‘Spithood’ VOD Review
Stars: Tess O’Flaherty, Matt Connelly, Claudia Bonifazio, Thibul Nettle, Trung Le, Gail Morrison, Nick Buckland, Natasha Wanganeen | Written by Thibul Nettle, Tim Pine, Travis Akbar | Directed by Tim Pine
Coming in at just under an hour, including credits, it might seem like a stretch to call the Australian slasher Spithood a feature film. Surprisingly, however, The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences as well as both the American and British Film Institutes define a feature film as any film longer than 40 minutes, so Spithood does indeed qualify. The question is, does it have the quality to make up for what it lacks in quantity?
Set somewhere Down Under, the workers at a mental institution are preparing for their last shift. The final inmate, Kiara (Tess O’Flaherty; Ribspreader, StalkHer), is scheduled to be transferred out, and the facility is closed in the morning. Of course, as films from Assault on Precinct 13 to Malum have taught us, the final night in any place like this is rarely a quiet one.
So, while it’s a surprise to the staff, it’s no surprise to the viewer when the police bring in a hulking killer, Paul Atkins (Matt Connelly; The Follower, Love Story 2050), for evaluation. They inform them it’s for an insanity plea and has to be done immediately, they also tell them that the spithood he’s wearing is not to be removed under any circumstances.
Ashley (Claudia Bonifazio; Going for Gold, Wanted), the psychiatrist on duty, tells her boyfriend Mason (Thibul Nettle; Roadkill, Fate of the Night), who is one of the guards, that she doesn’t think she can do his evaluation. He wonders why she’s suddenly so spooked by a patient, and reminds her she doesn’t have much choice.
Before Ashley can act, however, one of the orderlies (Trung Le; Gymnastics Academy: A Second Chance!, Emotion is Dead) seizing a last opportunity to torment a patient, rigs the buzzer in Atkins’s cell to stay on. But karma quickly catches up with him when Atkins somehow gets free and beats him to death as hit sits on the toilet. All things considered, it’s a fitting end for a piece of shit like him.
Spithood was co-written by Thibul Nettle and Tim Pine, who also edited the film and plays the painter seen at the beginning. Their approach to the story was straightforward, they stripped out unnecessary filler, included just enough characterization to make us care about the asylum’s staff, and focused heavily on the stalk-and-slash elements.
And that isn’t hard to do once the facility goes into lockdown, trapping the killer and his potential victims inside and letting the tension ramp up. Among those trapped are their boss Maise (Gail Morrison; Edmond Black is Toast, The Stranger), Jeeves (Nick Buckland; I Am Delta, Never Too Late) a guard with fifteen years of experience at the hospital, and the head of security, Mel (Natasha Wanganeen; Cargo, 2067).
Shot on a low budget and in one location, with the University of Adelaide standing in for the hospital, Spithood makes excellent use of its setting. Cinematographer Joseph Clarke (Capacity, No Sugar Sprite) takes full advantage of long, dark hallways, boiler rooms, and a parking garage to create a menacing and claustrophobic atmosphere as the characters frantically try to escape, or at least stay alive until help arrives.
Clarke’s cinematography, combined with Pine’s sharp editing, also compensates for the film’s limited budget for practical effects. While viewers may not see much gore, the way the kills are framed makes them feel disturbingly brutal, especially when Atkins uses his fists and feet as weapons. Combined with Clint Owen Ellis’s (Written in the Stars, In My Head) score it almost makes up for the lack of effects.
Unfortunately, Spithood suffers from some script-related issues that keep it from reaching its full potential. The two big reveals near the end are obvious almost from the film’s beginning and the second one is, to put it mildly, rather hard to believe. That also applies to an important plot point earlier in the film that I won’t spoil, I’ll just note there are two possible explanations for what happens and neither of them are very credible. They’re not dealbreakers, but they do detract from the film and weaken what could have been a much stronger ending.
Despite these shortcomings, Spithood is still a decent slasher. Its likeable characters, solid pacing, and well-executed suspense sequences help to offset its script issues and lack of gore. The film is also a promising debut for director Tim Pine, whose efforts behind the camera show an ability to work with limited resources and still produce a solid film. In the end, Spithood may not break new ground in its genre, but it offers enough thrills and chills to satisfy fans. For those looking for a quick dose of suspense, it’s a worthwhile watch.
*** 3/5
Devilworks has released Spithood on various digital platforms.
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