Interestingly, the sin eater is not entirely an obscure figure, and in fact most of them, like Justin Denton who hails from Texas is not only an artist in visual effects but has also worked on various interactive media. Having previously directed two shorts and produced metalworks and film in Seattle, Denton marks his feature film debut having co produced Curse of the Sin Eater with Joe Valenzuela and particularly, he stands out in the eye of the markets being born in the non linear art world of Texas. Curse of the Sin Eater is scripted by Davis, co author of ‘Broken ceiling,’ and Will Corona Pilgrim with a rank of Marvel’s scriptwriters. The prose touches upon the custom of eating the sins of someone else, a practice that existed in medieval England and while the film is set in modern times with many of its themes, this ritual dominated the life of the surrounding counties, mainly Welsh Wales.
The Curse of the Sin Eater follows the story of Rick Malone with a rather unlikely fate. Portrayed by Carter Shemp of The Year between , Malone is a somewhat unfortunate individual in his youth, now working as a construction worker in his friend’s shabby apartment in a run down Chicago neighborhood. Three years before, in a clip at the beginning of the film, Rick’s mother committed suicide and now he is pictured as a worker who is not punctual due to being late for work and thus almost gets dispatched from the job by the site manager from the second that he arrives to the construction site.
After seeking a band aid for a cut, Rick is grudgingly escorted by the cold assistant of the owner, Anton, to the and beautiful work site. He shows some empathy and allows Rick to clean his wound, but only after meandering about. However, this time his lunacy results in a theft attempt. While trying to enter a nearby vacant room, his attention is focused on a stack of money laying on a table that is suspended in mid air. It looks to him as if Erik has already been captured. He steals it and, after bringing in Anton, who is furious, Rick is fired instantly. He is made, however, to sit with the owner who invites him over in order to chat.
The owner is Drayton (Larry Yanko, Chicago Fire, 61st Street) a name that recalls the last known location of a sin eater in England who participated in a culture that existed as recently as 1893. The name strikes the fancies of many but connected these dots implies none other than a wealthy man who is not only profoundly rich but also has a terminal illness.
Meanwhile, Drayton extends another invitation to Rick, this time for lunch, promising him a change in situation, “You will get my assets as soon as I die.” But there is a catch: Rick must consume one of the dinners off Drayton’s body which includes all of the leftovers. Ridiculously prevalent to hear and almost laughable, it is the offer of a lifetime and has large admirers as Rick is overwhelmed by the petty challenges posed by the offer. There is no turning back and soon he’ll be able to spend his wealth to the full extent.
And it’s a horror film that’s being presented here so there’s definitely a price to Drayton’s simplicity. It’s a cost that requires you to completely lose your freedom to Rick for the the act of eating Drayton’s leftovers literally.
There are a few things that catch your eyes in this film. First, there’s the mileage that Denton gets from a budget that has to have been restrictively sized. He smartly recruited a cast of talented supporting no name TV actors, and the direction that Denton wanted to take his movie in involved some heavy (and pretty gruesome) effects work, almost all of which capably done practically. Not to mention that shooting on location in the city of Chicago’s public space involves shooting permits ($250/day per their portal, in case you’re wondering)
The film is a decidedly slow entertaining the Amazon and Blum house Crowd will probably even call it sluggish. Some of that is attributable to the almost expository nature of the dialogue it was penned with, which I find important considering the general TV background of people. You know the kind; the one where everyone literally, absolutely everyone seems to have just one voice and loves to shout. Thank God that it is not the case here, actually just the opposite which I love. As we see Rick everyone’s busy poking in their own business (Imagine that! No one is shouting and trying to be the loudest.)
He has a grumpy face and seems the sort of person one associates with smoking weed, yet Shemp gives him an attractive weight that makes it possible to carry a deeper rage and to make him interesting. He performs the film literally and carries out his character through his struggles in a manner that is commendable. All of the rest of the cast does the same with what the script allows them to do even though they are not as developed as Rick.
Curse of the Sin Eater is a film that looks good as a motion picture, to be honest. The outdoor city localizations are usually cold and gray with a fine movement for the handheld camera and constant action, whereas the indoor decorations focus on static or slow pans, warm tints and shades of red that make them look anything but hospitable There is however always the feeling of dread and icy coldness in the air. And as the curse or curse gets hold of the main character, so does the color scheme of the sets, shots and scenes change very insignificantly. It is this attention to detail that reveals the degree of love, care and genre sensitivity that characterizes the production of the film.
As Rick is more drawn to the curse and the unspeakable shadows grow stronger, he starts losing hold of reality and sets on a fierce journey to break the curse, even if it means the loss of the abundance he has inherited. Terribly by itself it’s not something audiences have not witnessed, but as cliché as that storyline may be, it is still done in a manner that a viewer does not become disinterested, thanks to the acting, the sound and camera work by Denton.
In cases like this when an average level gets established, there is a risk of trying to push out the targets too fast. Luckily that is not the case in D’Souza’s film. Denton does not spend time trying to inspire the audience with endless jump scares. Some sequences almost become cult-worthy, difficult to describe but when seeing them, you will understand. Let’s just hope that the key holders in charge of some big streaming services are sensitive to the facts: ‘less is more’ in films scope like this. Which ironically, weak movie titles suggest otherwise.
The cast, including director Justin Denton, has been involved in Curse of the Sin Eater and is either connected with the television business or works in MCU, hence they were out of my reach in this case. I was in search of something to watch and I chanced upon this film, but I am glad I pursued it because it was quite surprising. Curse of the Sin Eater is a surprise to reveal that a little horror picture that deserves a watch is a well written, well acted and well produced genre film it is precisely what the majority of you who come over here are. As for Denton, I will now become a follower of his works knowing what he can achieve.
For more movies like Curse of the Sin Eater visit 123Movies.