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- 13 Seconds - Advance Screener Review - 

The basis of the story is not that original, in fact, I’ve seen it done before a 
thousand times. But then, why mess with a tried and tested formula; instead try 
to improve upon it, something for the most part, "13 Seconds" most definitely does!
The story centres round a successful band called 'Night Crawler,' who have decided
they want to get 'back to basics' for their new album. Without any interruptions or
the comfort of a high tech recording studio they hope to get a more 'raw' sound for
this their third album. So they travel to an abandoned 1930's military academy. 
Completely secluded and surrounded on all sides by ten miles of woods this seems 
like the perfect place. Like most bands however, they have their fair share of 
internal problems. There are arguments, drug abuse and the other things that make 
being in a band so great. Once they arrive, two of the band members, 'Davis' and 
‘Gage,’ decide while the sound technicians are getting the equipment ready, to 
indulge in a little pre-recording narcotics activity. Or to be more precise, take 
a quick fix. This is where 'all hell breaks loose,' literally. A strange book is 
found containing drawings of decomposing corpses, a journal is close behind giving 
the sordid details of how 3 teenagers killed and mutilated a fellow schoolboy as 
part of a ritual inside the actual mansion the band are currently staying. Worse 
of all however is the discovery of a small room, empty apart from paintings upon 
the walls. The artwork of the paintings changes every time they are viewed. With 
every change, the picture shows a different member of the band being horrifically
being killed and so 'life begins to imitate art.' But who or indeed what is killing them? 
Why are the words "Tell me to stop the pain" constantly appearing, written in 
fresh blood, throughout the mansion?
What part does the boiler room play in these events?
All are answered but before I go into whether I enjoyed the film or not, here’s a 
look at the bad points. The two biggest problems with this film are is the acting
and the added dialogue in post-production. The acting, (apart from Jeff Thomas 
who plays 'Davis' as well as directing and writing this film and puts on a fine 
performance) are akin to those awful daytime soaps where planks of wood show more 
emotion. For instance, Gregory Lecompte (who plays Sharpiro as well as being the 
Producer) for the most part looks like he'd rather be somewhere else. In fact, the
majority of the cast look like they are just biding their time until the end of 
filming. As for the 'added dialogue,' that doesn't help matters either, a lot of the 
time the audio level changes dramatically and the lines are delivered emotionlessly.
Apart from those two points however, the rest I can overlook, after all, it is only 
a low budget independent film, not a Hollywood blockbuster. My only other minor 
quibble and I mean minor are “who are the band members?”
We never really get to know any of them, if I had, I may have cared more whether 
they lived or died. Also, there is a lot of 'horror by numbers' at work in the events 
and settings. For instance, there's the old actor/actress seeing reflection of 
something, turns around but nothings there. Also the standard “glowing eyes in the 
dark routine.” The overused “even though they're dropping like flies, individuals 
still wander aimlessly by themselves into a dark room.” Every shadow trick imaginable 
is also used. Though the best of all is the use of a Ouija Board, why the hell would 
you have a Ouija Board when you’re recording an album?
Also the picture is a bit grainy, however as this has been shot straight to video to 
save money, this can easily be overlooked. Saying all this however, these very same 
tricks never hampered the old Universal Studios classics and look at what masterpieces 
they are. So now, what about the good points of the film, is it all bad?
Far from it, in fact, the good far outweigh the bad. Some of the things that I have 
quibbles with actually help to also make this film stand head and shoulders above the
rest of the indie films that are out there. For instance, I said that Jeff Thomas 
borrows heavily from other films, the heavy use of shadows and reflections of 
non-existent creatures, yet these are two of the things that make this film so damn 
creepy, extremely creepy in fact. Jeff Thomas knows exactly what he wants in a horror 
film and how it should be filmed, for instance, he could have had the aforementioned 
reflections in just mirrors. But no, instead we see them in such obscure things as 
doorknobs; this gives the film a surreal edge, reminiscent of Dario Argento. Something 
else that enhances the creepiness of the film is the music, very simple piano tunes 
for the most part but extremely effective. Not all happenings are borrowed from other 
movies; Jeff Thomas has a few of his own tricks up his sleeve. One of the best being 
the paintings in the 'Gallery.' This is an absolute stroke of genius. Also, you do 
not get much more nastier looking than the straight jacketed, axe wielding, demonic 
figures that are occasionally seen wandering the halls. These could easily have been 
overdone with too gore to make them look like something in your worst nightmares, 
instead; they have been made to look evil more subtly. They remind me of the zombies 
from my favourite games, the 'Resident Evil Series.' Believe me, when you see them, 
you will not want to meet these on a dark night. Now these may not look that gory but 
there is plenty of the red stuff splashed around to satisfy most gore hounds. This is 
by far not the goriest film I've seen, but it satisfied my bloodlust. Two of my 
favourite moments being one of the guys lying upon his bed, an arm shoots up from 
under the bed and through his stomach which then proceeds to strangle him! 
Whoever thought up that one, “give that man a cigar!”
Absolutely brilliant!
The second, another band member is the victim of an inverted crucifixion, his stomach
slit open, his intestines ripped out, wrapped around his throat and then used to 
strangle him. Get that box of cigars out again!
Although all the gore looks something straight out of an Andreas Schnaas film, whether 
that’s a good thing or not is up to you to decide, it is pretty good bearing in mind 
the budget constraints. Finally, the climax of the film is not something you will be 
expecting. I have seen similar endings before but there was nothing beforehand to give 
it away, such is the skill of the storytelling. Anybody can make a horror film these 
days. All you need is a decent camcorder and some obliging friends who don’t mind 
getting splashed with some red liquid. What few realise though is this is not enough. 
You also need talent. That is where most indie films fall flat upon their face; I have 
seen some utter dross in my time. Most of the time, indie filmmakers get away with
murder because of their budget constraints, reviewers turn a blind eye to many things, 
forgiving too much, giving the excuse that they obviously didn’t have enough money. 
Money only buys effects and equipment. A good script costs nothing and that’s something 
far more important than fancy effects. Jeff Thomas shows with this film that no one 
should be forgiven, you do not have to have a multi-million budget to come up with a 
good script. If a film has a good script and then a lot of a films misgivings can be 
forgiven. Jeff Thomas is obviously a horror fan. He knows what makes a good horror film
and obviously knows how to make one. Most importantly he understands that the ending 
will be the last memory you take away with you of that film. A bad ending can destroy 
any chance of a repeat viewing of an otherwise good film. Take "The Blair Witch Project" 
for example, a film of whose scary reputation was solely based upon the final heart 
attack inducing 5 minutes. The final five minutes of '13 Seconds' will not give you a 
heart attack but it will however remind you that you have seen a damn good film, that 
you have been on a roller coaster ride of clever little twists and misleading clues. 
Jeff Thomas is a name to watch out for and '13 Seconds' is a film to watch. The mind 
boggles at what he could do with a better cast and more money. Once you have watched 
the film, you will also then see just how clever the title "13 Seconds" is. It’s just 
a damn shame that this film will not be viewed by the number of people that it deserves. 

Reviewed By Dracula

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