Movie Review: Recompence (2010)

One thing that you may notice about some of the critics that write about genre films is that within their undying love for all the things that make cult films so wonderful, they themselves have aspirations of making films. Yes, it is a fact, some critics and writers also enjoy producing their own art, but It doesn’t always equal a well-made film. I won’t name names, but some of the same filmmakers that critique on the side can produce far worse shit than anything they review themselves that may not be up to their taste. Ronny Carlsson, director of the surreal horror film, Recompence, runs a genre website called Film Bizarro and in my opinion is one of those rare exceptions - proof not all critics are crappy filmmakers.

Recompence was written and directed by Ronny Carlsson, it’s also co-written and produced by Film Bizarro’s, Preston Carnell. A young girl( Mariette Lilja),covered in blood and dirt, crawls out of bush dazed and starts to see visions of a white figure. Over the 25 minutes or so of the film’s running-time we’re treated to some seriously disturbing imagery, including a couple of very effective disembowelments and some very welcome scenes of our lead actress (who’s naked much of the film) massaging her nipples with the “White figure’s” gut-blood. Visually, Recompence is like viewing a nightmare; it's just that creepy. Shot in black-and –white, the woodsy setting and colossal dead trees lend that feeling of dread that only furthers our suspicions that this is not going to end well for this young girl.

I see that Carlssons done a few other films in his short filmmaking career and it’s evident after viewing Recompence, that he’s quite talented and should take that leap into feature film production. Recompence is under 30 minutes, it also doesn’t include dialogue but it really works because it never bores and is just that pleasing to the eye with the whacked-out imagery. If you happen to like a lot of sex and gore in your films, this may also be something to check-out to quench your thirst for some solid independent horror.

If you'd like to find out more information on Recompence and how to pre-order the limited edition DVD , please head on over to the Film Bizarro website: www.filmbizarro.com/recompence/