LORE (2023)

Streaming on Tubi from Kaleidoscope Home Entertainment!
Directed by James Bushe, Patrick Michael Ryder, Greig Johnson.
Written by James Bushe, Christine Barber-Ryder, Patrick Michael Ryder, Greig Johnson.
Check out the trailer here!!

A group of adrenaline junkies who frequent haunts, escape rooms, and other scare attractions get together on a haunted camping trip with a tour guide (Richard Brake) guiding them through a night of scares as all of them tell spooky tales around the campfire.

Anthologies seem to be made of two kinds these days. One of them is a collection of short films glommed together with a wraparound segment that barely has anything kind of similar theme. And then there are the anthologies that do follow the same format and seem to have some kind of link between the stories. I prefer the latter, as it feels more time and attention was used on the construction of the film. LORE feels a little like both, as it seems all three of the filmmakers involved worked together on this project, but each produced vastly different stories from one another. Now, I don’t want the same story to be told every time, but the connection between these segments are loose to say the least, but at least it seems there was some kind of communication between filmmakers as each segment was being made.

The wraparound is decent, mainly because it’s got Richard Brake who makes any film, he’s in better for him being there. And the campers are ok, though they seem to be more interested in ripping on each other than really spending time together. I have friends like that, so I guess their relationship is realistic, but it doesn’t make any of them very likable characters.

Segment One, “Shadows,” begins with a man running from a pair of thugs, who takes refuge in a warehouse haunted by a black demon. This predictable sequence may not have been the scariest, but the acting is top notch and makes it very watchable. I also like the extra effort put into the SPLIT SECOND like demon in the warehouse. James Bushe known for THE PREDATOR: DARK AGES fan film and CANNIBALS AND CARPET FITTERS wrote and directed this one.

In Segment Two, “The Hidden Woman,” a mother and child inherit a home from an old woman, a former ballet dancer, who haunts the halls. This one is rather breezy, but it does feature a cool looking ghost who appears to be walking backwards and then filmed forwards to have an uncanny look at the way she moves. This one could have had some kind of explanation as to why the ghost is so mean to the new inhabitants to the house other than simply being a creepy ghost. Some motivation or backstory would have helped. It ends with a jump scare which feels like a cheat out of coming to a real resolution but goes in line with the fact that this is a story being told around a campfire. Writer/Director Patrick Michael Ryder is responsible for this one, along with his partner Christine Barber-Ryder.

Now, Segment Three, entitled “Cross Your Heart” is where this film gets rolling as a night out celebrating the anniversary of a couple, turns into a bloodbath full of witchy and folksy goodness. I loved pretty much everything about this one which involved some wonderful edits and camera angles, and a truly shocking turn or two of events. This segment had teeth and is my favorite of the bunch by short filmmaker Greig Johnson.

Segment Four called “The Keychain Man” is from the collaboration between Patrick Michael Ryder, Christine Barber-Ryder, and James Bushe. It’s a fun little slasher/workplace maniac film when a verbally abused giant who works in a movie theater snaps and kills his boss and then locks the few people in the theater inside for some stalk and slash. This one has some nice gory kills involving various equipment you’d find in a theater and has some well-timed comical beats. And while the killer’s look feels like a cross between Leatherface and Scream, it still makes for an ominous little slasher short.

Patrick Michael Ryder, Christine Barber-Ryder, and James Bushe, also worked together on the wraparound which doesn’t so much as tell a story, but it sets the mood nicely. While the first two were a little tepid, LORE really picks up stream in the second half with the last two tales. I recommend this anthology simply for the final two wicked little segments.