Black Fly

I was quite impressed with this independent film, which was shot in my home landscape. I've met the director, and know the budget was under $1 million and was shot in 14 days. But the scope of the story was a smart match for this budget; it never felt crippled, nor low-budget. The quality was high throughout.

Black Fly is very well directed, written, acted, filmed, edited, and scored. I was deeply engaged in the narrative from the beginning to the end, worried about the characters, and not able to predict what would happen next.

The landscape was very familiar to me, and was a rich aspect of the film, whether it was the interiors of the home, the forest, or workplace scenes. It was beautifully filmed, while being honest to the landscape, and this gave a rich atmosphere to the story.

Each of the performances were strong. In particular I was engaged by the older brother's performance (Noel, played by Matthew MacCaull), who reminded me of real people I knew in my youth!

I also appreciated the theme of the story, the younger brother try to find a home which was healthy, as best as he could in a very broken situation.

Real life horror. Suspenseful and gritty. Dont listen to the poor ratings. This film was an excellent thriller with good performances very well done despite the low budget. I would like to see more from this director.

There's definitely a decent story here, and pretty strong character development. It wasn't at all boring, in my opinion. The rising tension is done effectively, and we believe every decision each character makes. Also, the ending was appropriate and not overly contrived.

It did at times, however, feel like the actors were kind of *playing* at being country bumpkins with a tough start in life. That is, the acting didn't feel entirely authentic. The actress who plays Paula, for example, went way over the top with the melodrama. I was rolling my eyes at her a little by the end. I felt similar about the actor who played Noel. Just a little too much screaming and kicking when a bit more subtlety would have been much more effective.

It made me think of the movie Affliction, an indie drama from (I believe, without checking) the '90s, starring Nick Nolte and Sissy Spacek. It's the same kind of themes but much better acting. Anyway, Black Fly is a decent watch even if it's a bit forgettable.

I saw Black Fly in the Activity Centre Lounge on Denman Island on the evening of October 11, 2014.I went to it primarily because rarely do films also being shown at the Vancouver Film Festival make it to our little outpost especially during the actual festival. A portion of the film was shot on Denman and I assume showing it here was an offering of respect and appreciation for the reception shown during the filming.

Black Fly, directed by Jason Bourque, is a terrific little thriller. It is intense, depressing, (did I say intense?) and dark. Ostensibly based on a series of murders in New Brunswick 30 years ago, it stands on its own as a portrait of rural isolation and the violence which may be simmering just below the surface of all of our souls.

The scenes shot on Denman Island are beautiful as is the cinematography for the entire film. Though not for the faint of heart, I would recommend it to any moviegoer looking for a taste of anguish and angst.

Apparently this film is inspired by true events so that may be the reason why there aren't any crazy "twists" to speak of. The casting and pacing is good and the production value high. It doesn't really add anything new to the "redneck loses his marbles so let the massacre begin" genre but I found it entertaining despite not caring much for any of characters. The younger brother protagonist is nice enough but not much time was devoted to his backstory nor did he do that much to be super likeable IMO. He was nice enough and obviously going through tough times but I didn't feel compelled to root for him. The girlfriend was a neurotic mess who would probably jump off a cliff if told to do so. The antagonist older brother was acted out just fine but at the end of the day he was basically just another easily triggered psychopath with zero empathy. If you subscribe to a video service that includes this then ypu might want to give it a go but I wouldn't spend money to rent it. 6 stars from me.