Brooklyn 45 is a new Shudder offering from writer/director Ted Geoghegen, whose debut feature We Are Still Here left a strong impression on me. His follow up, the period action thriller Mohawk had its moments, but the costume and production design as well as some of the dialogue really lacked authenticity and ultimately took me out of the film.
Just like his first two features, Brooklyn 45 is yet another period piece. This time is post World War 2 Brooklyn, and even though it’s essentially a one location setting, the dialogue, costume and production design are a real step up from Mohawk. The poster makes this look like a goofy seance flick (kinda reminds me of The Innkeepers poster art), and while there’s certainly a seance involved, the film has a more serious dramatic tone.
The story is about a group of lifelong friends who served together during WW2 getting together for holiday drinks. The host's wife has recently passed and he convinces the group to have a seance in order to get some closure. I can’t really say too much else without heading into spoiler territory, except that secrets are being withheld and not everybody is who they seem to be (big surprise). So you can expect a twist and/or a macguffin or two.
Nice to see veteran indie horror actor Kristina Klebe getting a larger role.
The screenplay is very dialogue heavy and coupled with the one location- definitely makes it feel like a play. At times the film feels overwritten and also overacted. This usually doesn’t bother me if the characters are likeable, but, aside from one or two, they’re all pretty despicable. Thankfully the cast is made up of veteran indie horror actors who mostly do an admirable job of handling the aforementioned dialogue heavy screenplay. Anne Ramsay, Ron E Rains and Kristina Klebe (nice to see her get a larger role) are all impressive, but it’s Larry Fessenden who steals the show. Fessenden who’s mostly known for directing and producing is kind of slept on as an actor in my opinion, and he’s an obvious standout here.
There’s some very serious themes at play, but they are heavy handed and extremely on the nose. I’m honestly not quite sure what Ted was trying to say here apart from the bleeding obvious. There’s certainly potential there, but the script is in desperate need of a re-write or two.
There's always that one guy at every party right?
The tone for the most part is pretty damn bleak, and the single location, overacting and heavy dialogue make it a bit of a slog. I’ve seen some love for this one online, but I really can't cosign that. There are some cool gore gags in the final act, but it feels like “too little too late”. I admire what writer/director Ted Geoghegen was trying to do, but ultimately I just couldn’t get on board. There’s not enough horror for genre fans or enough of a pay off for fans of slow burn. I’d like to say that on the strength of his first film that I look forward to his next feature, but after this and Mohawk, he’d really have to step it up a couple of notches.
Two and a Half out of Five stars.
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