Those Who Walk Away is loosely inspired by a short story about a community whose happiness and joy can only be sustained by torturing a young boy. The movie is a hybrid with completely different moods at the beginning and midpoint. It’s not a cookie-cutter slasher horror film and is masterfully shot as a one-take movie (like Hitchcock’s Rope and 1917), which gives the impression it’s a single take. The underling issues: child abuse, rape, tough decisions and living high while others suffer.
The film opens with stunning credits by Armir Arzanian. We then see 20-somethings Max (Booboo Stewart) and Avery (Scarlett Sperduto). They met on a dating app and are meeting each other for the first time for an awkward first meeting in that social kbukie dance known as dating. It ultimately proves to be the most horrible first-date evah.
The film’s first half has the one-camera take following them on a their date as they chat, nervously giggle and extract tidbits of info about each other. While undergoing the agony and aspirational-ecstacy of a first date, Avery tells Max that she’s doing a college thesis on the short story. Suddenly, there are warning signs that Avery has issues — signs Matt either ignores or doesn’t see because he’s a bit shell shocked: he walked out on his sick mother. Their long walking chat almost seems like a dramedy or a less intellectual version of My Dinnner with Andre with a dating setting. The pace is relaxed and you start to feel you know these people and are into that pace.
Suddenly and jarringly their evening takes a fateful turn when they end up at a local haunted house where the film’s pace and mood dramatically change. They arrive at the home of ‘Rotcreep’, an evil, ugly monster that rots your body and soul with one touch (sort of like what we see in national politics these days).
What follows are a series of plot twists peppered with quick cuts by Producer/Director/Writer Robert Rippberger of horrorific, nightmarish, topsy-turvy, ghastly images. Booboo Stewart is superb as Max. Stewart’s standout moment is in a scene where when he perfectly portrays Max’s momumental grief, horror, shock and utter revulsion while he awaits a seemingly certain death. The film has an explosive ending that does not disappoint. It boasts a perfect ominious score by Dimitria Miachin.
It’s trite but needs to be said: Don’t walk away from Those Who Walk Away. Run to see — and support — a more lofty, artistic and satisfying kind of horror film. Thank you, God (and Robert Rippberger) for not making it yet another by-the-numbers horror slasher movie.
P.S. We will most certainly continue to be hearing many good things about Rippberger and his co-writer Spencer Moleda in the future.
Stars photo 96148992 / Five © Convisum | Dreamstime.com
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.