I'm amazed by some of the reviews I see here. Did these other people see the same movie? I admit, Strawberry Estates is definitely low budget. Director Ron Bonk says on the commentary he spent just $400 to make it. But get past the low budget, the movie is about psychological horror, not gore and digital effects. And despite some shaky acting from two of the leads, the underlying story is brilliant.
Yes, brilliant. One of the best low budget script ever. I kid you not.
First, let's give credit where credit is due SE was shot before "The Blair Witch Project" and was the first horror movie to 100% utilize the hand held camera style. Second, Ron plays the movie like it's found footage now held by the FBI (government), and idea used by JJ Abrams for "Cloverfield". SE is ahead of its time! First, there is the Professor who is such an egomaniac and hung up on "science fact" that he loses complete control and become possessed by the building, doing it's evil biding. Then there is psychic Jennifer who is so hung up on "religion, God, spirituality" that she becomes overconfident in relying on that as her strength, and also becomes possessed by the building. Sarah is naïve, infatuated with Laurel (which is staged with perfect subtly), has little morals and no clear focus on her life (did Bonk make her a Mary Magdalene esquire character on purpose, or was this a happy accident he doesn't say on the commentary track) and ultimately she too becomes a victim of the building. The only one unaffected is Jason, the camera man, the person who doesn't believe in science or religion, but himself. In the end though, this leave him ill-prepared for what is coming.
Early on, Jason mocks Christianity when he notes that you can lead a horrible life, kill people, etc, but on your death bed, you can repent and go to Heaven. Sarah argues that it doesn't work quite like that. Then, late in the movie, when he realizes all hope is likely gone, he goes to Sarah and apologies for the way he had treated her earlier. But Sarah tells him it's too late to apologize. It's easy to miss that moment, but it's brilliantly written one of many subtle touches Bonk puts into SE that makes it a movie far more in-depth than it appears.
The first hour of the movie is almost all dialogue. I for one enjoyed the science vs religion debates between Laurel and Jennifer. But there are moments that keep your blood pumping a derelict lurches from behind a closed door, a brother attacks the camera these moments remind you not to relax too much, or you will be caught off guard
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Shortly after the one hour mark, you get Jason talking to the camera, mocking their work as a bunch of people just talking, no ghosts, nothing happening, how the whole thing is like a "bad b-movie" (brilliant again Bonk listen to the commentary to hear how bad shot on video movies are spoofed here!!). Then, at what I regard as the high point of the movie, the group sees its first ghost. The editing is perfect as this ghost of an infamous axe murder draws closer and closer to them. The scene is one of the scariest I have ever seen in any movie! In that final night, the building takes total control of the Professor and he kills Jennifer. In a fantastic chilling little scene, we see/hear Sarah and Jason hiding in a dark room (the camera has night vision, which creates a nice creepy effect) as the Professor draws close. How do we know he's getting close he's dragging a metal bar down the hallway, and the sound is haunting (we also hear him closing and opening doors). The scene goes on for maybe 2 mins as he draws closer to the hiding couple, and we're on the edge of our seats once again (seriously, turn the lights off, watch this scene in the dark, and honestly tell me you're not looking over your shoulder by the end!!). The professor finally spots them, but in a crafty bit of writing (for once, someone leaving their camcorder ON during a life threatening moment actually makes sense!!!!!), Jason has positioned the camera away from himself. The professor thinks he's found them when he see the record light on it, but Jason is hiding behind him. In a great nod to Alfred Hitchcock, Sarah uses the camera's light to flash and blind Laurel (his reaction to it is a bit over the top tho, he yells as if in pain at each flash) and that gives Jason the chance to strike. The Professor is dead, and the couple safe
Well, for a few mins, because Hell finally breaks loose. Now, I do agree that the denizens of hell are a bit disappointing, and listening to the commentary track I understand that Bonk had a lot of people with great costumes not show up, but it's too bad he didn't go back and reshoot this. What he did though was recruit anyone he could find in the building for the scene. It's pretty amazing when you realize you see the director himself and even the actors playing Sarah and Jason are in the scene (incognito of course) even though Jason is running the camera and talking (well, screaming). The scene is nicely edited to cover this up, and Bonk makes it seem like there are many, many souls there. They just look too
ordinary. Still, the scene was creepy, but after such a great build-up from the hour mark the axe murder, Laurel going Looney Tunes an ending with scary looking damned souls would have been a final nail in a beautiful coffin.
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