Synopsis: A horror novelist and his lover escape to a remote cabin in Hollow Creek whilst he works on his latest novel but it’s not long before spooky occurrences put a strain on the lovebirds
Director: Guisela Moro
Starring: Guilsela Moro, Steve Daron, Burt Reynolds
Review: I’ll be honest, the reason I watched ‘Hollow Creek‘ was that I was curious to see what Burt Reynolds was up to nowadays. Given the low score on IMDB I wasn’t overly hopeful but I was pleasantly surprised.
As well as directing and starring, Moro also wrote the screenplay (with Daron collaborating). There’s a lot going on in the movie, with the relationship challenges between Moro and Daron, Daron’s writer’s block, missing children and more. In some respects, having so much backstory for the characters makes for a slightly muddled and unevenly paced movie but I understand the writer’s choices for including it. It’s said that an author’s work contains elements of themselves and I think this is true of this movie, with certain comments reflecting a conservative, Catholic upbringing.
I liked the colour palate Moro used and it definitely added to the atmosphere of the movie in my opinion: hues of blue for Daron, Green for Moro and darker greys when there are supernatural occurrences or danger. Moro proves herself an adept director, especially given this is only her second directorial feature and there are few of the unnecessary or wasted shots more experienced directors are guilty of. I would say that I found the ending a little cliche and silly, but given the build-up, I’m unsure of how else they could have ended the film.
The acting can be patchy, including from the leads and this is highlighted by Reynold’s restrained performance. The scenes with the police officers, in particular, I found annoying and wishing they were over. I’m not sure if this was due to the acting or the cliched writing, but they did slow the pace of the movie. The scenes involving Daron’s editor also slow the pace and I don’t feel add anything to the film. Despite the uneven acting, it was still watchable and viewers should not be put off.
I can understand why there are a number of people for whom this movie didn’t work: there’s no gore, limited violence and much of the supernatural aspects are kept to a minimum, although they do provide a ‘jump’ when they happen. It’s also a real mixture of relationship drama, supernatural horror, crime and mystery. I feel the low score it’s been given on IMDB is unfair, as there are higher rated movies which do not have the care that Hollow Creek does. As I said above, there’s a lot to cram into a movie just shy of two hours. However, it definitely worth a visit to Hollow Creek.