Reviewed By Melissa Antoinette Garza
I am the only one of three people who viewed this film that really enjoyed it. The hubby thought it was “watchable but unimpressive” and my brother fell asleep at the end of it saying, “I didn’t really like what I saw.”
I however disagree with both opinions. I thought the movie was intelligent, enjoyable, and had an excellent cast.
In the beginning, Angela (Rileigh Chalmers) a young girl chases a bunny into the street. From the beginning, I was deeply involved with the rabbit. I own a bunny. His name is Arino BunBun Garza King of the House. He’s actually getting fixed next Thursday as he now finds both my and my husband’s arms way too attractive. He’s a frisky Arino BunBun.
So as a bunny person, I was hoping they wouldn’t hurt the bunny. I remember saying, “take the child but please leave the bunny alone.” Nevertheless, both the child and the rabbit are killed by an oncoming vehicle.
Thirty years later, a group of friends, all with a secret, get into an accident. The driver Kyle (Andrew Macfarlane) suffers an opiate withdrawal and speeds despite pleas from his passengers. The RV flipped over though all survived the incident.
As the vehicle was un-drivable and the only gas station around was closed the group walked until they found an abandoned motel. They decide to rough it and stay the night.
Later, Kyle’s girlfriend Megan (Chalie Howes) confides to her friend Rachel (Chelsey Reist) that she’s pregnant. Petrified and crying, Rachel attempts to reassure her by saying that she too has a secret. Awhile back, she hit a young child who tragically died.
When their friends, Kyle, his brother Spencer (Johnny Hawkes), and Corey (Angel McCord) go to check up on them, they all chase after Megan as she seems most upset. Before leaving Corey asks Rachel if she’s alright, to which she responds she needs a moment to herself.
In that moment, she sees Angela. Believing her to be a real person and not a ghost, she follows her into the street only to get hit by Matthew (Heath Whitelock) a drunk driver.
Soon it is clear that everyone in the motel has a secret. The interesting aspect is that each secret intersects with something that occurred within that motel. Each individual sees the ghosts reenact an action that they themselves have done.
For example, Kyle sees a ghost taking drugs. He then finds morphine and injects into him convinced that the images will stop. Only they become more vivid.
I think the movie really delivers on a lot of levels. The one major aspect it fails in is being scary. There isn’t that moment where the viewers have a reason to pause and revel in the feel of unease. To be fair, this rarely happens in movies nowadays. Most films fall into the realm of cheap scares. To its credit, No Tell Motel doesn’t try this. There are not any cats jumping into a scene or little gray boys with large mouths showing up out of nowhere. I’m thankful for that.
The movie actually attempts to create an atmosphere of discomfort while at the same time telling a story. Even though it doesn’t deliver in the former it most certainly does in the latter. The intertwining stories and revelations throughout the movie are fascinating. For that alone, the movie is worth a watch.
Scared Stiff Rating: 6/10
Arino BunBun is Awesome! See how cute he is.
