Richard Bates, Jr., the madman behind Excision, releases his sophomore feature, the silly, strange Suburban Gothic to VOD today.
Suburban Gothic is a lighthearted, stylish and heartfelt piece of work from the filmmaker. Its just as strange as Excision, but not so dark; a lovely little horror worth seeking out in this increasingly crowded VOD landscape. I havent seen the film since it played Fantasia last summer, so a full review would be a bit disingenuous. Heres what Ive previously written, however: Starring Matthew Gray Gubler and Kat Dennings, Suburban Gothic takes on silly, buoyant atmosphere, informed by slapstick, silents, old haunted comedies and perhaps Scooby-Doo. Its a film I greatly enjoyed, one that celebrates the weird and is ultimately about the ensemble having a good time, especially Ray Wise.
In Suburban Gothic, Raymond has a prestigious MBA, but he cant find work. He can also channel the paranormal, but chatting with a cute girl still mystifies him. Kicked out of his apartment, Raymond returns home to his overbearing mother, his ex-jock father, and some beer-bellied former classmates. When a vengeful ghost starts terrorizing his small town home, Raymond the city-boy has to recruit Becca, the badass local bartender, to solve the mystery of the spirit threatening their lives.
For more, see Shocks former editor Ryan Turek review the film here. Suburban Gothic is now on demand and in limited theatrical release from FilmBuff.
