Lo - Movie Review

Low budget horror can be campy good fun. It can also be disastrously painful to watch. Lo is somewhere in between. This film is somewhat charming and fun with a touch of offbeat dark humor...but it also has some sketchy dialogue and could have been shorter than the rather lightweight 80 minute run time. The film is limited by the parameters it sets for itself, so stretching the time out (or filling the time with more background) would be very difficult but not impossible.

Lo is a tongue-in-cheek examination of horror films. It is part love story, part dark humor and part horror. The parts are integrated well, but none of the parts, individually, excelled. The humor was tepid, the love story undeveloped and unfulfilled and the horror only moderately scary. The sum of the parts equaled something greater but failed to really break free into a realm that would set this film apart from the pack. Lo has all the elements that a film would need to be set apart...but just doesn't seem to be capable of turning the corner.

In a nutshell (and without spoilers), Justin (Ward Roberts) summons the demon Lo (Jeremiah Burkett) in hopes of retrieving his girlfriend who has been abducted by demons. The girlfriend, April (Sarah Lassez) has a hidden past that is revealed to Justin in his heartfelt quest to free her from the very bowels of hell. The story unfolds within and in the immediate area of a pentagram, which offers Justin protection from the beasts he summons. Flashbacks and sidebars are viewed from the security of his protective ring. The scenes from Justin's past are portrayed in stage-play fashion with all the "strings" fully visible.

The flashbacks are even complemented with some karaoke quality musical interludes adding an additional dimension of campiness to the film. The song Demon Girl as performed by the demon Jeez (Devin Barry) reminded me of a bad karaoke version of a Boomtown Rats song. The film sort of insults viewers by having the demon Lo reiterate the message of the song for the benefit of "Justin" although it is evident to me that Writer/Director Travis Betz thought his audience might need some additional prodding to "get it."

Betz' writing isn't entirely bad. It is actually good at times...with the conceptual aspects rather intriguing and engaging. The actual dialogue went from hackneyed, vulgar or derivative to brilliant. It seemed that just when I was beginning to enjoy the dialogue or character interaction, the next string of words would be non-contextual cursing or it would lack credibility. The writing has the right flavor but needs to be revisited. The story lagged at times, in spite of the short run time...so there are some definite areas for improvement.

Because Lo is presented on film much like a stage play, and could be adapted with almost no additional writing, the limitations for the actors are very physical. Roberts delivers his entire performance from the confines of his pentagram ring. There are a couple of brief flashback moments where that changes, but even then, the scenario creates restrictions on his performance. Roberts overcomes the confines of his role to deliver an enjoyable performance. I did not care much for his character at the outset, but it grew on me. That is a testament to Roberts taking charge of the character and engaging the audience. Birkett was good as the demon Lo. His performance in spite of his own physical restrictions was excellent. Lassez and Barry appear in smaller roles. They were both likable. The acting was actually pretty good when you consider the writing along with the physical barriers.

Lo had some low-tech special effects but worked some magic. The costumes were brilliant, fun and even modestly spooky. The use of a stage-like scenario allowed the small budget to accomplish some background with conviction. The low budget background appeared intentional and worked with the script nicely. The only drawback was the use of synthesized voices, which did not always work. The mechanical aspect of the special effects made some of the dialogue difficult to follow. The voice effects added some eeriness to the story but required a bit of moderation.

I enjoyed Lo for creative original qualities evident in the film. However, the short film feels long because of sluggish dialogue and pacing. Some of that pacing is caused by the restrictions created by the stage atmosphere. Some reworking in the writing with more back-story and character development might make this film worthy of a remake (hopefully with a healthy budget). The acting helped overcome some of the other issues, making this movie interesting enough to me that I would give it a mild recommendation. 6.5/10.

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