New On Demand on Amazon Prime from Terror Films!
Directed by Daniel John Lerch.
Written by Daniel John Lerch, Julia Nilsen, Darrell Szarka Workman.
Check out the trailer here!!
A headstrong teen, Miriam (Sophia Anthony) is sent by her parents to a strict boarding school run by the relentless Ms. Hemlock (played by someone solely named Velvet). Miriam goes through the normal hazing by her fellow students and plans to run off like she has other boarding schools, but this school is not like the others. Someone in a white mask is killing unruly students and using their parts for an Illuminati-esque ritual. As Miriam’s tenure at the school becomes more problematic, Ms. Hemlock and the masked killers are itching to make her the next sacrifice.
SATURNALIA is an awesome low budget homage to the Italian Giallo, specifically and arguably one of the best Gialli, SUSPIRIA. From the story structure that opens with Miriam arriving at the school by cab on a rainy night, to the elaborate death sequences, to the gothic architecture of the school, to the dramatic lighting bathing scenes in red and blues, one can tell the filmmakers behind this one hold Argento in high regard. This love for Gialli is evident in every second of SATURNALIA. Even though some scenes are directly lifted from SUSPIRIA, the film differentiates itself from the classic film well enough so as not to call a complete foul for trying to remake it.
This differentiation isn’t as strong as SUSPIRIA, but still, the way director Daniel John Lerch is able to recreate the feel of is admirable. The filmmaker zooms in on the elaborate and ornate décor suggesting that this school has been around for ages. There is also a great attention to space, as the school becomes maze-like as masterful focus is given to the fore and background. Add in the way dramatic scenes are bathed in reds and blues and this is just an intriguing little movie to look at.
The acting is pretty strong. I liked the tough as nails lead Sophia Anthony, who plays Miriam. She’s almost too tough, so later when she actually lets her emotions show, it felt a bit less believable. Still she did a good job. I also liked Velvet’s performance as the over the top Ms. Hemlock. While her role is more cliché than the rest, she gives it enough character and sassiness to make it shine.
The climax of the movie is quite disturbing with a throwback to both SUSPIRIA and ANTHROPOPAGUS, of all things. That’s all I’ll say, but it is gruesome. But there is quite a long time in SATURNALIA where the cliches of boarding school movies and by proxy, women in prison movies appear. Because those scenes of hazing the new girl, the strict warden/headmistress, and the favoritism to specific students while punishing others are so familiar, I kind of checked out a bit during the first half of SATURNALIA, but the film got infinitely more interesting the more of what was going on behind the scenes at the school is revealed.
I almost skipped out on this one because the poster really doesn’t do it justice and the use of the white plastic masks you can get at any Walgreens around Halloween-time. But take a chance on it. If you’re a Giallo fan, I think you’re going to be surprised how well Daniel John Lerch is able to capture that feeling of those old Italian films. SATURNALIA recreates the essence of what I love about Giallo films and makes me wonder what the filmmaker can do without such attention familiar beats and using some more original material.
That kind of makes it seem like I’m ripping on the film, but I’m not. SATURNLIA really surprised me and I definitely recommend it to Gialli lovers everywhere to see what can be accomplished on a low budget.
