my thoughts on.... '7th Day' (an original Creepercast site review)

As with all of my reviews of the independent films that we get sent here at The Creepercast, I fully recommend that you check each and every one of them out. I am one man and this is my opinion. I've seen plenty of movies that received reviews that were the complete opposite of how I saw the film. These writers, directors, producers and actors all put a lot of time and love into these projects. They deserve to be seen and appreciate for what they are. Everyone has a dream and I fully support the people that take the time to make theirs a reality. With that being said....
Serial killers have fascinated people, for as long as the term 'serial killer' has existed. Even more than the horrific acts they commit on other human beings, people have wanted to know the how and why of what drove them to do such monsterous things. Were they born that way? Was it a learned behavior? Nature vs nurture? Some killers have opened up and revealed their inner most secrets, others have been laid bare on the silver screen by writers willing to enter the mouth of maddness. However, no matter how many books are written or films produced, the public never loses it's bloodlust for serial killers. I, myself, even went through an extended serial killer phase. I read multiple books, online articles and watched a ton of documentaries and film adaptations. It was so incredibly fascinating to delve into such a twisted and dark side of the world. To enter into a place that I could never imagine going and that I wondered how anyone else could live there on a daily basis? Eventually, my curisoity passed and I turned my desire to study maddness, into a passing interest in the macbre reality of insanity. I still enjoy the occasional study of serial killers and watching a movie about real or imagined monsters that live next door. The ones hiding in plain sight, but I tend to mix it up a bit more than I used to.

In the movie, '7th Day', it takes the mold of the modern day killer and gives a it slight twist. Just enough to make it feel fresh, but not quite far enough to make it a classic. There were many moments were I could see beyond it's smaller budget, by the use of interesting dialogue or well laid out shots. It was the kind of movie, where as I was watching it, I could have imagined myself creating the same movie. It made me long for the days of film school, where every one of my peers wanted to make the next big thing. Wanted to re-invent the wheel or to say something that people would latch on too. The reality is, that it's a one in a million opportunity that many of us will strive for in this life, but only a small handful will achieve. I do think that Jason M. Koch has some things about his film making style that show he has those skills. Perhaps his 'Citizen Kane' hasn't come along just yet, but he has an eye for setting up a shot and gets the best out of what he has available. When your audience can sit and watch what you've created and lose themselves in the story and completely over look the problem areas, then you've succeeded at what you've set out to do. I found myself doing that on several occasions. Wanting to learn more about Allen and what was motivating him to do what he does. That's a credit to Mark Leake, who wrote the script and Mark S. Sanders, who played the main character of Allen. They worked well together to bring a fully formed character to life.
The basic premise of '7th Day' is a simple one. Allen is a man who doesn't see himself as having a problem. He can stop any time he wants, but yet he has the compulsion to kill and do horrific things with his victims. He's a dishwasher by trade, but a "hunter" by birth. An avid watcher of the news, he generally stays to himself, but when he opens up to those around him, it's obvious that he's socially unstable. The only thing that seems to interest him, outside of killing, is his co-worker Denise. He feels that they have a connection that will someday bring them together. However, she barely knows he exists and would prefer to keep it that way. Allen lives next door to Bill, a suspected pedophile and all around waste of space. The two hang out on occasion and Allen refers to him as his friend, but it seems that he's more of an illusion of a friend. Someone to keep up appearances and to help keep his secret life safe. Allen murders at will and completely at random. Whatever he see's that he thinks will give him the feeling of being alive, is what he kidnaps, tortures and kills. There is no escape. Meanwhile, he's never truly alone as Allen has a phantom interviewer, who is allowing him to tell the story of his life. It's clear that only Allen can see the creature, but he's there with him at all times. To capture every waking moment of his twisted day, as we count down to the inevitable '7th Day'.

All in all, this is a huge step up from my first review for The Creepercast of'The Lashman'. Granted, the sound is a bit spotty, like in 'The Lashman', but much more consistent overall. There's some real moments of genius in this and there's other times where I feel like there was things that were there, just for shock value. One of my favorite parts of this movie was during the flashback's about Allen's family growing up. Particularly about his father's suicide. This was the best shot in the whole movie. It felt like it could have been taken straight out of Vincent Gallo's 'Buffalo '66'. It was a master stroke and executed flawlessly. In this movie, Allen's character has a constant monoluge going on. Several times, we see the phantom interviewer to make sure and establish what Allen is seeing in his mind. However, there are times where a little more interaction with others, could have proved more insightful. There were also some things that felt uncessary or unexplained. Like when Allen shoots the husband of a potential victim in the head and ran away. It had seemed like there was a plan there, but that it backfired and we never found out why? It was like, suddenly the monologue stopped. There were also several over the top gore sequences, which I think were meant to be there to spotlight how mundane his regular life is and to make the shocking parts stand out even more? But more often than not, they felt gratuitous and unecessessary. I wanted more of Allen falling further from reality and maybe a slower build to the over the top gross out could have proven more effective. Some of the more positive things about '7th Day' were in the victim that, although dead, lived on through his television. She spoke to him periodically and it was obvious that she was the voice of reason and his inner monolouge keeping him on the fringe of santiy. It was a nice touch that really felt quite original to me. I also liked that he didn't live in a clean world. Allen's world was disgusting, dirty and down right foul. No one would ever notice all the horrible things he was doing with the complete decay all around him. Everything was dirty and falling apart. I also appreciated his different ways of coping with being who he was. The way even he was intimidated by his drug dealer, showed that he was human at his core, but still a monster within.
The last thoughts I have on '7th Day' are this: 1) Did we really need the last kill to have the little bit of extra gross out? I won't give away what exactly happened, but it was one of those moments that felt ham fisted and forced. 2) What was with the ending? We get one giant question mark as to what was really going to happen on the '7th Day'? It was incredibly unsatisfying. I left the whole experience feeling a bit let down and hungry for more than I was given. 3) What actually happened to Bill? Did I miss the part where we find out his fate? At the end of the day, I enjoyed '7th Day'. It was a breath of fresh air, in a garbage dump of a place. The character of Allen was well thought out and played superbly and sublimely by Mark S. Sanders. The story was simple, but effective and I think with some minor adjustments, this could really be something special. I'm giving it 3 1/2 stars out of 5 and recommending that if you're looking for something a little different than you've seen before, then you should give this little independent nasty a try. Just take my word for this and don't eat a meal while it's on.... trust me on this one.

If you'd like to see a few other movies, that I think helped inspire '7th Day', check out: 'Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer', the 'August Underground' trilogy or 'C'est arrivé près de chez vous' aka 'Man Bites Dog'