To start off, I’d like to thank S & Drive Cinema and Writer/Director Richard Stringham for granting me early access to the online screener of his debut feature film ‘Close Calls.’ ”Close Calls” is a hypnotic horror thriller film that follows Morgan, a heavily troubled teenage girl played by a stunning Jordan Phipps. Having to deal with a drug problem, a nagging grandmother living in the attic, and a father constantly grounding her, Morgan has to cope with her ever deteriorating mental state. Oh let’s not forget about Robbie, the boy who set her off in the first place. And of course, there’s Corey Terrence, the boy who seems madly in love with her. Is he the perverted caller constantly ringing the McKenzie house? Or is it just Morgan and her copious drug use? Alongside, the film also stars Greg Fallon, Carmen Patterson, and Star McCann.
Before diving into Close Calls, Richard and I had some lengthy and informative conversations regarding film and it did not take long for me to find out that was also a cinephile, as evidenced by the ideas that went into Close Calls. Stringham is a guy inspired by a multitude of different genres and facets, something that’s evident in the various homages and nods in here to all things horror and its sub-genres. To begin with, it was the striking poster art inspired by the 80s that piqued my interest, and after some research, I found out the film’s obvious gallon (one of my favorite genres) influences, and I was sold. The introductory titles are shown in a nice and girlish pink color and the font is 70s in style, which makes it look wonderful. Craig Wynn, a first time cinematographer, is introduced to the film with a couple of ingenious focus pulls and some basic establishing shots that serve to capture the mood of the film early on. He is still under Stringham’s instruction, but he deserves a ton of credit for such great camera work.
The sequence after the title card features neat framing and quick zooms typical in the works of Sergio Martino (Torso) and the cult classic “Pieces.” In addition, an inventive flipped shot and the obligatory knife POV shot were also present, and quite cool. My favorite scenes would have to be the gentle tracking shots of Morgan walking around the house. One of my favorite moments is when she walks toward the phone that is incessantly ringing. Argento’s work in “Suspiria” comes to mind when considering the lighting. In “Suspiria” and this film, the light is harsh and red, or blue. Additionally, there are some harsh sounds that build in the mix, which are similar to Argento’s masterpiece too. There are also some impressive set pieces considering how limited the budget was, along with some clever lighting tricks like the bathroom and mirror scene. The special effects makeup work is proficient but not something to remember. The blood is very Old School meat and string style due to Stringham being a fan of practical effects, which I appreciate since the blood flows steady.
My jaw dropped at the reveal of Jordan Phipps, but there is a lot more to be said about Close Calls than eye candy. The drum machine also breathes life into the film by introducing vibrant changes during the third act action automatically separating the bio-horror from the stalk and slash style. What really sticks out in Close Calls is that Rocky Gray embraces the 80s slasher style and brings a glowing feel no less. There is a fusion sun bathed with that slasher touch in the quintessential theme that Gray has created. It is a mix between the music from Alice Sweet Alice and the theme of Bava’s Kill Baby Kill which sounds just perfect.
Some may consider Gray’s work in “The Barn” to be as marvelous as many consider him to be, but those who have not seen the Barn, there’s a touch of Carpenter that has been set loose in close as well as Stringham’s art alongside the fusion we had just dubbed. what’s even cooler is the use of electronic drums in the slasher inspired score. More than anything, Gray lends himself to stalk and slash style during the creepy sequences which is way cooler. The slices widening never looked the same. So why are we wasting time? It’s awesome! And say we didn’t even mention all the aesthetics.
It will be easy to capture the attention of the males in the audience and even some females with a glimpse of what the characters wear (or don’t wear). Morgan appears in a good chunk of the screen time with only a bra and underwear for clothing, which may be more appealing considering Jordan is quite the looker. For someone with exceptional inexperience, I think she did perform decently in carrying the film. Overall, she meets the intensity requirement of her performance, although if I really had to nitpick, it did seem like a couple of the phone conversations were significantly more strained than her less scripted speech. Before I get more into it, I want to touch on Greg Fallon’s portrayal of “Barry Cone” because, while the rest of the performances are good, it is Fallon’s portrayal in Close Calls that I think truly stands out. Put aside for a moment the extraordinary likeness to fellow actor Guy Pearce, the more I think about it, the more this performance comes close to Parse’s outstanding portrayal in the ridiculously underestimated movie “Lawless.” Fallon is able to channel that same menacing quality, which is further enhanced through a smile that creeps rather than comforts.
Richard, great job! The black gloves are a fantastic reference to Italian cinema. Now, let’s just say that if we do not spot Greg Fallon on the circuit in the coming years, it will be a real pity.
Close Calls is a movie that is oddly written. Thinking back, after reading some of the trivia on IMDb, I understand how someone who spent time indulging in psychedelics would write a screenplay like this. Remember the essay William S. Burroughs wrote about “Naked Lunch?” Well, that stemmed from Burroughs’ own paranoid state and experiences with various addictions. Instead of analyzing the different themes at length for Close Calls, let us just say it is the search of a person’s self. Now the question is how much of what Morgan sees or goes through is fiction and how much of is true? She receives much of the same treatment as Bret Easton Ellis’s American Psycho character Patrick Bateman. Morgan in fact has no real form of identity or not one that we know of. Let’s touch on Stringham’s love of film and the willingness of him putting it out there. There are quite a number of references here to “Scream”, particularly the line, “Say hi to your mother,” then there is that distinct tree and Morgan running in the yard.
The appreciation for voice work does not stop there, as Richard draws inspiration from famous Stephen King sources like “The Shining” and “IT” The latter being shown in a scene where the Mysterious voice calls out Robbie like pennywise calling out his victims.
The Exorcist gets a nod alongside some erotica created by Jess Franco such as She Killed in Ecstasy and Two Female Spies with Flowered Panties, which features unscripted sex scenes and masturbation. This piece is groundbreaking, channeling inspiration from numerous sources while fusing them together, something that is a rare phenomenon in independent films.
In terms of technology, Close Calls is one of the more refined cuts out of a first time film maker, and it is certainly a cut above, but there are some problems. The audio is not the best (but again, my speakers aren’t the best either), and the foley had little impact during the hits in the action. Stringham salutes a fellow filmmaker Brian De Palma (Dressed To Kill) by putting in a split screen add-on, but it is cut into an interaction that really does not need it (much like Mickey Keating did in the recent “Psychopaths”). To make things worse, there is the spinning presentation, which, frankly, is too much. Unreasonably so. A few specifics in the dialogue are unsatisfactory, especially “daddy” which is incredibly overused. I think it’s an American thing, because that sort of thing is not done here. In this country, teenage daughters call their fathers dad, not daddy. A lot of the so called profanity fits, but there is overdoing it that could have been better phrased. I did not particularly like two characters in Brynn (Patterson) and Robbie (Matt).
Landen’s performance was quite alright. But he brought to mind the YouTuber “Stevie T”. And I feel that maybe, as Morgan’s boyfriend or friend, he was miscast. There are posters of ripped pretty boys on her walls and he’s anything but. Besides being quite shallow, she is clearly a gorgeous girl so I think she would be involved with someone more athletic. Close Calls is a film with a number of different story arched which makes focusing for its over 2 hours runtime quite difficult, especially with Morgan herself. In fact, Phipps becomes quite a distraction from the narrative simply because she happens to be so stunning and spends most of her time in the house in her underwear. I suppose for the average independent movie, the length of 125 minutes for Close Calls is too long. Much of the pacing with the screen time dedicated to Brynn and David, comes off as time wasting filler.
Her demeanor is off putting in the sense that it portrays more of an exaggerated impression of an upper-class woman than an honest representation of a real life person (which is not her fault). Patterson is not to be blamed, it’s more about the development of her character, although the stereotypical and inconsistent English accent she puts on does not help at all. Stringham could have easily deleted the entire scenes with the restaurant and the bathroom without really losing anything. The film seems strongest when it is solely set within the MacKenzie house. Much of the so called important scenes with Gramma or Corey Terrence lead to nothing which is quite baffling. Richard hints at possession early on, but that can also have just been a construct of Morgan’s imagination. The drug aspects of it throw me off (because I have no context for it) as does some of the scattered imagery, though I appreciate that the film was made in this way. The absurdist side of the film’s ending that draws heavily from “Lovecraft” was strange, although I did like getting to see a little more of Phipps.
Ever since I came to know about Richard Stringham’s feature film, “Close Calls”, I anticipated it a fair bit which is not to say that it comes with certain expectations. The poster art is catchy, and combined with the general presentation, color grading, and the 70s and 80s themed polish to the production, the film as a whole definitely has a high production value. Wynn’s cinematography is good, as the lighting is perfectly moody. The set design is pleasingly intelligent. The amazing synth score by Rocky Gray is responsible for many truly memorable themes. They do have some practical blood on display, but it is more about visually pacifying the fans than anything else.
That being said, there are countless films and director references in Close Calls, and it seems people fond of Italian cinema and the slasher subgenre will appreciate it the most. While I think Jordan Phipps is one of the most glamorous girls I have seen, I still liked her performance as Morgan. She portrays the character in an honest, consistent manner. For mine though Greg Fallon’s character was the highlight and I would like to see him more active within the genre. There are some expected audio and Foley issues which is nothing to write home about, and along with the split screen technique that doesn’t really work, the dialogue leaves much to be desired.
I feel like Landon was not the type to be involved with someone like Morgan, and the Brynn character grew tiresome as the film progressed. Richard also seemed to have too many characters with certain scenes that I felt were superfluous, and it looked like he was somewhat lost in terms of what to do with their arcs. But, Close Calls comes from a writer who has deep passion and knowledge of the genre, and it is a very fun and creative film. I do believe the film could benefit from a re-cut, particularly to eliminate a good portion of the more unimportant Brynn scenes. Let the film breath a little, and allow the audience to read between the lines. I am sure Close Calls will be enjoyed by people who follow this genre or any other films reviewed here. It’s coming soon, so watch out!
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