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If there’s one thing that’s terrifying to me it’s the countryside. If there’s anything worse than that… it’s the weird fuckers that live out there. Promise is a chronicle of what happens when you head out to the woods… I’m not joking, this happens to everyone that goes out to the woods. There you are, driving along, having solid relationship talks with your girl when all of the sudden, you run into a group of crazy cultists in the process of killing cops. Of course, you get all freaked out by dudes in suspenders and wind up driving your car into a tree. They kidnap your chick for rape fare and you’re forced to run into the woods. From there, you have to kill and maim an army of suspender wearing dudes named after the characters in The Children of the Corn. This is the premise of Promise.

The film is a low-budget indie survival horror flick made with a budget of $8,000. You wouldn’t know it though, because everything is pulled off so professionally. The film definitely feels as if it was made on a budget that was easily ten times longer. The look of the film alone is wonderful. The camera action is crisp, and director David M. Quiroz, Jr. does a wonderful job of cutting corners, which occasionally breaks the fourth wall of the film. For the most part, it’s an engrossing flick.

Promise features a fairly solid cast of no-name actors. The performances are uneven and everyone is at alternate times great or terrible. The main characters are played by Kurt Kubicek and Noelle Wheeler. Kubicek plays Jesse, a badass survival dude who can kick some ass thanks to the training of his father when he was just a young kid. Kubicek’s Jesse is pretty cool in some scenes, but turns into a total poof around his chick. Noelle Wheeler is a solid actress, but she’s kind of annoying as Jesse’s girl. She has a voice that can only be described as nails on a chalkboard, which sucks because she isn’t that bad of an actress. Tiffany Shepis shows up to do the requisite tit shot as well… and that’s always nice.

The violence in the film is glorious low-budget action. People get their brains blown out, they get stabbed, and there’s a general feel of wonderful violence to the film. The special effects are solid and definitely upper-echelon stuff for a low-budget flick. It’s still hard to believe that the film was shot on only $8,000. For fans of horror movies, the horror elements of the film are all in play.

Promise isn’t like a Hollywood blockbuster and there are times where the budget rears its ugly head, such as with the acting, a handful of continuity problems, and some spots where the poor person’s process shows through. Of course, these things should only be a problem for a nitpicky bastard who has nothing better to do than pick apart a flick that was made on such a low-budget. Overall, Promise is a totally enjoyable experience. It’s definitely worth a watch if you’re a fan of crazy cults and the backwoods survival micro-genre.

Final Synopsis: I enjoyed the movie, the film’s energy, and the indie workarounds that the film uses to pull off a solid horror flick. If you’re looking for a big-budget Hollywood-esque indie film, this is not it. If you’re looking for a solid indie tale of survival featuring characters named Abraham and Malachi, then you should definitely seek out Promise.

Points Lost: -1 for acting inconsistency, -1 for a handful of continuity problems with mostly little stuff, -1 for some slow pacing, -1 for some spots where the budget shows up and becomes a problem

Lesson Learned: People in suspenders are bad.

Burning Question: Why are all religious cults just inventions of men that just want to get laid?

Promise
6/10

Tags: 2008, crazy cult, david m. quiroz jr., horror, horror movie, indie horror, killer cult, kurt kubicek, latest independent film reviews, latest independent movie reviews, latest indie film reviews, latest indie movie reviews, latest indie reviews, latest movie reviews, New Independent Film Reviews, new independent movie reviews, new indie movie reviews, new indie reviews, noelle wheeler, recent3, ron bowen, seth gandrud, tiffany shepis