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by Thomas M. Sipos,
managing editor [July 22, 2023]
[HollywoodInvestigator.com]Professor Nathan Marsh (Nathan Faudree) is obsessed with
"Devil's Circles." These circles exist in fields and forests
throughout the world. Twenty-six in all. Actually, they don't look so
devilish to me; just some dry circular patches surround by healthy
grass. But Marsh thinks these circles are portals to ... somewhere.
So Marsh recruits a small investigative team of students from
Miskatonic University (yes, Site 13
is Lovecraftian horror) and drives to the nearest circle, which is in
Pennsylvania. He discovers that the temperature is different within
the circle. And when he ties a dog inside the circle overnight, the
dog -- and the stake it was tied to -- is gone by morning.
My initial expectations for Site 13
were mixed. The film is marketed as both "found footage" and "cosmic
horror." I
rarely enjoy found footage, but I love Lovecraft.
Thankfully, Site 13 isn't really
found footage. The students' investigation is shot in found footage
style, but not most of the film, which really begins when Marsh
awakens in an asylum ten years after his investigation. He's been
catatonic all that time, having been found in the field ten years
earlier. Alone. It seems that whatever took his dog also took his
team.
Most of Site 13 is Marsh being
examined and questioned by two nuns. Occasionally, the nuns play
portions of the "found footage" to jog his memory. Sometimes the nuns
confer among themselves.
Yes, two nuns. These nuns are also psychiatrists or some such, and
they run the asylum. Well, Sister Margaret (Leila Dean) does.
Catherine (Katie Gibson) quit recently because her patient committed
suicide. I call her a nun, but she's really an ex-nun. These days
she's to be found drinking in bars. Catherine is a cynical,
hard-boiled, noir sort of nun.
The asylum itself is an impressively huge building, but that only
emphasizes Site 13's low budget.
Sister Margaret appears to be the sole administrator, doctor, and
staff. The patients are few.
Despite the low budget, Christopher Steinberger's cinematography is
admirable. Site 13 has many
beautifully composed and atmospherically lit shots. Alan Rowe Kelly's
editing moves the story at a brisk pace. He occasionally uses MTV
style quick cuts for impressionistic effect, but it's not overdone to
the point of annoyance.
Sound design and visual effects are also first rate. The
extra-dimensional, cosmic monster is not wholly original in design,
but it's appropriately Lovecraftian. No, it's not Cthulhu; don't ask
me to try and spell the name spoken by Marsh. Nor will I say where the
portals lead, only that the answer blends Christian and Lovecraftian
concepts.
Acting is a mixed bag. Faudree (who also co-directed and co-wrote with
Tony Urban) is quite good as Marsh. Urban also acts, but his part is
small and unremarkable. Dean and Gibson are acceptable, but sometimes
speak in a stilted, artificial manner. Kelly Ray is decent as Marsh's
love interest, Kelly. (Yes, the actors who appear in the found footage
portion play characters with the same names.)
Ultimately, Site 13 is Faudree and
Urban's passion project. It began life as a found footage short film
in 2003. Then after 17 years, the two men shot the additional
(non-found footage) material around the old found footage. So
Site 13 is not a found footage film at all. Which is very good,
because
found footage usually s*cks.
The two men learned much about film production in the intervening
years. Site 13 is a fast-paced,
atmospheric Lovecraftian thriller. Some of the dialog is hokey, but
it's overall a highly entertaining film.
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