Nothing left to fear - DVD

Content: When Dan (James Tupper) is asked to take over as pastor in the small town of Stull in rural Kansas, his wife Wendy (Anne Heche) in particular is excited about the new beginning. The idyllic new house and the extreme kindness shown to them by the old pastor (Clancy Brown) bodes well for a happy future. Only daughter Rebecca (Rebekah Brandes) can't quite share the enthusiasm of her parents and two siblings, Christopher (Carter Cabessa) and Mary (Jennifer Stone). It's not just that there's hardly anything for a girl her age to do here. Rebecca also has a very uneasy feeling that something isn't right here. But these reservations are quickly forgotten when she meets the charismatic Noah (Ethan Peck). Quickly the girl is on fire for the mysterious boy and so pays no attention to the strange occurrences that confirm her first fear. For behind the idyllic facade of Stull lies one of the seven gates to hell. And Rebecca and Mary play a central role in a deadly ritual designed to open that gate forever...

Nothing left to fear is the feature film debut for several people involved. Director Anthony Leonardi III makes his debut here, and it's also the first screenplay on film for writer Jonathan W.C. Mills. Cinematographer Martin Coppen, who previously primarily directed music videos (for Metallica, among others), also tries his hand at a feature film for the first time with this horror thriller. Going off of that, the flick produced by Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash is really successful. The film looks very good and, especially in the first half, never lets you get the feeling that you're watching a cheap B-movie. The script establishes the deceptive small town idyll perfectly and the direction builds a dark underlying mood that produces some well done goosebump moments.

It's the creeping menace that makes the film so effective at the beginning. The whole thing isn't exactly new to connoisseurs of the genre, but it works really well here. The decent actors like Clancy Brown or even Anne Heche and James Tupper, who already worked together in the series Men in Trees, support this positive impression even more. Unfortunately, it doesn't stay with the rather subtle creepiness. Towards the end, only partially convincing special effects and a dramaturgical chaos take over the action. The fact that the last twenty minutes are also extremely dark does not exactly contribute to the fact that the confusion of the viewer is kept in check.

It is actually highly creditable to the creators that the final scene remains somewhat ambiguous. The viewer is not handed the resolution of the story too obviously on a platter, which in itself is a positive thing. After all, especially in the horror genre, viewers often get the feeling that they are being taken for fools. But unfortunately, the finale leading up to this final sequence is staged in such a chaotic and confusing way that a little more clarity would have been desirable then. Thus, the impression arises that the makers didn't really know how to resolve the good beginning. Too bad actually, because Nothing left to fear would have undoubtedly had the potential for a better and creepier ending.

Nevertheless, the film offers good genre entertainment for long stretches. The atmosphere is menacing enough and the minor goosebump moments too well done to be permanently ruined by the rather unsuccessful ending. If you are looking for solid occult horror with some strong moments and if you don't mind the loss of quality in the last twenty minutes, this home movie premiere can be recommended to you. And therefore applies: with small deductions worth seeing!

Picture + Sound: No matter what you may think of Nothing left to fear, one thing you can not deny the film: it definitely does not look like a cheap B-movie. Some of the really great and atmospheric camerawork comes across well on the DVD. The picture is clean, the overall sharpness is convincing and the atmospheric colour scheme is also pleasing. Even though some scenes are mixed very dark towards the end, a positive overall picture prevails in the end. The audio is also very atmospheric, with small sound effects in particular providing pleasant goosebumps in the first half. Towards the end, the effects become more pronounced, adding more dynamics, but overall not as effective as the more subtle sound effects. The bottom line for this is a satisfied: good!

Extras: As a bonus, there is only the trailer for the film.

Conclusion: Nothing left to fear is a decent horror thriller, which especially in the first half visually and atmospherically triumphs over dramaturgical clichés and in some moments can even generate a really decent goosebumps. The ending is a bit overloaded and confusing, which slightly dulls the otherwise positive overall impression. But if you like supernatural, rather quiet horror thrillers, you will be served really well, at least at the beginning. And therefore, despite the rather disappointing finale, the bottom line is still a: recommendable!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp