Better Late Then Never

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

In the cult television show 'Dark Shadows (1966-71)', Jerry Lacy played (amongst others) Tony Peterson, a Bogart-like gumshoe. Here, he plays August T. Harrison. In another dimension, these two could have been the same character. Lacy is a brilliant performer and has added his might to two previous productions by talented micro-budget film-maker Ansel Faraj.Here, Harrison comes out of retirement to investigate a missing persons' case, which involves the mysterious Eleanora (Maggie Wagner) and his own son, Jason (Eric Gorlow), who also disappears. His son's friend Drake (Max Landwirth) tells frightened, horrific stories of witches and the summoning of beasts, daubing himself in symbols to protect himself – a fruitless exercise, as it turns out.Lisa Richards plays Susan Harrison, August's hospitalised wife, mostly in a cataleptic trance. The twist towards the film's ending is wonderfully shocking and poignant.Professor Richard Hobb (David Graham) suggests that '1920's pulp writer' HP Lovecraft's stories might be true, Harrison's response is "You're out of your f****** mind." No-one swears like Jerry Lacy! Bill Wandel's music is very effective, adding weight to the occasional shock scares and to the oppressive isolated sense of building horror that is expertly spread throughout. Whatever the budget restrictions, the production never appears constrained – the occasional effects are convincing enough, especially considering the anti-reality of this Lovecraftian tale.On the evidence of this and Faraj's previous 'Doctor Mabuse' ventures, also starring Lacy, I'm a real fan of the detached sense of menace he instils in his projects, and the remote sense of horror he conveys. As with my favourite films, his stories exist in a world within a world – for example, Harrison's troubled walks along a night-time side-street that knows nothing of his turmoil and the world-changing events he is contemplating tackling. Recommended.