Realm of Shadows (2024) Film Review
Regardless of where you stand in terms of quality in horror, chances are you have a taste for movies that everyone else disregards. They don’t even have to be good. But they hold a pretty solid position in your heart, where you’re able to forget everything from the technicalities to casting decisions that make them “poor horror movies.” There’s also a very high chance that behind that horror movie, there’s a filmmaker with enough grit and drive to try their best at making a feature film. It’s pretty obvious that all filmmakers went through that phase, and yes, a lot of them did so in the horror universe.
However, Jimmy Drain is not a newcomer to the business. He’s been around for more than a decade, trying to prove what he can do in front of and behind the camera. Realm of Shadows is his latest gig, and considering the kind of industry he moves around in, we can’t help but observe that there’s something brewing in his ability to bring his ideas to the screen. His body of work has brought him the trust of some genre film legends who are willing to participate in projects that will probably stay within the indie circle, and perhaps that’s where they should stay. Not because they make for horrible films, but because they belong to a very specific niche universe where rules are overrated.
Realm of Shadows is a horror anthology comprised of seven segments that move around a story arc. It’s not common to see anthologies develop seven stories, but Drain has enough liberty to do what he thinks is best. Let’s go through each of them:
- Prologue (Dagger of Destiny): It features a coven of witches fighting against a bishop with enough guts to face them. It’s not the best arc, but it complies with the narrative rules.
- Hike: It tells the story of a man who goes on a hike after he loses his fiancĂ©. This is a bizarre exploration of loneliness that doesn’t quite connect with the genre.
- Abashed: Again, love enters the picture, and Drain tries his best to tell a story about a couple facing the improbable.
- The Initiation of Professor Kimmer: This one called my attention. It tells the story of a college professor facing a coven. The character’s development is good.
- Cadaver: The story of a dancer facing crucial life choices. It doesn’t really work.
- Meet Michael: The classic story of a couple moving into their new home, and their daughter becomes the focus of an evil entity. It goes by too fast, but it could have been better developed.
- Fate Upside Down: Tony Todd shows up and plays a priest who tries to save his friend from an evil alter ago. It connects with the prologue through a narrative device.
The film belongs to today’s misunderstood world of B-films in the indie circle. The production could use some tweaks, editing would definitely make the stories better, and the audio mix needs to be checked. But in the end, it’s about enjoying what you like. I, a horror fan until the day I die, just like to celebrate horror storytelling and the daring filmmakers who believe in themselves enough to give their skills a try.
