Recommended films from the Doc - Effects

I recently had the pleasure to be transported back in time with the arrival of a film from Netflix called Effects. It is a horror film, and I think it best to not really describe the plot, to best preserve the story and what happens during it.


I will say that it stars Joe Pilato, who horror fans will know as Captain Rhodes in the original Day of the Dead. Tom Savini also has a role in the film. John Harrison, one of the greatest horror composers of all time (based mostly on his role in the score for Creepshow), has an acting role in the film as well.
Also, I will state that it has a very comfortable pace, dealing out the story on its own terms and not moving very quickly. It is not action-packed...but a very detailed moody piece of cinema which would most likely have bewildered the general audience if it had been released at the time.

When a time passes out of history and is replaced by another, it is gone forever.
We can see many things over and over again that cement that time in our memory. For instance, Dawn of the Dead. The actors in the film are 30 years older now. If there was a child in the movie, they are older; old people may have passed who appeared in the film. The fashions...the mall itself - gone in that incarnation. There are no arcades any more - no real ones, anyway (at least not within driving distance of my house).
Effects is another, rarely-seen snapshot of that time and place. An unfamiliar cousin to your well-liked friend, that hopefully you will enjoy as much as I did.

I would like to thank Synapse for finally allowing this film to be seen. They deserve to be commended for their ongoing efforts to preserve the films the Criterion Collection will not touch.

I recommend you buy this film from Movies Unlimited if you are so inclined. Their physical store in Philadelphia was a wonder to behold after the dark days when Blockbuster killed off every decent video store in the area.

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