 | MOVIE DETAILS • Name: Sawed Off • Year: 2022 • Country: USA • Director: Hunter Johnson • Main cast: Eva Hamilton, Trae Ireland, Jody Barton • Runtime: 82 minutes • Production company: Millman Productions, Ireland Entertainment Productions, LAHorror.com • TRAILER
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Supernatural horror Sawed Off (2022) might sound like a risky move by its setup, a film that happens entirely in the woods and that is starred only by the two best friends played by Trae Ireland and Jody Barton together with Eva Hamilton. A very simple setup due to the budgetary restrictions? Probably, but that stark situation also works in favor of imprinting authenticity to the story, not deviating from the idea of the film and drifting on unnecessary facts.
Once the three characters are together on the screen, at the early steps of the running time, one can already sense the camaraderie but also the tension between the two males. We will never see the whole picture of their lives previous to the meeting in the cabin in the woods, but some time has passed since the characters were hanging out last, and a love story that didn’t end as well as they could desire happened back in the day. Yet, the plan was simple for those three characters: To spend a few days of vacations hunting, getting drunk, sharing stories, and enjoying the simplicity and pleasures of nature. A good plan, I must say.
But, obviously, things won’t go as expected and soon some strange supernatural events happen which lead to deadly accidents, which also lead to fits of rage and full confrontation. But, no matter how hard they try, they won’t be able to kill each other; they always come back alive. More or less damaged, but always healthy as if it was the first day in camp. Like a hybrid between Groundhog Day (1993) and The Evil Dead (1981), as it was used in the promotional material for the film.
Sawed Off (2022) won’t be the most original film, but it is done with care for the story and the will to create an entertaining piece. Although the number of characters and locations used are taken to the minimum the filmmakers still managed to develop a screenplay based on little action and plenty of deliberation. The actors carry on with their duties correctly, and the director and co-writer Hunter Johnson makes the story his to put it on the screen building the necessary tension that the narrative needs.
But not everything is crafty and splendid, because the same facts that bring simplicity to the film are also obvious limitations in order for the story to explode to a higher level. Although it never gets boring, towards the middle of the movie, when one feels that we have already seen it all, the feeling of watching something inconsequential starts to float around. Perhaps Sawed Off (2022) would have worked better as a short film, without the need to fill up over an hour with almost no resources, but the filmmakers trusted in the development of the story and placed their bet into building an absorbing plot and atmosphere that with the small time of a short film they might not be able to.
To summarize, Sawed Off (2022) is a modest film with obvious limitations but made by a group of filmmakers, the cast and crew, that put all their passion into the project. It is not as gory as the film poster and name might lure, and at times it slows becoming inconsequential holding for the next rush to happen. But the fans of horror and psychological thrillers, and the aesthetics of The Evil Dead (1981), should enjoy.
RATE: 4/10
IMDB URL: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt14562632
