to enjoy here if you don't allow the rest of Detour Into Madness, Vol. 1 to put you into the wrong mindset.  Much praise to Patnaud, Sonneborn, and Hludzik for what they did accomplsih here, and for the great talent they displayed in this short.

From independent / microbudget production company Timberwolf Entertainment comes an anthology of horror / thriller shorts entitled Detour Into Madness, Vol. 1.  It's been in the making for a while, but finally, it's coming to completion.  Fortunate for FH, TWE sent us a screener for the short Roadkill.  This one is brought to us by writer / director Joe Patnaud (The Cold Heart of Crystal Lake), and there are good things to say and some unfortuante nitpicks about this short.  I do consider myself friends with the main Timberwolf camp including Tim Whitfield and Joe Patnaud, but they wouldn't want some biased review.  So, this surely will not be that.  Also, this is the first real microbudget production I've ever reviewed, and so, I have to apply different standards to it.  Anyway, enough of this rambling.

The premise for this short is quite simple.  Jenny (Danielle Lozeau) is leaving school in her car, and of course, she's downing a bit of alcohol along the way.  Also while driving, she talks on her cell phone, and tosses her empty bottle out the window - more or less being a high-speed road hazard.  Of course, the worst happens - she accidentally runs down a pedestrian (Kevin Cirone).  Instead of helping the injured man, she stashes the body in the woods and goes about her way, but the pedestrian is not resting among the foilage.  He has returned for revenge, and won't stop haunting Jenny until he has gotten it.

What caught my attention right from the start was Mark D'Errico's score.  The main title music is very jammin' and certainly put a smile on this metalhead's face.  Though, the score is actually very slasher-like with a moody feeling and some stingers here and there.  All in all, it had a very high production value, and I encourage everyone to grab the Detour Into Madness score CD when it's released in the near future.  Next, I enjoyed the cinematography quite a lot.  It had some interesting shots, some nice use of push-ins, and basically, the camera work was very pelasing and never dull.  Also, the lighting was very balanced, and never dull or flat.  The red lighting used with some of Cirone's shots was certainly effective.  Both light and shadow was used well in the climax, and you're never left staring into the darkness trying to discern what you're looking at.  For a critical nit-picker like me, the editing stands up superbly - except in one spot.  Since this is a potential spoiler, I'll black it out so to preserve your freshness before viewing. The broken beer bottle kill lacked verocity.  I noted this type of editing flaw with The Cold Heart of Crystal Lake.  This isn't just an editing problem, but how it was executed or performed.  Basically, when the broken bottle is jabbed into the neck of the victim, the thrust was a little slow, it didn't have any force behind it.  This could be made better through a quicker edit, but it's basically a combination of how the thrust was performed and how it was edited.

The acting is solid here.  Both Danielle and Kevin do flawless work here, and even writer / director Joe Patnaud's bit part was done well.  His struggle with Kevin could've been more intense, maybe throw in some fight choreography, but it's effective nonetheless.  Again, these are mere nit-picks that most wouldn't even take note of, but like I said, I'm a critical nit-picker.  Anyway, the acting here is not at all campy or of amatuer quality.  Definite talent was employed in front of the camera, and that means a great deal in the microbudget / independent movie community.  Danielle has a very pleasing look and quality to her despite her character walking a thin line between someone you fear for, and someone who has her fair share of dark justice coming to her.  Kevin has acting chops, and doesn't play his role with any clichés or one-liners (which is refreshing).  Though, there are some nit-picks of how his character was executed that I'll get to later on.  Now, the special makeup effects gracing the right side of Kevin's face are perfectly gruesome!  Your eyes are attracted to that bloody and scarred side of his face, and not the far more good-looking features upon his left.  Major credit goes to Raven for these top notch effects!  There are also some visual effects shots here that are basically as best as anyone can get at this level of movie making (in other words, Adobe After Effects).  So, there's nothing bad to say about them.

Now, I was uncertain about whether Kevin Cirone's scarred killer was still alive, or if he had risen from the proverbial grave.  I suppose that comes from the fact that most slashers are undead like Jason Voorhees, Candyman, or Freddy Krueger.  Then, there's Michael Myers who, despite sustaining countless fatal injuries, never dies.  So, that line wasn't particularly clear to me, but doesn't really bother me.  A sequel of sorts is being developed which certainly will make such lines much more clear cut.  Some may state that anyone who gets run over by a car must be dead, but some people can survive a hit n' run even with much delayed medical attention.  But I'm getting too analytical and boring.  Though, I have since been made aware that this killer is not killed in the hit 'n run, thus there's no supernatural back-from-the-dead twist here.

My final comments concern what I felt was a lack of menace with Cirone's character.  His performance is very good, but I was expecting a different execution.  I was hoping for the character to be more like a foreboading spectre, being seen less and playing him up more in atmosphere and the haunting phone calls.  I personally believe that adds more to tension, but that's simply my preference.  Either that or play him up as more crazed or demented like the unseen killer in Black Christmas.  Since learning that this killer is actually alive, but sustained brain damage from the hit n' run accident, this might be more logical and intriguing.

All in all, this was a coherent piece of work that will entertain any fan of the genre for 16 minutes and some odd seconds.  I give it an 7.5 out of 10 because it is quite a solid piece of work, but there are some very minor flaws here and there.  Also, it's not as tense as I expected it to be, but is still effective for what Patnaud seemed to be going for.  Being such a major and long-time Timberwolf fan and supporter, my expectations are always high for any of their products (maybe too high).  So even though, Roadkill didn't live up to my exceptionally high expectations, it did not disappoint me.  For anyone else, this will quite surely please, and is no doubt worth purchasing the entire Detour Into Madness, Vol. 1 DVD when it's released in the next few weeks.

This "bonus" short from Tim Whitfield on the Detour Into Madness, Vol. 1 DVD has a not too original premise involving a bunch of young girls and a Oujia board.  There have been numerous movies where a group of unsuspecting people conjure up evil spirits or something of the like, and they happen to regret it not too long afterwards.  Though, I tend to give Timberwolf leeway to impress me with something original, if not in story development, at least in execution.  Unfortunately, I really didn't feel this was the strongest work anyone involved was capable of.  There's not much need for a synopsis rundown since I pretty much did so, but I'll get a little more specific.

Danielle Lozeau, Katherine Ryan, & Molly Cranna are presented in the roles of three girls that choose to spend a night tinkering with a doorway to the other side and drink down a few beers.  Tensions build between them all throughout the night as very personal issues are revealed while strange messages come through via this mystical spirit board, and what they eventually discover through it leaves them in grim disbelief.

First off, Director Whitfield had some solid talent to work with here throughout the production, and the quality shows through.  Joe Patnaud's lighting was superb and subtle.  He doesn't go for any stark or stylized lighting like in most of his own directorial works, and that subtlety is what works best here.  Though, some of the framing was not to my liking.  For the kitchen scenes, there were too many close-ups, and only for a few seconds does the environment get exposed to us.  This sort of framing makes things feel claustrophobic and uncomfortable for an audience, and that's not how I felt these scenes were meant to be played out.  The framing made me feel like things were getting extremely tense, like a life or death situation kind of tension, and it seemed very wrong for the scene.  I could be wrong, but that's simply how I felt.  On the better side, the editing was smooth, and the pace was very consistent.  Much respect on that front.

All three ladies did top quality work here, and no line ever seemed poorly executed.  Danielle shows some good range from her role in Roadkill, and is very easy on the eyes.  She has strength and conviction here.  Ryan & Cranna were good counter-weights to her character, and helped give this short a nice balance in character personality.  Whitfield's direction of them was very good, very leveled giving no one more attention than the other, and I felt the characters were solidly presented and executed.  Even Whitfield and Patnaud have brief cameos here at the start and end, respectively, but they're so short that there's nothing to comment on.

Where this short falls, well short, is the actual script.  It's not poorly written, it's not of terrible quality, it's just not very original or interesting.  It's also rather predictable as well.  Between the opening and ending, there's very little to snag your interest in the story.  Danielle, Katherine, and Molly are great acting talents, but the script just veers off into "you screwed my boyfriend" territory which you can see on any soap opera (or any Aaron Spelling show on FOX).  The entire situation with the spirit board becomes very secondary to the characters' personal battles with each other, and really, the board only serves as a tool for the twist ending.  You could take everything else, stick it into anything from a Friday The 13th film to an episode of Beverly Hills, 90210 and it would fit in perfectly fine.  It's not bad writing, it's just a poorly conceived premise.

Finally, Mark D'Errico again kicks my ass with another superb scoring job.  He was worth every cent Timberwolf paid for his musical services, and I surely hope they continue to call on him for their future projects.  He deserves all the exposure he can get so that, one day, he can be scoring real major motion pictures.  He has the talent and it shows!

All in all, this isn't a terrible short, it's not a waste either.  Everyone involved in the production had great talent, and it shows.  The acting, direction, lighting, scoring, editing, and so forth were solid.  But you can't have a stellar movie without an interesting script, and that what's lacking here.  Granted, this is a heavily tread concept, but it has room for improvement and fresh ideas.  Unfortunately, this story has probably been played out on The Twlight Zone a few times, and really couldn't rope me in.  It lacked an intensity in atmosphere, and a focus in exactly what story it was trying to tell.  One might say that, story wise, it just has the twist ending going for it, but we've seen this twist countless times.  I could list examples, but I won't blatantly spoil anything for you.  So, with the very fine talent involved, it saves my rating of it from being too low.  I give it a 6 out of 10 because it looks great, sounds great, is acted great, and directed great.  It's just not written particularly well.