By Melissa Antoinette Garza
Nothing Left to Fear is a film based on the myths surrounding Stull, Kansas. Now for those unaware of the urban legends, the movie comes across confusing. Even when one researches the folklore, the film itself still seems rather empty and unoriginal.
Stull is a small town that for years has been stigmatized by horrifying rumors and gossip surrounding occultist behavior. Many consider it one of the seven gateways to hell. The gateway can supposedly be found in the Stull cemetery where steps actually descend to the devil’s inferno. Like most locations that are said to be haunted or to have some darkness linked to it, people have made some outrageous claims. Some are rather common and tame like the assertion that Satanists have used the location for rituals and that odd and terrifying noises have been heard. One of the rumors has to be the most outrageous I’ve ever heard as some have said that Satan himself makes a personal appearance in Stull, Kansas on Halloween night.
Now as absolutely as insane as that sounds, there are a few legitimately reported circumstances that have left horror fans with their interest peaked and believers using the stories to give credence to the more supernatural elements of their claims. One involves a father accidentally setting fire and killing his son. Another is in regards to an Evangelical church that was continuously vandalized.
With all of these interesting elements, it should be incredibly easy to make a decent film. Though the movie didn’t have a huge budget, according to IMDB, they did have 3 million to play with.
More than that, there were talented actors cast as the main characters. Anne Heche played Wendy, the matriarch of the family and Clancy Brown portrayed the clergyman Kingsman.
The basic premise is that Wendy and her husband Dan (James Tupper) who is a pastor relocates to Stull, Kansas. Soon, their children begin to have nightmares. Initially, there was a single creepy sequence where all of the townspeople appeared on the lawn of the new family. Sadly, from there it the demonic manifestations are all the standard CGI nonsense that lacks any creep element whatsoever. It’s the same style entities that have been seen going as far back to The Grudge (2005) and as recent as Grave Encounters (2011). This is on my list of the top three elements wrong with horror today. Thankfully, this wasn’t a torture-porn which is my number one grievance, nor was it another found-footage which is number two. Sadly, it did utilize these dreadful gray ghosts that have black holes for eyes and for some reason ooze out black blood. They’re not scary but simply just annoying and cheesy.
It’s like there is one CGI douchebag designing these awful things. Their mouths are often way too large and like their eyes it is simply a large gaping hole.
Overall, nothing is explained in this movie. The reasoning with the town’s participation is not gone into. It’s almost like it was going for an ending similar to The Last Excorcism (2010) but at least in that, the cult was explained in minor detail. Here it isn’t at all.
One can certainly read into what they want depending on how much research they do or how much knowledge they have of the town, but even so it’s all conjecture. It’s as if the filmmakers didn’t know how to end their film, so left it up to the audience to finish it for them.
What makes this so much worse is that it had everything to work with. It had such a neat storyline to go by. True old-school Satanists, the likes of Race with the Devil (1975) could have been shown. Instead, we have nothing. We have these townspeople alluding that sacrifices are used for the greater-good without ever explaining what the greater-good is.
Also, at one point the entire town meets up and surrounds the family. It would’ve been so cool if they were all dressed up in suits or old style tuxedos to give it a Rosemary’s Baby (1968) vibe. Instead, the townspeople were in jeans and t-shirts. If this was supposed to be a religious gathering or event, which I’m guessing it was, shouldn’t they have been dressed for the occasion? It at least would’ve made it creepier.
Overall, I can’t suggest this movie. I want to. After learning about this small town, I hope other filmmakers with a real vision tackle it as it may make for a good movie.
Scared Stiff Review: 3.5
