November Son (2008)

Director:

Jason Paul Collum

Writer:

Jason Paul Collum (writer)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Horror | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

It's time to dig up a few old friends... and bury some new ones.

Plot:

Two years after their loved ones were murdered in obsessive rage, the survivors are dragged into a horrific psychological breakdown...and blood soaked plan for revenge.

Plot Keywords:

Blood | Obsession | Dead Body | Gay Slur | Flashback

Cast

Judith O'Dea	...	Emily Hamilton
Brinke Stevens	...	Nancy
Sacha Sacket	...	Eli
Lloyd Pedersen	...	George
Jerod Howard	...	Elliot
Tina Ona Paukstelis	...	Marti White
Darcey Vanderhoef	...	Maggie
Ashley J. Anderson	...	Red
Debbie Rochon	...	Hillary
Robyn Griggs	...	Brielle
Karen Dilloo	...	Reagan
Walter Rhone	...	Kedric
Sean Michael Lambrecht	...	Corin Buckman
Jeff Dylan Graham	...	Jake
Joel Duffrin	...	Josie Lynn
Chad J. Morrell	...	Chantal
Jason Satterfield	...	Jamey
Hemi Marcum	...	Dick
Michael John Isaacson	...	Homophobic Delivery Man
Billy Larrin	...	Krekling
John Grzegorczyk	...	Lieutenant
Jason Paul Collum	...	Officer Jon
Mark O'Meara	...	Officer Wendell / Kissing Man in Park
Jimmy Turek	...	Officer Daren
Jamie Bilke	...	Grocery Store Clerk
Tricia Mooney	...	Pregnant Teen Waitress
David Allan Collum	...	Elias, Eli's Grandfather
Jason Sechrest	...	Interviewer on TV
Julie King	...	Reporter Parker Lown
Sy Stevens	...	Reporter Shady McNeill
Wendell Perkins	...	Kissing Man in Park
Daina Tomsons	...	Woman at Park
Laurene Dolan	...	Waitress at H&W
Bailey Johnson	...	Bratty Girl
Chloe Baumstark	...	Crying Girl with Heart Ring
Brittany Simmons	...	Brunette Princess in Park
Brandi Simmons	...	Blonde Princess in Park
Rune Sheppard	...	Bartender at H&W
Lorrie Ferguson	...	Woman at Funeral
Randy Wray	...	DJ Randy Wray (as Randy Threlkeld)
Angelo Guzman	...	Hot Gay Guy
Christine Schwartz	...	Hot Gay Guy's Hot Girl #1
Lynn Groleau	...	Hot Gay Guy's Hot Girl #2
Victor Frasher	...	Hot Gay Guy's Dancing Boy
Darin Hogy	...	Guy Still at Juke Box
Morten Sunde	...	Dancing Queen #1
Diana 'Lady Di' Ferrell	...	True Biting Lesbian
Dennis John	...	Icon Dancer
John Repinski	...	Icon Dancer
Ashley Bergstrom	...	Funeral Guest
Nick Galvan	...	Funeral Guest
Brian Nettles	...	Funeral Guest
Heather B. Hayden	...	Funeral Guest / Woman with Rolling Eyes
Erin McMenamin	...	Funeral Guest
Marshall Kiow	...	H&W Patron
Keighley White	...	H&W Patron
Anthony Fiorelli	...	H&W Patron
Charles M. McDonald	...	H&W Patron / Icon Dancer
John Powilates	...	H&W Patron / Icon Dancer
Erin Donaldson	...	H&W Patron
Beth Mattson	...	H&W Patron
Amy Miller	...	H&W Patron
Adriana 'Age' Villasenor	...	H&W Patron
Elaine Abernathy	...	H&W Patron
Joe Figueroa	...	Leather Puppy at Icon
Ted J. McMahan	...	Icon Dancer
Joanne Bates	...	Icon Dancer
Sean Young	...	Sexy Icon Dancer
Michael Daugherty	...	Icon Dancer
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ariauna Albright	...	Wicked children (voice)
Anna Clementi	...	Laughing H&W Patron
Taryn Furhman	...	Talkative H&W Patron
Jeff Palmer	...	TV Interviewee
Del Rhodes	...	Icon Chatter Box
Brad Tobias	...	Icon Dancer (as 'Bradley J. Tobias')

Directed by
Jason Paul Collum

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Jason Paul Collum		writer

Produced by
Don Christensen	....	co-executive producer
Sally Christensen	....	co-executive producer
Jason Paul Collum	....	producer
Jennifer Lynn Goebel	....	line producer
Michael John Isaacson	....	executive producer
Mark O'Meara	....	executive producer
Wendell Perkins	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Sacha Sacket
Jamey Sewell

Cinematography by
Jason Satterfield

Film Editing by
Dennis Petersen

Casting by
P.J. Lown

Production Design by
J.P. Campeau
Jennifer Lynn Goebel

Art Direction by
J.P. Campeau

Set Decoration by
Ken Scheske

Makeup Department
Jamie Bilke	....	special makeup effects artist
Jason Satterfield	....	assistant makeup artist

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Jason Satterfield	....	assistant director

Art Department
Joanne Bates	....	art designer
Jennifer Lynn Goebel	....	property master
Jason Griffith	....	construction coordinator
Ken Scheske	....	set designer

Sound Department
Maui Holcomb	....	sound re-recording mixer

Camera and Electrical Department
A.L. Frankel	....	gaffer
Daina Tomsons	....	still photographer

Other crew
Kristina Christensen	....	script supervisor
Dillon Mapel	....	production assistant

Production Companies

• B+BOY Productions

Distributors

• Tempe Entertainment (2011) (worldwide) (all media) (re-issued as "October Moon 2: November Son)
• Ariztical Entertainment (2009) (worldwide) (all media)
• Tempe Video (2007) (worldwide) (all media)

Also Known As:

"November Sun" - USA (alternative title)
"October Moon 2: November Son" - USA (reissue title)

Runtime:

USA:103 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White | Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Filming Locations:

Kenosha, Wisconsin, USA

Company:

B+BOY Productions

Trivia:

Cinematographer Jason Satterfield was unexpectedly hired as an actor for the role of "Jamey" when the scheduled actor Michael Lecce didn't show up for the production.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Well Isn't That Queer 2: The Making of 'November Son' (2009) (V)

An ambitious, character-driven very low budget psycho drama.

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

There are so many horrible homemade horror movies being released these days that most people are understandably discouraged about checking out films they've never heard of before. Can't say that I blame them since most of these are awful, amateurish excuses to showcase cheap gore effects and brain dead comedy. Trying to find something else is like trying to find a needle in a haystack, and that's why I personally feel that writer/director Jason Paul Collum is one of the more promising directors working in independent horror today. His films are wholly centered around the characters. They deal with how secrets, repression and past demons can come back to haunt people. They deal with prejudice and homophobia, and how traditional small town morals and values can destroy families, relationships and lives. The events that transpire in his films often have a rippling effect that touches even the secondary characters who inhabit the stifling small Midwest town where his films are set.

NOVEMBE R SON is a follow up to 2005's O CTOBER MOON. If you plan on watching "November," I strongly recommend viewing the other beforehand since events and characters from the first spill into the second.

The film opens with Jake (Jeff Dylan Graham) - whose boyfriend Corin (Sean Michael Lambrecht) fell victim to sexually repressed and mentally unstable Elliot (Jerod Howard) in the previous film - hanging himself. With the apartment now vacant, Eli (Sacha Sacket), who has just moved from Hollywood to the same small Wisconsin town, rents out the place and almost immediately finds himself entangled in Corin's past life and past relationships. His gay friendly "fruit fly" landlord Maggie (Darcey Vanderhoef) - a best friend of Jake's - instantly takes to him and decides to take it upon himself to show him around. Eli ends up getting a job as a photographer with a local magazine run by repressed Emily Hamilton (NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD's Judith O'Dea), Elliot's spinster mother, whose unflinchingly negative attitude toward her son's sexuality in the first film was a chief ingredient to the tragedy that ensued. Eli's controlling and very negative father George (Lloyd Pedersen) shows up in town, and starts dating Corin's former coworker Nancy (Brinke Stevens). Eli's estranged mother Hillary (Debbie Rochon) and Elliot's former fiancé Marti (Tina Ona Paukstelis) also pop in to add extra complications. Eventually, strange things begin to happen and characters start disappearing one by one.

Sound complicated? It IS complicated. There's enough going on here to fuel a daytime soap for about a month. There seems to be a recurring theme about redemption here. Emotionally-unstable Emily is at the point of unraveling at any moment, but seems to want redemption for the way she treated her son by taking Eli under her wing. Hillary seems to want redemption for never being there when her son needed her, though she all but refuses to accept her son's sexuality. And Eli himself wants a fresh start by running away from his former life (and the problems he was facing) in California.

The film is far from perfect. It's extremely talky, which personally doesn't bother me a whole lot, but still much can be said in ways that don't need to be delivered via dialogue. The ending - which unveils surprises about several key characters - is also something of a mess. As I noticed with O CTOBER MOON, the dramatic aspects that fill the majority of the film are far better staged, written and presented than the action/ terror-oriented scenes at the conclusion, which are a bit sloppy. The acting is pretty spotty throughout, but most of the major roles are adequately performed. O'Dea is outstanding in her role (which is more fleshed out than it was in the first film) and this is easily the best film role she's had to date. Famous Scream Queen Stevens had made a career in the 80s and 90s by doing T&A heavy horror, but shows she's more than up to task playing non-exploitative character parts nowadays. Vanderhoef, Robyn Griggs (in a minor role as Emily's blonde, busty, cleavage-sporting secretary) and a couple of others are bright additions to the cast. Sacket, all white smiles, blue eyes and sculpted abs, was OK but lacked the necessary gravitas to pull off the role he was given, though he was tolerable for the most part (especially considering this is his first film). He also contributes an excellent song to the soundtrack that makes one suspect that his music career is also worth checking out.