Movie Review: "Kodie"

What do you get when you take young, upcoming indie horror actor/filmmaker Abel Berry, producer Andrew Rose, horror icons Parrish Randall & Alan Rowe Kelly, and bring them all together in an indie film that has the look and feel of a modern take on the horror fairy tales of old? You get Kodie!

Kodie tells the tale of a group of paranormal investigators, lead by David (Jayson Champion), who meet up in Texas, with a trio of Texas ghost hunters, to investigate a series of henious and quite brutal murders allegedly committed by a young woman dressed as a teddy bear (Jennifer Stone).

View slideshow: Kodie

We first meet David, whose life is slowly unravelling, at a bar with fellow investigator Killian (Michael McGibson), where the pair discuss their plan to investigate the house where the murders are to have taken place.

Once there, David, Killian and their third partner, Emily (Amanda Fine) meet up with the S.H.A.T.T. team of Texas-based investigators, lead by Griff (Jason Stone) and his subordinates Mandy (Andrea Schweers) and Nacho (Jay Dela Rosa).

As the investigation continues, the gang quickly learns that the murderous young lady in the teddy bear outfit, rumored to have been the result of a witch's curse, transforming a small child into a furry killer who will protect the innocent of the town, and punish the wicked, by any means necessary, is more than just local legend.

This is the feature debut for Abel Berry, who wrote, directed, co-produced and stars in the film, which is co-produced by Justin Powers, Jennifer Stone and Andrew Rose.

The film had a very small budget but the crew made the most of the $4000 that they had to work with. There are major Hollywood studio productions with multi-million dollar budgets who wish they could get done, with their huge budgets, what Berry, Rose and company accomplished with such a small sum of money. The film has high production values and incredibly well done special FX, including a head explosion that is one of the best blasted noggins I've ever seen on film.

The earlier mentioned witch is played, very effectively, by Alan Kelly Rowe and Parrish Randall portrays the town's sheriff, Sheriff Briar. I have to admit, as ashamed of this fact as I am, that I've not seen much of Randall's work, but the man is captivating in this film. He's one of those actors who is just automatically likeable, from the first moment you see him on screen. Randall Mcmillan, who plays Briar's deputy, Langley, is very funny, as he rambles on about modern day pirates, and as he continues to eat his cheese curls just after having wiped dog shit off of his shoe with the very same hand! His role is a smaller one, but he does indeed stand out.

Jayson Champion's David is the kind of character that you can't help but root for. He's sort of a dipshit but at the same time, he's a regular guy who simply wants what we all want; to be happy in life, and have his family by his side. How can anyone not root for a guy like that?

Abel Berry plays Jasper, a local guy who seems to know more about the murders than he's letting on. Berry is fantastic in this, his first feature as an actor. He is very reminiscent of the Vilmer character, played by Matthew McConaughey, in Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not comparing Kodie to TCM:TNG, but rather, just relating how Berry plays Jasper to McConaughey's Vilmer. Jasper, like Vilmer, is the kind of good old Southern boy who is cool, calm and collected, regardless of the situation in which he finds himself. The kind of guy who could charm you, make you like him, even as he's ripping your beating heart straight out of your chest! He's just that smooth!

Kodie has it all; mystery, suspense, humor, pretty girls (Andrea Schweers, Amanda Fine and Jennifer Stone are all gorgeous!) , pretty men (Both Parrish Randall and Abel Berry are the kind of good looking men who make the rest of us look like trolls! Damn them both! Haha), and plenty of gore to satisfy the gorehounds out there!

I cannot think of one member of the cast or production of this film who isn't destined for greatness. The crew made a small budget indie film look better than most studio pictures with much larger budgets, and every member of the cast is perfected in his or her role.

This is how independent movies are supposed to be done! Hey Hollywood--take some notes. Most of you could learn a great deal from Abel Berry, Andrew Rose and the entire production crew of Kodie! Stop trying to lure fans in with your overdone CGI SPFX and big name, little talent stars, and instead, interest the viewers with your story by simply telling a good story!

Support Independent Films!

For more information on Kodie and BS Entertainment, visit the following links:

---------------------------------------------------------------

Please check out all of my Examiner.com titles:

You can also follow my pages on Facebook at the following links:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Horror-Examiner/105322066199793

http://www.facebook.com/PhiladelphiaHorrorExaminer

And feel free to send me a friend request on Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/PhillyHorror

You can email me at horrorrulz@msn.com

Continue reading on Examiner.com: "Dead Snow" and "Outpost" move over....."Frankenstein's Army" is coming! - National Horror | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/horror-in-national/dead-snow-and-outpost-move-over-army-of-frankenstein-is-coming-through#ixzz1DlwhmLdi