moviedespot

Innovative, smart, wry and scary enough to be funny. This is the most original horror flick to come along since the Blair Witch Project, but this one has a sense of humour to go along with it. The stars (who are actually much better looking in person) do a fantastic job of being even more creepy than the rest of the film, in the way that to date only Shelly Duval managed in The Shining. I'm looking forward to seeing the sequel and prequel due out later this year, my only fear is that they won't live up to the expectations set by this remarkable indie cult hit.

So, I was in Toronto for some quirky underground film festival called The Ancient Festival, (adequately named given the dusty seats in the tiny theatre) and after seeing a series of short, low-budget digital-disasters I decided to see one of the features playing the festival (of four in total). "If Wishes Were Horses" (actually a screening of an unfinished cut) was a surprise. It starts the same as every other indie feature... with lots of talking. And I mean lots of it! At first it seemed as though writer/director Justin Kelly was writing just to hear actors speak his thoughts on politics and love, but what the characters had to say actually began to take me in. Stars Jefferson Brown (Del) and Martin Oulette (Graham) take on the roles of the little devil and little angel on the shoulders of female lead Claire (the stunning Lara Kelly) as she tries to find her way through a series of life's obstacles. It was entertaining to watch her as you could almost hear her thoughts while making the choices. However the real remarkable performance of the film was from new femme fatale Danielle Hampton as the sultry temptress Mary. She grabs our attention the moment her shocking green eyes enter frame and she doesn't let go until the very end. This film also had one of the most erotic and graphic sex scenes I have ever watched in an indie film between the Greek god like Jefferson Brown and the smoking hot Hampton. It was a far better watch than the pathetic love making between Kelly and Oulette's characters. In the end, "If Wishes Were Horses" was a fun movie to watch, but I may just be saying that because of the steamy sex scene in the film's final ten minutes. (2 1/2 out of 5)