By Geno McGahee
I have seen a lot of paranormal activity/haunted house sort of low budget horror movies lately. They haven’t been very good. In fact, they have been terrible. So, I had the opportunity to watch a movie by Rocky Karlage called “THE FARM,” and it has its fair share of good points and its fair share of bad points. Unlike the other paranormal experiences of the low budget kind that I’ve had, this one didn’t make me feel like throwing my Blu ray player out of the window.
We have Johnny (John Chiara) and his wife, Estella (Leya Siri). Johnny is coming back from the military and they head up to a farmhouse to get away but this farmhouse is haunted by the worst CGI I’ve seen in quite some time. Whoever did the CGI went a little bit crazy and had to be a beginner. As I was getting into the story, we would see some terrible CGI and it just took away from it.
Johnny is built like a brick shithouse and the producer exploits that by having him run around topless and in tight-fitting muscle shirts. It’s hard to believe that any ghost would want to fuck with him, but they do, and soon the couple is seeing things, encountering slamming doors while they are trying to take a leak, and dealing with annoying green fog that keeps creeping into their bedroom.
After a dog attack, the duo gets an Ouija board to speak to the spirit and the spirit doesn’t pull any punches. It informs them that it is evil. This scene carries on way too long. They are playing with the board for an eternity it seems.
Eventually, the spirits take their vengeance in this ‘true story’ and the young couple pays the price in a big way.
THE FARM is a short film (46 minutes or so) that isn’t bad but doesn’t do anything that is memorable or unique. This is a very basic ghost story with too much emphasis on post-production CGI/effects. It would have been better and more believable had they gone old school and done the practical effects that those without the option of CGI use. I know I keep going back to the CGI but it’s just not good. There’s even a scene where a car speeds away and smoke is added to the tires and it just doesn’t look right. When this film was completed there should have been somebody raising a hand and saying that the CGI needed to go.
I have to say that Chiara has a lot of potential as an actor, but it may not be as the love interest in a horror movie. He should be pointing toward action star. I kept waiting for him to throw people through windows and kick in doors. If they make a BEST OF THE BEST 5, then they should recruit him as the new bad guy that they have to take down. I will not be surprised if Chiara gets recruited to be in an action flick in the near future. His performance here was a mixed bag. He delivered well with the exception of some of the emotional stuff.
Siri did pretty well as the wife. She came off warm and genuine, but again, the emotional stuff didn’t sell well. When she is screaming about the ghost in the bathroom and Chiara is holding her, neither brought it home well, but overall, they both were pretty good in their roles and both show potential for future projects. I look forward to seeing them both in their next projects.
This is a mixed bag people. Although it has its fair share of shortcomings, it has a great deal of heart and ambition from both the producer and the actors involved. The heart can be felt as you watched it. The story is a little too basic and (AGAIN) the special effects take you right out of it…and some of the transitional effects from scene to scene are annoying. You will enjoy the farm is you like the PARANORMAL ACTIVITY films and have an appreciation for low budget horror. I am 50% there.
Rating: 5/10 – Para-Farmal Activity
WOW! your review is totally of the rack! It is obvious to me that you have no idea how to review a movie. You missed the entire synopsis of the film. Did you have something against the film makers of the farm? Yes the special affects needed work but the story line was good and the character had a full ark. So i do not know what you were looking for in this story that made you be so hateful. Good luck destroying your next indie film..
You are an idiot. Obviously, you are associated with this film and cannot take an honest review.
Just to clarify, Estella the wife was played by two different actresses in this movie. Through the first part of the movie she is played by Alana Kaniewski.
It is a tribute to how well Leya Siri did in stepping into the role after Kaniewski had to unexpectedly leave the project in mid production because you didn’t even notice.
Ghostwalk: The Farm was filmed on a shoestring budget by the production staff who worked hard to produce a movie that has since won several Independent movie awards. The movie has its shortcomings as does every movie, but I think you could really feel the heart and passion that was put into making this movie by some first timers.
This was John Chiara first movie project. Chiara came from a theater background, but I think he adapted well to working on camera and I agree that he should be headed for an action movie career.
As I said and you said as well, there are some flaws in the movie and I think as the Ghostwalk Productions moves forward, they will learn from the mistakes and the flaws.
Chiara was interviewed on Scared Stiff prior to the review of this film and I was aware of his background and think that he has potential..and I do think that my review was fair and gave both the good and the bad. If I wrote a review that was all rainbows and butterflies and was just shining the knob of the filmmakers, I would be doing a disservice to the filmmakers and my readers. Quintanilla apparently wants me to just focus on the good and not point out what I see. I noted the heart in the film in my review, but I will point out what I feel is good and bad…and if that is a problem, then filmmakers should not send me their movie to review. I appreciate your comments. I wish you well on the future productions and will be honest should I review those. Why would ANYONE want a fake positive review?
Thanks again for the comments… EVERY Production has one complete idiot mixed in there and he’s posted already…so I suspect that the rest of the comments here will be constructive and positive.
Just to clarify, Joe Quintanilla was not involved in the production of Ghostwalk: The Farm in any capacity.
You don’t strike me as a the kind of reviewer he feels he neads to make a name for himself by being sharp tongued and scathing no matter what. You made valid points in your review and an honest review such as yours obviously was meant to be is the only way that a film production company can improve their product.
Good film makers know that each project is a learning experience and they when to listen to honest critique.
Thanks much. I appreciate the information too. I assumed that he must have been involved because of his hateful attack.
I did see a lot of promise in THE FARM and I think I made that clear. I’m a filmmaker as well and it took a negative review of FAMILY SECRET, my film, to see something that was correct and that I didn’t see. Any critique that is honest is a good one.
Good luck with the film and hopefully this complete idiot will not open his mouth again.