The Pale Door (2020)
Written By: JASR
Edited By: Grave Reviews Staff
Film Information
Director: Aaron B. Koontz
Producers: Ashleigh Snead, Matthew Thomas, et. al.
Writers: Cameron Burns, Aaron B. Koontz, Keith Lansdale
Date Released: August 21, 2020
Cast:
Devin Druid as Jake
Zachary Knighton as Duncan
Melora Walters as Maria
Bill Sage as Dodd
Pat Healy as Wylie
Stan Shaw as Lester
Natasha Bassett as Pearl
Noah Segan as Truman
Tina Parker as Brenda
Rating = 2.5/5 Graves
***May contain some spoilers***
Synopsis
Duncan (Zachary Knighton) and Jake (Devin Druid) are brothers who lost their parents at a young age. As an adult, Duncan becomes part of a gang – which Jake eventually joins to substitute one of their members who just died. The gang later goes on a train heist and discovers a chest with a young woman named Pearl (Natasha Bassett). Pearl tells the gang there would be a “handsome reward” if they bring her back home. They arrive at a brothel and meet several women who later reveal who they really are – terrifying witches with burnt bodies and faces.
Gore Factor
Regardless of whether you like Western movies or not, if you’re looking for a movie with a lot of gore, “The Pale Door” is definitely for you. This film does not shy away from gore at all. Even though I’ve seen quite a handful of gory films, this still made me look away. You can expect scenes that involve chewing glass and cutting out one’s eye. Even the mere appearance of the witches is already gory in itself. Needless to say, be sure your eyes are prepared before watching this film.
The Grave Review
The witches in “The Pale Door” are nothing like the witch costumes we see on Halloween. If you’re expecting black dresses, witch hats, and flying brooms, drop those expectations now. The witches in this movie are eerie, unsettling, and a lot more disgusting than you would imagine. They will most likely change how you imagine witches forever.
I highly commend Devin Druid’s performance as Jake. Druid is best known for his portrayal of Tyler Down in “13 Reasons Why,” and the common problem with actors in popular shows is how hard it is for some viewers to dissociate them from their famous characters. However, watching Druid’s performance in this movie, I pretty much forgot that he is also the same guy who portrayed a totally different character in a drama series.
“The Pale Door” is not your typical horror film. For starters, it has a Western setting. It’s also not the kind of horror film with spirits and ghosts who haunt the protagonists. It has a different flavor that would be interesting to film enthusiasts. Personally, I am the kind of horror movie fan who loves those that involve ghosts, spirits, and demonic entities – but I found this movie quite enjoyable.
“The Pale Door” is different in terms of how it introduces the antagonists, as well as how the said antagonists attack the main characters. With typical horror movies, you would fear going to the bathroom in the middle of the night because the image of the antagonist still haunts your mind. You have the irrational fear of seeing it. However, with “The Pale Door,” you would either fear meeting random strangers, or you wouldn’t think that the events of the movie could happen to you at all. That could be either a good or a bad thing – depending on how you look at it.
Nonetheless, I would say that “The Pale Door” is an interesting movie. As a huge fan of the typical horror movies, I did not expect to enjoy it – but surprisingly, I actually did.
For the foregoing reasons, Grave Reviews gives The Pale Door (2020) two and one-half graves out of five graves.
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