A couple of years ago, writer/director Ash Hamilton impressed me with his micro-budgeted feature-length debut, Holes in the Sky: The Sean Miller Story. So, when he popped up on my radar again, touting his involvement in an anthology horror flick, my ears pricked up. F’d: Tales from the End Times teams Hamilton with writer/directors Dillon Brown, Joshua Brucker, Michael Gregory, and Ben Harl. Additionally, writers John Elder and Stephen Taylor also contributed material to Hamilton’s piece. The simple but intriguing premise is each filmmaker gets a segment to tell a story that takes place on the day the apocalypse kicks off.
Hamilton’s story serves as the through line, as his piece opens the film, pops up between the other directors’ turns, and closes things out. It begins with a TV journalist interviewing a notorious cult leader (played by smoldering fan favorite Robert LaSardo), which ends in a harrowing fashion. The interstitial bits build the story of a different journalist (ambitious but frustrated Kayla Kelly) and her cameraman (practical Rodney B. Snyder) as they follow the breadcrumbs of the former’s missing sister. In addition to providing an opening that grabs your attention, setting the stage for the conceit, and somewhat connecting the other stories, it slaps a really fun exclamation point on the conclusion.
The first of the other stories we get is a quippy, Kevin Smith-esque look at two nerdy bros summoning a dapper high-ranking demon. Helmed by Harl, it’s one of the two traditionally shot pieces (the rest are all found footage of one stripe or another) and it also differentiates itself by being more comedic in its approach. Brucker is next up. Here we follow an earnest doomsday prepper and vlogger as all his carefully made plans fall apart. Then we get Gregory’s turn, which is the other traditionally shot segment. It’s essentially a doomed love story that follows a couple coming to grips that their time together is coming to an end. That’s followed up with a claustrophobic and creepy recording of a woman trapped in her house with her maniacally possessed grandmother directed by Brown. As I mentioned above, Hamilton jumps back in at this point to wrap up.
Obviously, we have a mishmash of styles and approaches on display. I’d say it gels for the most part, too. This is helped by Hamilton’s connective tissue and the choice to have a similar title card for each section. This subtly gives each mini-film its own identity while still placing it within the larger world created by the aggregate effort. As is always the case with anthologies, some entries are stronger than others, but I found something to enjoy in each piece here. My favorite bits include LaSardo’s compelling turn in the opening, the demon Asmodeus’ appreciation for snickerdoodle cookies, the frantic ending of the prepper’s tale, the quiet and beautiful moment shared by the two lovers at the end of their story, the terrifying laughter of the grandma from hell, and especially the closing moments of the film where Hamilton goes big.
Camerawork obviously differs from segment to segment. There’s maybe a little too much shaky cam here and there, but I won’t deny that it adds to the authenticity. Though it’s not nearly as prevalent in this film, I was also reminded of the recent found footage flick, The Outwaters, with the relatively extensive usage of spotlighting within a mostly darkened frame. The graphics used to indicate news footage, phone recordings, etc also assist nicely in selling the illusion. I should note that the screener I watched might be not quite finished. I say this because, for example, the end credits only detail which writer/directors were responsible for each segment and that’s it. An ironically soothing song about the apocalypse plays out over a black screen that seems like it will likely list DPs, editors, and the like once the film gets distributed for general release.
I appreciated that none of the stories overstayed their welcome. As just over 90 minutes, no one can afford to be more than lean and mean in their storytelling. Anthologies can sometimes lack momentum with their start-and-stop nature, but that’s not the case here. If you don’t care for one of the segments, rest assured it will be wrapping up quite soon. With the cast being minimal for each part, we still get some solid character work, though. I’m going to go ahead and mention LaSardo as an example again, as his cult leader is gripping even though his screen time is minimal. That’s a testament to the writing and framing as well as the performance.
Look, F’d: Tales from the End Times isn’t some polished big-budget flick. IMDb says its budget was around $20,000 and that sounds about right to me. If you’re like me, though, films that were made for a buck fifty with some duct tape and pure grit have a certain appeal that can’t be replicated by their moneyed cousins. If the premise sounds cool to you, and you’re okay with a more homemade approach, you should definitely give this one a shot. Recommended, with the above caveats, for fans of V/H/S, Afflicted, and REC.
Michael Cavender