I purchased Cassadaga after randomly spying its cover in a DVD store, and I’m glad I did.
Directed by Anthony DiBlasi (Dread), Cassadaga for me personally was a breath of gruesome fresh air.
Cassadaga begins with a young boy in girl’s dress-up playing with puppet dolls. The boys mum walks in and shouts and screams at him for doing so, which gets him upset, and using scissors on things that he really shouldn’t be.
The main protagonist is deaf elementary school teacher Lily (Kelen Coleman of Children of the Corn: Genesis), who is in the midst of planning to move to Paris with her younger sister Michelle (Sarah Sculco). Tragedy strikes and she finds herself moving to Cassadaga, Florida, alone and enrolling at the local university to teach art.
Lily soon meets single father Mike (Kevin Alejandro- True Blood, Red State), who’s friends introduce her to one of the many local psychics, Susan (Avis-Marie Barnes- Jeepers Creepers). Lily asks Susan if she can help her communicate with a wanted spirit, but in the process, they encounter another ghost; who latches itself onto Lily.
This murdered woman wants something from Lily and tries to show her in an aggressive manner. All the while we see clips of a sinister killer who likes to dismember his pretty victims as so he can re-construct them in his own sadistic way. The film juggles a lot of balls, and works hard to keep viewers on their toes.
Propelled by a good cast of recognizable faces, the story is an engaging mystery that maintains tension. The serial killer moments are nightmarish in their depiction of a maniac’s unnerving mutilation fetish, and it’s difficult to dislike a film like Cassadaga.
The horror genre is supposed to take chances, and DiBlasi does that with Cassadaga. For the running time you are pulled into the film and captivated and I would definitely recommend it to horror lovers.
WICKED RATING: 6.5/10
Title: Cassadaga
Director(s): Anthony DiBlasi
Writer(s): Bruce Wood, Scott Poiley
Stars: Kelen Coleman, Avis-Marie Barnes, Kevin Alejandro
Year: 2011
Studio/ Production Co: Poiley Wood Entertainment, Cassadaga Film Production
Budget: (unknown)
Language: English
Length: 108mins
Sub-Genre: Thriller
