The story behind this low-budget thriller is intriguing enough, especially behind the camera, as it was made on a shoestring by debuting talent all around. And when we say made on a shoestring, we mean written/directed/scored/gripped/gaffed/edited and produced (gasp for breath) by the same one-man show - Paul Chau. To that effect, he is now a veritable OZ to a whole category of indie filmmakers.
The story revolves around that age-old trope of pampered and hormonal Upstate teens who must watch their numbers dwindle whilst carted off by vicious attack spooks in a strange ravine. That ravine of course can be found nowhere the hiking maps, and thus our story unfolds.
While the dialog scenes embody the hallmark of chuck fare in every sense, the story increasingly manages a solid foothold most sorely lack - a smart move in that a story set alone in the woods can take a lot of plot holes out of the stumbling path for an early indie. Despite the predictable lack of self-preservation early on, Chau's collective manage to quietly infuse a real sense of the dangerous solitude and dampening horror a life stuck out on the frontier must have felt like to early settlers. These are the same NE scenic vistas responsible for generating witch hunts and generations of superstitions by people left to solitude for too long a stretch. Will hidden forces trip history once again?
The philosophical premise alone bumps this maiden effort above the cut for usual debut efforts. The artistry is there where the budget is not. Add in the subtle growth of his team's storytelling as the film progresses and the end result leaves the viewer shocked twice - once at the predictable gore, which is still tense even when campy, and then again at the moving vision Chau manages to infuse in his self-made score, postcard landscapes, and eerie breezes as they trickle through abandoned and seemingly peaceful landscapes.
By the end of the film, Chau has matured noticeably in a multitude of crafts so that his true vision as a storyteller stands up on its own legs. Not Bad. We'll slink in to your next premiere, and we'll bring friends.
If missed at the Tribecca Cinema run, Scalp will also be at the Bram Stoker International Festival on October 16-19 in Whitby, England, with a possible sequel in the works as early as 2010.
As for Chau, he's just completed the documentary "Life of an Actress," profiling eleven actresses ranging from early career to late retirement, and is now working on distribution for the project while he's currently working on "Signs of Life," a dramatic musical about the Terazine, a Jewish neighborhood that was used to transfer people to Auschwitz, a heady play due to hit off-broadway in the fall.
Labels: DIY, Pail Chau, Scalp
