Full disclosure: I had the opportunity to meet and work with the writer/cinematographer on a film I directed just recently…and I have to say, Sins of the Father is really well done!
If you’re looking for the film that underlines the sort of familial trauma and fear and doubt that goes along with literally killing your past in order to grow better for the future, this is the movie for you. Pleasant amounts of blood and gore throughout, to make any horror fan happy, the performances that really stood out to me are from David Michaeli and Anissa Eisenberg, in a cast full of relative unknowns, there’s a lot riding on their shoulders to propel the film forward and give us someone to root for.
Now, without getting too far into spoilers, I would say that the film suffers from any sort of “lawful good” character for us to identify with as an audience…and though that may be intentional, it sort of hampers us in the end the same way Midsommar did. The cross comparison to this as a Minnesotan version of Midsommar hardly hurts this film though…I actually fully enjoyed this more because of that visual/stylistic connection…for myself, I would have just enjoyed a positive character to root for that wasn’t just a victim of the circumstances they were in…and that’s my only real and honest critique.
Otherwise, beautifully shot, lit and edited…you won’t find the awful stock sounding indie mix that you might expect from a Gravitas release here, this one is rich and full and has done really well to integrate VFX shots and let the RED Helium shine. The visual style is very Ari Aster in composition, lighting and framing, and again that’s not a dig, that’s a good comparison where it works especially well for this type of story.
Overall, very well made and dread filled film! Worth checking out, if for nothing else, to support your local indie filmmaker!
— also — watch through the credits for a “bonus” scene.
