A couple comes home from a real estate awards banquet, and a celebration is in the air, but so is murder. Unbeknownst to the couple, a masked killer lurks inside their comfortable home. With little preamble, the killer strikes, slaying them both with a grisly violence. The next day, detectives McCoy (Jonathan Troyer) and Street (Caitlin Drance) hunt for leads as they are left baffled by who would kill such prominent members of the community, let alone stab them 27 times. Exhausting all leads, the detectives must interview the couple’s only son, Eli (Joey Bolt). Son begins immediately as writer, director, and producer, leading audiences into a police procedural with horror-slasher ethos.
Son opens with what feels like the middle of a CSI episode. The film even shares a similar structure to a classic Gil Grissom-era CSI: Vegas episode. However, where Son differs from CSI is not just in characterization but also in how quickly Son hits the ground running. Detectives cycle through a series of interviews, uncovering layers of Eli’s life. Eli’s relationships with friends and family are in turmoil from the recent loss. And Detective Street’s daughter, Sophia (Tamara Villalon), is wrapped up in the homicidal mess because Eli is in her high school friend group. Leads in the case are few and far between, that is, until the killer strikes again.
Transitions throughout Son are jarring to say the least. Just when the story begins to introduce or add layers to a character, the film moves on to the next suspect or moment of dread. The story never lets the character marinate within the narrative, making characters feel unrelatable. Police interviews grow repetitive, as they are the only way Son introduces the core characters. In addition, the police interviews are often brimming with exposition, and more so, exposition stated in the previous scene. Teenage angst and convoluted emotional payoffs plague the non-police storylines of Son.
Low-budget filmmaking can excuse some of Son‘s lowlights. Indie filmmaking is a harsh world, and everything from set design to gore effects can come down to the budget. Yet, with indies, it’s so important to look past the budgetary qualms and focus on the story beneath. It’s what makes films like Velicpastor or ZombieCon so compelling. Son has potential in its story, but so often the commitment to detective storylines detracts from the possibility of campy slasher greatness. Moments with the masked killer could allow Son to be a thrilling low-budget Scream-esque romp. Creating a slasher would encourage audiences to overlook the story’s weaker moments in favor of stylish 1980s-coded kills. The elements are all there to make it a slasher. Some scenes even seem like the film wants to be a slasher. But too often, the dragging police mystery gets in the way.
Championing Son is difficult, even with some solid slasher ideas present. Too often, the lack of character development leads to a lack of tension. The dialogue is on the nose and needs much more nuance. Ideas of libertarianism seem forced, while ideas of bullying are underdeveloped. The work put into making any indie film is something to behold. Reworking Son, within the context of horror —a genre that thrives on campy, low-budget flicks —could merit Tubi Classic. But Son, as it stands, offers potential but needs some restructuring and re-editing to shine.
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