Cody Calahan

  • The Oak Room (2020)

    The Oak Room (2020)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (On Cable TV, November 2021) There’s a substantially more interesting movie dying to get out of The Oak Room — if only it didn’t end at the moment when it was getting interesting. I do like the way the film made the most out of its limited means, with interlocking bar stories set one within each other, a handful of snowbound characters who are all revealed to have a connection, and a dialogue-heavy style that creates as much atmosphere as exposition. There’s an appreciable irony to the film’s concluding moments, as disconnected pieces of the puzzle come together to reveal… a ghastly mistake. The theatrical origin of the story is obvious, but even then, there’s cause to wonder why the film couldn’t have leaned further on its strengths. Better dialogue could have helped. Better characterization as well. But mostly — following up on the third act revelation because otherwise The Oak Room feels like a film that spends more than an hour clearing its throat before saying something interesting — and then it’s already over rather than continuing in that vein. It’s too bad — as a Canadian film, it does have a very specific setting and does quite a lot with what it has at its disposal. But it never quite shifts in the horror that director Cody Calahan’s tone promised, nor does it impress through the sheer impact of its dialogue. I liked it, but it could have been much better.

  • Antisocial (2013)

    Antisocial (2013)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (On Cable TV, October 2013) “Yet another zombie movie” would normally have me roll my eyes as, well, yet another zombie movie at a time where we’ve gone well beyond saturation point on those, but Antisocial has a few things going for it.  The first being an attempt at melding horror with social criticism of (as it were) social networks.  In this case, a New Year’s Eve celebration turns horrific as the world is ravaged by an epidemic whose source turns out to be internet-driven.  While not staggeringly new (hello, The Signal, Pulse, Cell), that’s a high concept in itself (as the apocalypse plays out as status updates and videos from beyond the closed quarters of the setting), but writer/director Cody Calahan has an eye for horror at a basic level, and so Antisocial manages a few effective sequences along the way, whether we’re talking about Christmas-light flickering death or rusty basement self-lobotomy.  There’s a bit of self-aware humor among the low-budget limitations of the film, and while the acting isn’t particularly noteworthy, lead Michelle Mylett doesn’t do too badly and develops her screen presence as the film goes on.  The rest of the film could have been better (as in; more interesting characters, tighter pacing, more artful exposition), but Antisocial gets a few credits as a cheap and effective horror film with a few bigger-than-average ideas.  The sequel is reportedly in production, which may help in developing said bigger-than-average ideas into something more substantial.