The Indie Corner: THE COLLAPSED

I must have the Mayan prophecy of this being our year of doom stuck in my head because The Collapsed is the second end-of-the-world flick I’ve reviewed this week. This low budget Canadian production has a few good ideas, borrows heavily from the early Raimi playbook and while it contains some amateurish performances, manages to churn out a respectable indie flick given the constraints.

After a cataclysm of unknown origin lays 99% of the population to waste, Scott (John Fantasia) needs to lead his wife and grown son and daughter out of the smoldering ruins of the city into the less chaotic countryside. He has the vague notion that he should try to meet up with his estranged son, despite the overwhelming odds pointing to his probable demise.

This being the collapse of civilization, the family has to watch the roads for Mad Max rejects that are armed to the teeth and roaming the area looking for fresh meat. There’s also a hint of a supernatural presence in the form of whispered voices emanating from the forest. While we never see what these things may be, writer/director Justin McConnell borrows (if we’re being kind) the Evil Dead technique of a rushing camera representing an evil force bearing down on its victim.

I tend to be forgiving of low budget material that is at least making an effort and accept that the quality of actor will sometimes be less than what’s desired. While Fantasia acquits himself well, what puzzled me throughout the film was whether or not he did his best impersonation of Christopher Walken when delivering his lines on his own accord, or whether those instructions came from McConnell as a lark. If you can get past the impersonation, Fantasia delivers a solid performance as a man over his head and struggling to hold the threads together of a family he may not want to stick around for in better circumstances.

What’s less easy to overlook is the characterization and performances of the two female leads, especially the Lisa Moule’s as the shrewish and contemptible wife. It’s never a good thing when fifteen minutes into a film you’re jotting notes like ‘I’ve never wanted to see two characters hit by a train so badly.’ When divvying up the blame pie a big slice falls onto McConnell’s plate. I’m just not convinced he knows how to write for female characters. The women are saddled with trite dialogue packed with pointless bickering that sets a tone more appropriate for a comedic road film rather than one that aims to be a supernatural cataclysmic thriller.

While characterization may not be the film’s strong suit, the Collapsed does deliver some strong set piece moments. A flashback dinner scene during the days of normalcy quickly devolves into a nightmare scenario in one of the film’s creepier moments. The film could benefit from a changing up the surroundings a bit more, as there’s a bit too much traipsing in the woods for long stretches, but again, limited means translates to limited settings. The final reveal of the film relies on a twist that explains the intent of the peripheral lurking figures and replays the key moments neither from an alternative perspective but to McConnell’s credit it’s not telegraphed from a mile away nor insulting to the viewer’s intelligence. Combined with a nice bit of the old ultra violence at the end, The Collapsed winds up a serviceable indie horror flick.