‘Mystery Spot’ Review
Stars: Graham Skipper, Lisa Wilcox, Debbie Rochon, Bobby Simpson II, Rachael Logue, Jill Brumer, Lyle Kanouse, Steven Scott, Regan Christine House, Julie Osterman, Sean Patrick Judge, Cyrus Rodas, Katelynn Bauer, Mandie LeBlanc | Written and Directed by Mel House
A number of lost souls find refuge in a small motel in the middle of nowhere, it’s only distinguishing characteristic being the ruins of an old Mystery Spot—a long-dead roadside attraction with strange metaphysical powers. Everyone at the Mystery Spot will be affected by its unique properties, but only some will survive its reality-shattering implications.
Apparently squeezing this one in in-between VFW and The Leech, Graham Skipper makes another welcome genre appearance in Mystery Spot which, early on, certainly lives up to the name. Though this film doesn’t seem to have garnered as much genre press as Skipper’s other works, even if this one did receive its world premiere at the prestigious genre festival Frightfest in 2021!
Now I don’t know about you, but when I hear “strangers at a motel” I can’t help but think of films like Identity and the more recent Candy Land. And in some small way, Mystery Spot does feel akin to Identity – the strangers gathered at the motel nearby the titular spot all come with some sort of baggage, of the emotional kind I mean. Some people see things, some people have flashbacks to unexplained events in their lives. They’re all seemingly “traumatised” by something. In fact, it’s all very… mysterious… And that’s seemingly all tied to the motel’s roadside attraction that somehow defies the physical realm, or that’s how the legend of this particular attraction goes!
Besides the aforementioned films, Mystery Spot also recalls Carnival of Souls, especially the character Rachel (Lisa Wilcox) who we see in flashbacks/memories walking into the ocean in a red dress – seemingly committing suicide. Or at least attempting to. Because if she DID commit suicide then how did she end up at the motel? Are we seeing ghosts? That would recall Identity’s twist for sure. Or is this merely a strange off-the-beaten-path place where people can escape their traumas of their real lives for a while and our cast of characters are just troubled individuals looking to be left alone?
And that’s the thing, for a LOT of Mystery Spot‘s running time there are far more questions than there are answers, with writer/director Mel House playing up the oddness and the mystery, even foregoing a cohesive story – with many of the film’s scenes feeling more random than you’d expect. Thankfully for all the strange randomness, The Mystery Spot is held together by the film’s performances, especially Lisa Wilcox in the central role. Though Graham Skipper’s weird filmmaker, auditioning people at the off-the-beaten-path location, comes a close second!
In the end, the mystery becomes too much, especially given that the film runs nearly two hours and the oddness goes from being intriguing to being monotonous and, honestly, I checked out… which some of Mystery Spot‘s characters should have done!
** 2/5
Mystery Spot is out now from Terror Films.