So if you look at my list of links on the right hand side, you’ll see The Legend Trip. This is a movie that is being directed, edited, shot, etc by a close and long time friend of mine, Jason Satterfield. I mean this guy has had a camera in his hands just about forever.
Well, I was fortunate enough to see a rough cut of the film which was around 80% complete, and let me just say…. If you want to see how horror movie masters get their starts, you NEED to check out this movie when it’s released. The cut was shown at the “It Came From Lake Michigan” horror film festival and seemed to have captured everyone who was able to make it at 1pm on an otherwise mundane Friday afternoon.
The style of the movie comes off as part experimental, part classic horror homage, and surprisingly part film noir (a style that I find used very seldomly in horror and suspense). It is a group of stories surrounding a house that has seen its share of blood over the decades. However unlike your typical anthology-like storytelling telling entire parts of the story one at a time, this seamlessly moves in and out between time periods filling in exactly what you need to know at this specific moment, keeping you trying to fill in the blanks as you move along. The effect is engrossing and at the same time keeps things unpredicatable and riveting.
The worst things I have to say about the film was that acting performances were slightly uneven, with some absolutely great moments mixed with some not so great moments. At this point that is all I can definitively say, as the rest depends on the remaining 20% that is being worked on. Rest assured, all of my remaining problems were addressed by Jason even before I had a chance to mention them. I can’t wait to see the final film once he gets the connecting narrative inserted and the final soundtrack scored.
I don’t have any info on a firm release date or method. I know they have home video distribution setup but I’m not sure about theatrical. So make sure you keep on your local video store or horror retailer and tell them to keep an eye out and ear open for the release of The Legend Trip. Hopefully it will only be the first of a long string of movies by Jason Satterfield.
One other thing I want to add. While I have known Jason for years, I have also been known to be brutally honest to a fault. Trust me folks, if I really didn’t like this film I simply wouldn’t have posted anything here. It can be a little rough around the edges at times, and certainly a bit different than most mainstream horror fans might be used to, but it’s definitely more honest than most of the PG-13 drek hollywood is shoveling out today and makes you use your brain a bit in between pools of blood and piles of guts.
